Olympus SP-570UZ 10MP offers the advanced manual controls that experienced photographers demand and find on a digital SLR (single lens reflex), including a new zoom ring and hotshoe for external flash, and RAW format capture. At the same time, users can easily set the camera to operate like a simple point-and-shoot with automatic scene modes. Beyond its impressive lens and pixel count, the SP-570 UZ delivers other key innovations, including:
* Dual Image Stabilization combines the benefits of Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization and Digital Image Stabilization to compensate for both camera shake and moving subjects, ensuring beautiful, blur-free images in any situation;
* Face Detection continually tracks faces within the frame and automatically focuses, and optimizes exposure for sharp, brilliant portrait pictures even if your subject is moving;
* Shadow Adjustment Technology enables users to preview and capture images as the human eye sees them, compensating for difficult lighting situations and maintaining detail in highlights while improving the detail in the shadows to produce more balanced photos;
* Perfect Shot Preview takes the guesswork out of great photography by allowing users to preview and select various photographic effects live on the LCD screen, before snapping the shot; and
* Large, 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD with anti-glare technology improves visibility in bright sunlight and provides a wider viewing angle (176 degrees in every direction) for easier composition and viewing of images during playback.
Helpful consumer’s review
I bought this camera early in April, from another vendor. I didn’t want to wait until Amazon’s April 15 release date! My newfound hobby is photographing high school rugby games, so I am by no means a professional and truly don’t know much at all about photography at all. I had been using a Kodak Easyshare with 12x zoom with good results, but I wanted to get closer and I wanted faster sequential shooting. Yet, I didn’t want to buy a $1,000 plus SLR camera. After all, I’m not trying to win a Pulitzer. I’m not frantically concerned with crisp color, and I don’t have time to learn a million functions. I just want to get the “money shot” – a player with ball in hand, hair flying, face in grimace, muscles straining, dirt clods and sweat droplets spraying around – you know what I mean. After some research I discover that my Easyshare, and this Olympus, are in a class of camera called point-and-shoot super zoom – yeah! That’s exactly what I wanted! And THIS camera, at 20x zoom gets you closer than any other out there. So I was sold. And wow, are my pictures with this camera GREAT! I started with the pre-programmed sports mode, but found that my best action shots were in the “P” mode, at a speed of H1 (and that’s not even the fastest speed!), with image quality = fine. I saved these settings as a “my mode” and can adjust brightness/exposure with the dial at the top of the camera if I need to. Other than the great money shots I am getting with this camera, I like the battery life. I have taken up to 1,500 pictures at a time without having to change the battery, and I use the screen a lot. I also like that I am not bound to a monopod – it’s light, it’s point and shoot, I can move around and adjust things quickly and catch just about all the action. The only thing I don’t like is the amount of time it takes for sequentially shot pictures to “save”. It can be frustrating to wait on the camera to save while action is going on that you can’t capture. This was a problem with my Easyshare, too, and I suspect is a problem with any point and shoot with sequential shooting capabilities. The only reason I’d ever upgrade to an SLR is that this does not appear to be an issue with those types of cameras. If my fascination with sports photography continues to grow, I imagine someday I will buy an SLR. But for now, I am really satisfied with this Olympus and it’s 20x zoom and dozens fps shooting speed!
