Olympus SP-500 Fiche technique

Parcourez en ligne ou téléchargez le pdf Fiche technique pour {nom_de_la_catégorie} Olympus SP-500. Olympus SP-500 1 pages. Olympus sp-500: quick start
Également pour Olympus SP-500 : Manuel de démarrage rapide (1 pages)

Imprimer la page

OLYMPUS CAMEDIA SP-500 UZ

quick view

£300

PRICE

mega

SENSOR

1/2.5inch CCD (Total 6.37MP, Effective 6.0MP)

pixels

LENS

38-380mm f/2.8-3.7

SHUTTER SPEEDS

15-1/1000sec

EXPOSURE MODES

M, A, AP, SP, P, 21 Scene

FLASH

0.3m - 4.5m (W) 1.2m-3.4 T, GN9

ISO

Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400

MONITOR

EVF 201,600 pixel/ 2.5inch 115,000 pixel TFT

OTHER

320x240 30fps Video,10Mb int, xD

POWER

4x AA

DIMENSIONS/ WEIGHT

105.5x74.5x71mm/285g

top

Adjacent to the

pop-up flash on

the top plate of

the camera sit

the mode dial,

AEL, shutter

and Power On

buttons

front

Investing in

an TCON-17

adaptor enables

conversion lens

to be used with

the SP-500 UZ

side

The USB and A/V

point is protected

by a rubber cover,

adjacent to the

strap eyelet

Olympus

TAKE THE 360

VIRTUAL TOUR

ONLY ON THE WEB

www.whatdigitalcamera.com

CamediaSP-500UZ

up against

CHECK OUT THESE SIMILAR CAMERAS

IN OUR PRICE COMPARISON

BEFORE YOU BUY

Jamie Harrison tests a Superzoom camera that looks

SONY CYBER-SHOT

like it's a compact

DSC-H1

£320

ost Superzoom cameras are quite bulky

compared to compact cameras. Some

are even approaching the size of an SLR,

KONICA MINOLTA

albeit including a 10x or 12x zoom lens. Olympus,

DIMAGE Z6

though, has taken a slightly different, although

£350

predictably Olympian, route. The new SP-500UZ

is small, yet still manages to squeeze an awful lot

into its diminutive stature.

Why is this predictably Olympian though? The

CANON POWERSHOT

company has always made a point of producing small

S2 IS

but perfectly formed cameras. Look at the original

£340

mju cameras, the OM series, the Pen EE half frames.

Olympus has always been slightly odd, too. Cameras

buying guide

such as the O product and Ecru displayed a forward-

thinking design ethos, while in 1991 Olympus in-

troduced the idea of the bridge camera, halfway

between compact and SLR, which has deﬁ ned the

TURN TO PAGE 128 AND USE OUR

design ethos for most of the modern digital Super-

EXTENSIVE BUYING GUIDE

zoom. So what does Olympus do now? It designs a

WE WILL HELP YOU CHOOSE THE

superzoom camera that looks more like a traditional

RIGHT CAMERA AT THE RIGHT PRICE

compact.

What Digital Camera

SPECIFICATIONS

The SP-500 is well speciﬁ ed for such a small camera,

with an impressive 38-380mm lens and large 2.5in

LCD on the back. Like other cameras in the genre,

the camera offers much for the enthusiast, including

RAW recording and the full set of exposure controls,

Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, and full

Manual. For less experienced photographers or those

who prefer the easy life, the SP-500 still allows au-

tomatic mode, as well as 21 scene modes.

Technology has also ﬁ ltered down from the recent

C-7070 model, including that camera's impressive

Predictive AF system for tracking moving subjects,

not to mention the company's IESP metering system,

and 143 individual focus points, which can be linked

to the spot metering function.

