Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera

I decided to purchase this camera having purchased an Olympus SP310 12 months earlier, which I found to be an excellent product. However, it had weaknesses owing mainly to a large number of functions squeezed into a very small footprint. 3x zoom was rather limited.
The SP550 is a vast upgrade, having an excellent electronic viewfinder which provides almost 100% field of view. It is classified as a bridge camera, being similar in design to an SLR but more compact and much larger but with most of the benefits. The lens is quite extraordinary, with a zoom range beyond anything available with an SLR, providing 10x zoom from 50mm to 504mm, and wide angle down to 28mm without changing the lens, and the size is quite compact. Total zoom is 18x!!!
Shutter and speed priority functions are easy to use, as is manual mode. The guide function is not just an electronic manual, but sets difficult situations automatically, which is a real benefit.
The flash is quite powerful. The software - Olympus Master 2 - is an improvement on the first edition, being much easier to use.
The panorama function is also excellent, but my supplier included a Fuji XD card which does not allow this function to be used - an Olympus XD card is necessary. The video function is limited but adequate for short clips - serious video is only achieved by way of a camcorder.
Design of the camera body is a vast improvement over the SP500 and SP510. The rubberized surfaces and the right hand support profile at the rear are excellent design features.
I think this product represents excellent value for money, and I highly recommend it.

optically very good, digitally somewhat pixcelly, am still waiting for english version of full manual.

I purchased this camera for a present for my husband, after seeing what fantastic photos it takes. My brother has one and it was recommended to him by his techy son. It really is a great camera, zooms in and out and captures great shots plus all the other fiddly bits , it is user friendly, and looks the job.

I bought this as a complete but compact photographic tool and so it has proved to be - almost! The wide zoom range covers most of my shot requirements and coupled with an excellent macro capability, I find that I don't need any other equipment for normal leisure photography. Price was also a consideration and ebay prices, auction or buy it now, represent extremely good value. Mine was in new condition and came complete and boxed with the welcome addition of a 1GB SD card and manufacturer's case.
There is a penalty to pay for this magnificent zoom range and compactness and that is speed of operation. It is difficult to track and focus on moving objects at the telephoto end of the zoom - the electronic viewfinder response is slow as is focus confirmation. The other downside is the speed of access to the many settings and functions but, of course, this is partly due to the compactness of the body which restricts the number of external button and knob spaces available.
Despite the minor shortcomings, I am very pleased with my purchase. It enables me to travel light but, at the same time, gives me the versatility of a 35mm equivalent zoom range of 28mm to 504mm with macro to a very close 1cm. Overall, I consider this purchase exceptionally good value for money.

Looked at a great many cameras, already have a fuji finepix but this camera is excellant for both the beginner and the more experienced types, lack of internal memory is its only shortcoming. The 18x zoom is very good, and it is excellant for both portrait and landscape. My wife gives it the thumbs up on most counts. Very good value for the money.

EVERYTHING IS PERFECT ON THE CAMERA.EASY TO USE IF YOU READ ALL THE INFORAMTIONS WHICH COMES WITH THE CAMERA. THE ZOOM IS BEAUTIFUL, YOU CAN MAKE PERFECT PICTURES WITH IT. THE MENU IS EASY TO USE YOU WILL UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING EASYLY.
JUST LOVE IT...

WHAT A STUNNING CAMERA FOR THE MONEY. THIS MUST BE THE NEXT BEST THING FROM A DIGITAL SLR. EASY TO USE, PACKED WITH USEFUL FEATURES,LIGHT AND TAKES STUNNING PICTURES EVERY TIME. I HAVE OWNED SEVERAL DIGITAL CAMERA'S OVER THE YEARS AND THIS IS SIMPLY ONE OF THE BEST EVER. 18X OPTICAL ZOOM.QUALITY OLYMPUS LENS.

For what I paid this was a SUPER Bargain and will do most of the things that I require from it and should last me for quite a few years.If you are thinking about buying a SP550uz then I would not think twice about buying one.This cost £142.00 0n Ebay

The Olympus SP-550 is one of the best long zoom camera's i have ever used crystal clear images even at full zoom thanks to its image stabalisation mechanism.
The zoom is only let down at night with the high iso of up to 5000 (unusable for quality images) its impossible to hold the camera and take a long distance shot but on a tripod even from a mile away a lit building looks crystal clear in the dead of night.
Ths camera has it all for someone thinking of getting in to photography superfine close ups and zoom outs it takes beautigul pictures.

A significant step up from pocket sized cameras with many excellent features to turn you into a better photographer. The super macro and 15 frames a second features are very interesting and useful. Issues: It is a bit chunky and unbalanced. There is little room for larger fingers and hands to hold it and find the buttons. The manual process of setting up some of the special photographic functions is impossibly and ridiculously complex and without the "guide" option to set them up automatically I think many people would give up. It does not like using rechargable AA batteries, so you will get through a lot of duracells. The zoom motor on mine failed after four weeks, I may be unlucky! It is back with the seller for repair

So easy to use, excellent zoom ,this camera has so many features that I would say it is a semi pro camera. It is not bulky, yet feels like a digital!
Dislikes?-poor user handbook, the advanced handbook is 94 pages long!!
I bought it as I was travelling to Canada, and it was ideal for long shots and close up work, giving remarkable clarity on all the shots that I took.
Overall, excellent purchase.

i was looking for a digital camera, didnt know anything about camera`s,
the sp-550 is superb in every way, i don`t think i could have done better

I brought this camera as a back up for my SLR to take to New Guinea.The wide angle will allow me to get shots inside the small huts I will be staying in as well as good candid stuff with the huge zoom. Im also hoping to get some insects with the macro mode. Reg

I wanted a camera with a long zoom - this has one of the longest, at 18X. It worked fine, good pics, steady firm hand hold, but to my dismay I discovered that when in movie mode, if you have sound enabled, the image stabilisation is disabled. My older Sony compact could not zoom during filming, and the Olympus would zoom but only in digital zoom mode. Not ideal, but given the poor quality of most movie pictures, it was quite acceptable. However, the problem above was too much for me so I sold it, confessing its faults quite openly, and bought a Canon.

