Whither Olympus SP-100

I was browsing around and I noticed the SP-100 seems to have disappeared. B&H says that it is discontinued. Adorama only has the bag for sale. Olympus USA still lists it, but it is out of stock. Only one seller (MIcrocenter) from Amazon is selling a new version with warranty.

Now, while I do like long zoom bridge cameras, it just never gelled with me, as I can get equivalent resolution with my E-M5 (using the 70-300mm and the x2 digital zoom). And frankly, the 600mm I can get with my Stylus-1 is usually good enough except for special circumstances.

I don't recall many users of it stopping by in this forum. I wonder if Olympus had much luck in selling it.

Michael Meissner wrote:

I was browsing around and I noticed the SP-100 seems to have disappeared. B&H says that it is discontinued. Adorama only has the bag for sale. Olympus USA still lists it, but it is out of stock. Only one seller (MIcrocenter) from Amazon is selling a new version with warranty.

Now, while I do like long zoom bridge cameras, it just never gelled with me, as I can get equivalent resolution with my E-M5 (using the 70-300mm and the x2 digital zoom). And frankly, the 600mm I can get with my Stylus-1 is usually good enough except for special circumstances.

I don't recall many users of it stopping by in this forum. I wonder if Olympus had much luck in selling it.

This is the most recent SP100 video within the first two YouTube pages -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9qMCNwM9XM

I thought about it, but decided that a complement for my SH-50 would be more practical - and that is what it turned out to be. Now the SH-2 gives me RAW as well - and the SP100 sort of recedes into the mists of time.

Henry

Of course atmospheric haze is a major problem with any ultra-zoom camera.

I also imagine that Olympus's IS will struggle to keep up at 1200mm equivalent field of view.

Things that were negatives to me (remember, I come from the micro 4/3rds cameras):

• No tilting lcd
• No touch screen
• No shutter release
• No external flash
• Slow lens at 1200mm (f/6.5, which on a camera with a 2/3" sensor means you are in diffraction territory)
• Size of the camera (it is about the same size as E-M10 + 14-150mm, though it weighs somewhat less)

If you don't need the ultra-zoom part, your SH-2 looks like a much better deal.

Michael Meissner wrote:

Of course atmospheric haze is a major problem with any ultra-zoom camera.

I also imagine that Olympus's IS will struggle to keep up at 1200mm equivalent field of view.

Things that were negatives to me (remember, I come from the micro 4/3rds cameras):

• No tilting lcd
• No touch screen
• No shutter release
• No external flash
• Slow lens at 1200mm (f/6.5, which on a camera with a 2/3" sensor means you are in diffraction territory)
• Size of the camera (it is about the same size as E-M10 + 14-150mm, though it weighs somewhat less)

If you don't need the ultra-zoom part, your SH-2 looks like a much better deal.

With 600 mm maximum range, I am very much outclassed now for moon shots.

Other than that - a pocket zoom causes less whiplash when doing videos of our Morris dance gigs as I am playing the accordion the P&S is mounted on. I admit, there are a lot more people doing moon shots than taking videos of their gigs as they are performing.

There were some comparisons in the YouTube lists I looked at. The SP100 focusses better at full reach than the Nikon P600. That now is outclassed by the P900 - but the Nikon crowd is now silent about the P900 features that were reported as not working. And it is even bigger than the SP100.

There was one report of an SP100 red dot sight breaking after little use.

I am not so concerned about the SP100. I am concerned about the scarcity of Olympus cameras this year. This is one of the motives for collecting three very similar SH models. They work reliably for me - which is not what you expect from a P&S that costs up to three times less than an enthusiast compact.

Henry

Henry Falkner wrote:

With 600 mm maximum range, I am very much outclassed now for moon shots.

I never got into moonshoots, but it is perhaps a good use of the focal length.

Other than that - a pocket zoom causes less whiplash when doing videos of our Morris dance gigs as I am playing the accordion the P&S is mounted on. I admit, there are a lot more people doing moon shots than taking videos of their gigs as they are performing.

I suspect most people who record Morris dances do it from the audience. I can imagine being mounted on the accordion stresses any stabilization that the camera offers.

While in my heart I am a still photographer, I do spend 2 weekends a year acting as the official videographer at two small renaissance faires. At each faire, I did around 8 hours of recording over 2 days (17 gigs of data, using my JVC camcorders). Unlike you, I'm recording from the audience.

I am not so concerned about the SP100. I am concerned about the scarcity of Olympus cameras this year. This is one of the motives for collecting three very similar SH models. They work reliably for me - which is not what you expect from a P&S that costs up to three times less than an enthusiast compact.

Well I do think the Stylus-1 is over-priced, and I was surprised when it came out, as I thought the enthusiast market had all but dried up.

But now that you mention it, Olympus has weeded out most of the P&S camera lines it used to sell (SZ, VR, VH, XZ). I imagine most of the P&S cameras have been replaced by cell phones, except for the 3 niches:

• Weather sealed: TG-4, TG-860
• Long zoom: SH-2, SP-100
• Enthusiast: Stylus 1s

And the Pen line is also looking kind of dead with the E-PL7 being the last Pen, announced over a year ago.