Many cameras of this size have forgone the view-

ﬁ nder altogether, but Olympus has still managed to

maintain an electronic version, with 201,600 pixels

that manages to be sharp and detailed, with the

added beneﬁ t of electronic readouts such as live his-

www.whatdigitalcamera.com

December 2005

LCD

EVF

The 2.5inch LCD monitor is a very useful

The SP-500 uses an electronic viewﬁnder

size, and is bright and clear. The menu

which is reasonably clear and bright and

follows Olympus' usual rotary style front

shows all of the scene via a video feed from

page, with nested sub menus

the CCD

image quality

Exposure is one area I've never been able

to criticise Olympus for: the company

knows how to meter. Time after time

despite the varying September condi-

tions, the SP-500 produced perfectly

exposed pictures. Image sharpness is a

good point too, and despite worries that

the lens could be overstretching itself, I

was impressed with the results. At times,

images look a tad over sharpened, espe-

cially JPEGs, though not with RAW. There's

also the odd case of purple fringing, es-

pecially in high contrast conditions. Like

pretty much every camera we test with

small sensors, image noise is a problem,

though lower ISO settings prove to be well

controlled. Colour is good, though a little

too saturated for my taste, and an Adobe

RGB option would have been nice.

see more on the web

Download our SP-500 UZ test

images on our website

www.whatdigitalcamera.com

togram and AF/metering frames.

However the traditional looks may well work as an ad-

In many respects this is a camera that people have

vantage, particularly in appealing to ﬁ rst-time digital

been crying out for. The price is good, at £300; the

buyers transferring from ﬁ lm, or for those who don't

resolution at 6MP allows for reasonable A4 prints;

want a style statement but a good, functional camera...

and there are plenty of those people about.

'In many respects this is a

camera

VERDICT

that people have been crying out for'

The SP-500 is competent and a truly useful camera. It

acts like a compact, with the features of a superzoom,

it's got plenty of photographic control and it easily ﬁ ts

and is the ideal camera to chuck in your bag when you

into a pocket. Plus it's got that long lens. But it's not

don't want to carry an SLR or other bigger camera.

perfect.

You won't be able to use it as a complete alternative

to an SLR, but it's not a bad back up. Similarly at the

There has to be compromises to ﬁ t the price and the

price, if you want to try out digital and all it has to offer

plastic body isn't as tough as I'd like. It's not bad, but it

then you could do worse, while students could beneﬁ t

isn't the same as last year's metal-bodied C-770 and C-

765 cameras. It's also just a little bit bland to look at,

from its budget price and traditional controls. I really

and lacks the style of some other cameras at that price.

like it.

www.whatdigitalcamera.com

December 2005

speciﬁcations

MANUFACTURER:Olympus

MODEL:

SP-500 Ultra Zoom

PRICE:

£300

CCD:

1/2.5-inch6.0MPeff/6.37MPtotal

MAX PRINT SIZE:

14.08 x 10.56-inch at 200dpi

LENS:

6.3 - 63mm f2.8-3.7

(35mm equ 38-380mm)

SHUTTERSPEEDS:15-1/1000sec

ISO:

Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400

EXP MODES:

Auto, AP, M, P, SP, 21 scene modes

FLASH:

GN9

DRIVE MODES:

Single, burst, high-speed burst

METER:

Digital ESP , spot, centre-weighted

WHITE BALANCE:

A, 7preset, custom

FOCUS:

Spot, iESP autofocus, Predictive AF, AF

selectable from 143 points, Manual

VIEWFINDER:

Electronic 201,600 pixels

MONITOR:

2.5-inch TFT LCD, 115,000 pixels

CONNECTION:

USB 2.0, DC

REC FORMAT:

Jpeg, RAW, QuickTime Motion Jpeg

FILE TYPE:

Pictbridge, Pictbridge EasyPrint, Print

Image Matching III, Exif 2.21, DPS and

DPOF support

VIDEO OUTPUT:

Pal

POWER:

4xAA

STORAGE:

OTHER:

320 x 240 at 30fps movie mode,

panorama function, 3cm super macro

DIMENSIONS:

105.5 x 74.5 x 71mm

WEIGHT:

285g

scores

PROS:

Good functionality, RAW,

LCD and EVF

CONS:

Bland looks, some

fringing, some oversharpening

and image noise

features

ease of use

image quality

design

86%

value

WDC

What Digital Camera