It was time to upgrade our compact digital. This was severly limited in its features, so I borrowed an Olympus SP 550 and wow! You get so much. Really easy to use. The zoom is unbelievable, and close-up's (which my daughter uses for her school photography project) are equally astounding with focal length down to a few cm.

Got just what I wanted on ebay!

Battery consumption a bit greedy though

Nevertheless I am a very happy customer!

have been watching this camera for some time ,when the price was right i bought
it from a trusted seller on ebay.everything about this camera is quality.its very easy to use,and is as good as some low end digital s.l.r...s.its taken some fab pictures in all conditions,i just love the feel and looks of this camera,i cant fault it in any way,and would highly reccomend it to anyone.

I was looking for an SLR camera but couldn't justify spending £400 - £500 0n a camera.
The Olympus SP - 550 is what they term a 'bridge' camera, it is not an SLR and not a 'compact' either, so what is it?
This is a point and shoot with loads of extras. When I opened the box, I was surprised at how compact this camera was, it fits in the palm of my 'average' size hand and is very light. All the main controls are placed nicely and my index finger found the 'shoot' button with ease. If you want a point and shoot, this is the only button you will need. The zoom is controlled by a 'rotary' button on top of the camera - rotate one way for zoom, the other for 'close - up. Now for the zoom, 18 x optical - that is important because coupled with the ttl (through the lens) viewfinder shows you the picture as it is. Most compact cameras use a second viewfinder which has limits. This camera also has 3x digital zoom, which is what the camera thinks the image should look like at 3x.
There is a pop -up flash unit built in. On top of the camera are controls for aperture, playback, auto, video, resoloutian and more if you want to 'play' with your photos.
On the back is a 2.5" lcd screen, you can 'frame' your photos with this or use the viewfinder on top. This screen which can be turned off to preserve battery (4 x AA) can be used to view your photos after the event and 'bin' any bad ones.
You can fit an XD memory card in a dedicated slot. Underneath is a hole for a tripod and the camera features a 'steady shot' facility.
I have only just got this camera but so far am very impressed and with the brand name behind it, I don't think I will go far wrong.

I bought it for it's long zoom and picture quality for taking pictures of fast moving sport action, which it does perfectly. It's easy to use with a help menu which takes you to the suggested shoot mode for your subject. The added bonus is that it uses normal AA batteries which you can get from any shop or just buy rechargable ones. The only minor downside is that the XD card which it uses is more expensive than a SD card of the same size, but don't let that put you off of a quality, easy to use camera.

I've been an amateur photographer, and it's been a part of my work, for many years, - but the SP-550 has woken me up to a whole new thing.
- Outrageous telephoto shots - even without a tripod - I'm having a wild time!
On top of that, the 28mm wide end still lets me get the land and sea scapes that I love (I live in the West of Scotland).
The thing I was most concerned about when buying this was the reports of how slow the focus can be sometimes. Well, I don't find that problem. Sure, if you zoom to something, find your shot and then just press the shutter button, it might be slow, - but why do that? As soon as I zoom to start framing, I just half press the shutter button and prefocus. Then when I'm framed and fully press it's very fast. My other choice is to Manually focus, - dead easy with the SP-550, - it gives me a quick AF, and it's a split second (if I even need to) to mod the focus. Again this means it's prefocused, so when I press, so super-quick.
Anyways, hope this helps, I'm heading down to the bay, to shoot some birds on the sea that I can't see with my naked eye!
Wheeeeeh!
blue2boo

I have been waiting to replace my old Fuji 2Meg camera for ages, I was after something with a decent Macro for work photos, long range zoom for scenic views along the water front where I live and better night photos for parties!
Along comes this beast for 130 quid, everything else I had been looking at was between £200 to £300 so I had to buy one even if I only used it for the Macro working at 1 cm (which it certainly does). The 18x zoom is great, you can read the numbers on the side of planes flying over head (I ran out of things to photo!!). Took a little time to work out how to find items on the different menus, but it is now second nature. Different modes are good, fully automatic is slow to focus but so are most cameras I've tried.
Highly recommend this camera.

This is a great product for its price. Olympus has made the difference for once again !!!

18x wide optical zoom (equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm camera) 1:2.8-4.5

Dual Image Stabilization
7.1 Megapixels
6.4cm/2.5” LCD with 230,000 pixels
High burst rate (up to 15fps in 1.2 Megapixel mode )
Super Macro mode (from as close as 1cm)
P/A/S/M exposure modes
RAW mode
BrightCapture Technology for better low light photography – also available in movie mode
23 scene modes (including Portrait, Sports, Night Scene)
25 languages on board
Internal memory plus xD-Picture Card slot
Supplied with Olympus Master software and four AA batteries

I personally cannot fault this supplier. The same camera in the UK would have cost me more than twice as much. An the camera itself is perfect. I went on-line to buy the product at 11:00 pm on the Monday and it arrived from Hong Kong on the Thursday at 10:00 am. Now that is quick!!

La macchina era Reconditioned (non nuova)però in ottimo stato e perfettamente funzionante.Ha un'ottica icredibile ed un perfetto stabilizzatore d'immagine.
Offre numerose posibilità di ripresa e numerose regolazioni. Facile nell'uso.
Il prezzo di acquisto è stato veramente ottimo. Molto soddisfatto.