Michael Meissner wrote:

Henry Falkner wrote:

... - a pocket zoom causes less whiplash when doing videos of our Morris dance gigs as I am playing the accordion the P&S is mounted on. I admit, there are a lot more people doing moon shots than taking videos of their gigs as they are performing.

I suspect most people who record Morris dances do it from the audience.

They do.

I can imagine being mounted on the accordion stresses any stabilization that the camera offers.

It does stress the IS. I can stand still and play, and the 5-axis IS copes. The IS does NOT cope when I walk and play in a parade.

While in my heart I am a still photographer, I do spend 2 weekends a year acting as the official videographer at two small renaissance faires. At each faire, I did around 8 hours of recording over 2 days (17 gigs of data, using my JVC camcorders). Unlike you, I'm recording from the audience.

My most memorable event was the Festival of Lights in New Plymouth last January, where I was playing. The Li-92B battery in the SH-1 lasted right to the last sentence of the MC. It cut out in the middle of her thanking the audience, but the clip was saved before the SH-1 died -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBB67904F9U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICva3A2dVH0 https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=VJ9Pn2mrUnA

I am concerned about the scarcity of Olympus cameras this year.

Now that you mention it, Olympus has weeded out most of the P&S camera lines it used to sell (SZ, VR, VH, XZ).

The SZ-30MR was my first P&S with a BSI-CMOS sensor. It was my first digicam that did not test Sandra's patience when shooting for rental adverts. But the SH series improved on that, with reliable focusing to 600mm, a mode dial that does not turn unintentionally, and a longer-lasting battery.

I imagine most of the P&S cameras have been replaced by cell phones, except for the 3 niches:

• Weather sealed: TG-4, TG-860
• Long zoom: SH-2, SP-100
• Enthusiast: Stylus 1s

And the Stylus 1 dies with the lens hanging out when the battery goes flat, like my C-750UZ did. That was bought in 2003!!!. Why did they re-invent that problem? It had been solved since at least the Stylus 800, which I bought in 2005.

Henry

I'm kind of sad to hear this.  I have one of these and find it pretty fun to use.  The dot sight is really handy if you are trying to get birds, planes, or objects (see below) at long range.  The built in effects are actually pretty cool and are right there for use.  It's modestly sized and I found the menus and interactions to be very usable.  I often have it in a small Case Logic bag with extra batteries in my backpack on the go.  If it isn't in my backpack then I'm carrying my Coolpix A (NO zoom, but DSLR sensor).  I guess I go to extremes :D.

I can compare the SP100 to a Nikon P900 (I tried two of these out - one had focus issues and with the 2nd one I just couldn't justify the cost to use ratio).  The Nikon P900 dwarfs the SP100 for range AND for size -- it was a beast.  It did take some nice photos and was remarkably clear...when it focused.  I've also played with the Canon SX50 and found that the Canon images were sharper, no doubt than the SP100.  I found the focus time on the SP100 to be very quick.

All that said, the SP100 has a much better viewfinder than the Canon, and the effects/fun factor was far, far higher with the Olympus than the Nikon or the Canon.  I recently bought an SX50 again during the recent clearance deal and hope to match it up with an EE-1 as sort of a backup cam should my SP100 ever fail or when I don't want to use any effects and need more clarity at long ranges.

I like my SP100 and plan to keep it and hope it has a long and treasured life.  I will attest that for pixel peeping or for very long distance shots you do get a more soft images than you will on an SX50.  But I haven't found a mega/super zoom camera yet that is easier to use and more fun to use than the SP100.  Maybe there's a replacement on the horizon, and if not, then enjoy your SP100 if you have one while it lasts.

Here are a few shots from a vacation this summer to Paris:

View from hotel room.  We were about 1 km away from the church.  Using one of the built in effects (Dramatic mode I think...)

More zoom from hotel room.

Shot from hotel room.  This is the very top of the tallest spire in photo 1. Handheld.

Photograph taken at Cathedral (basically an opposite view of the figures in photo 2)

Close up

Obligatory gargoyle photo

Cheers!

Steve

That is an excellent description, particularly since you have compared the SP100 against a popular Canon model, the SX50.

Sharpness, with long zooms in particular, is often obtained in the camera by the firmware. This also brings up noise, so the firmware also has to apply noise cancellation. This in turn tends to kill fine detail. I got some bleating about that for my SH-1 here on this forum.

When the sharpening is NOT done in the camera, I can often do it with Photo Shop Elements. There I have control over how much sharpening I do, and how much noise reduction has to follow without killing the detail too much.

Henry

Michael Meissner wrote:

I was browsing around and I noticed the SP-100 seems to have disappeared. B&H says that it is discontinued. Adorama only has the bag for sale. Olympus USA still lists it, but it is out of stock. Only one seller (MIcrocenter) from Amazon is selling a new version with warranty.

Now, while I do like long zoom bridge cameras, it just never gelled with me, as I can get equivalent resolution with my E-M5 (using the 70-300mm and the x2 digital zoom). And frankly, the 600mm I can get with my Stylus-1 is usually good enough except for special circumstances.

hope you can say something about 2X in this thread

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3902781

I don't recall many users of it stopping by in this forum. I wonder if Olympus had much luck in selling it.

Interesting how a simple post gathers such interesting info.