Olympus SP-550 UZ Digital Camera

I bought this camera as an upgrade from my old olympus point and shoot because I wanted to try and take pictures of better quality and try out new things, such as motion pics and night shots etc. The SP 550 UZ has a wide variety of pre installed settings from portrait to landscapes, a total of about 23 all told. In addition to these settings there is also a fully manual setting for the more advanced photographer (of which I am not yet). The beauty is you are able to play with this camera and view your success or failure through the large screen and delete if its no good.
The on screen menu is easy to follow as you work your way through the instruction book.
I am no expert on cameras but just wanted to say how much I like this model, it is not too bulky the controls are too hand and from what pics I have taken so far gives good value for money.
As I get more into my new hobby I am confident this camera will suffice all my needs.recently took in on holiday check out some pics at www.deneoo1.com

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 like to buy on ebay, because it is very comfortable and secure. I can find everything here and just a few click to buy something. I can pay secure by paypal.
The best advantage that everything is much cheaper than in shops, and in auctions is you can get great bargains.
I bought this camera because I needed one and I found it for the most perfect for me. Cheap, fantastic quality, and my friend has the same and he is very satisfied with it. The delivery also quick and safe.

In all, i am very satisfied, and i will continue buying on ebay

Bought Olympus SP-550 because of its digital zoom to take to Beijing. Though not an expert I have returned with hundreds of excellent action shots as well as many touristy pictures. Very pleased with my purchase.

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.

Received original camera, found to be faulty, contacted seller and returned replaced within 10 days - no quibble - good communication but still waiting for postage refund but promised - overall excellent service - recommended

It is gift ,This is for colleague present, to can not say more , ale to buy I this device for me once again.I checked in internet .This is good purchase.It in Poland costs about 250 pounds ,

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.

the camera looks like a brand new and I'm fully satisfied. Exactly as the seller explained to me. Very fast shipping, professional seller.

This camera is great fun,very user friendly,takes very good pictures.
Fits neatly into a coat pocket,it's very light to hang from your neck.

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.

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

Service 2nd to none - Very pleased
Camera excellent - loads of features, excellent 18x Zoom !!!!!!!!!!
Excellent picture quality, simple to use (even for a technophobe like me !!!)

I would recommend getting rechargable batteries for it tho - it can be a little generous with the battery consumption !!

Cant say any more really than

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 camera has a fantastic optical zoom range, which makes it comparable to a very expensive bags of equipment. Very easy to use, and gives very serious results. I am in music, so not a photo-pro, but every so often, I need to snap of a pick or two that could end up on an album cover or promo pack. This camera does that with style and ease ... it even gets little Fred diving over for a try in the far corner of the pitch.
It uses AA batteries, so no wall-warts or charging up grief.
Recommend a UV filter, if only to protect the lens.
A great camera for the real world.

Bought this to replace my Olympus C-750 uz brought in 2003 and WOW havn't things moved on! The 2.5" LCD is crystal clear and large enough to be useful. The main colour viewfinder is extremely clear and for anyone contemplating the jump from 35mm SLR is reassuringly familiar. The menu's while like any new device need a little familiarization, but are methodically laid out. Short cuts are provided to the most useful features, such as ISO, White Balance, aperture, speed etc etc. The camera has a full range of modes to suit all users from pro to complete beginner, giving from full manual, aperture and shutter priority, to auto and programme, as well as a menu driven 'wizard' for snow, sport, portrait, beach, food!, and many many more, automatically providing the 'best' settings for the subject.
Then there's that 18x OPTICAL lens (35mm = 28 to 504, f2.8 to f8) it's an absolute joy. There is some colour fringing at full zoom on distance shots, but that is common with much (not that there are many) of the competition. Shutter lag is'nt the fastest, but unless your doing fast sports photography, should not be a problem for most users. I prefer to take pictures in 3:2(35mm)aspect and this is catered for in the higher(6MP 3072x2048=313 images/512 MB)resolution settings , but is strangely omitted from the lower resolution (2-3MP 2048x1536=652 images/512 MB)options. If all you want is to be able to print 6x4 / 5x7 and still require 3:2, then you'll have to do some cropping later, and remember for a 6x4 print you ONLY NEED 1600 x 1200 1.9 MP to print at 300dpi and thats 1030 images on a 512 card!!!) listen up Olympus or are you just after selling more memory cards?
I bought a factory (Olympus America) reconditioned unit from an eBay seller based in Nottingham, which gave quite a saving. It works perfectly, but the warranty is with the supplier and only 3 months. I have been using Olympus for over 25 years and apart from the odd little niggle (no memory retention on battery change c-750) have always found Olympus to be highly reliable.
One thing to be aware of with the LCD's of many such cameras is that they need protecting from scratch marks. You can get stick on plastic film cut to size or a self adhesive hood with glass screen, all to be found on ebay. I havn't tried these yet, but certainly that screen does need protecting if your to walk around with the camera round your neck, as even shirt buttons could cause marks.
All in all this is a fantastic camera.

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.

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 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

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