| |
Olympus SP-590UZ reviews
You can find here the most interesting reviews / ratings from the well-known expert sites about the Olympus SP-590UZ Camera. Here are the reviewers:
|
- 16 September 2009 - |
|
- 0 |
|
- 04 September 2009 - |
|
- 0 |
|
- 16 August 2009 - |
|
- 4 |
|
- 20 July 2009 - |
|
- 0 |
|
- 18 July 2009 - |
|
- 0 |
|
- 26 May 2009 - |
|
- 0 |
|
- 28 April 2009 - |
|
- 4 |
|
- 15 April 2009 - |
|
- 3.5 |
|
- 09 April 2009 - |
|
- 3.5 |
|
- 02 April 2009 - |
|
- 4.5 |
Steves Digicams 's conclusion / rating - 16 September 2009 |
“ Olympus has really made some improvements with the SP-590UZ. While many features have been carried over, the 590's increased performance really helps this camera shine in a category that is becoming more and more competitive. With great image quality, speedy performance, loads of exposure options, and a generous 26x optical zoom lens, the SP-590 has a lot to offer. With a street price of $399 of less (a few retailers have it as low as $319), we feel this camera offers a great value for the amount of versatility and quality you are receiving. If you are one who is in the market for a ultra-zoom, or you're not quite sure if a dSLR will suit your needs, be sure to check out the Olympus SP-590UZ... ”
Steves Digicams's rating: |
|
- 0 |
Complete review here
DigitalCameraInfo 's conclusion / rating - 04 September 2009 |
“ The Olympus SP-590UZ arrived with a splash, thanks to it's record-breaking zoom magnification. However, it comes up against stiff competition from other companies putting forward strong cameras in the ultrazoom category.
Even though the Olympus has a slightly longer zoom lens at 26x, the less expensive 24x Nikon performed as well, and the only slightly more expensive Sony tested generally better, offers ful HD video recording, and brings some very interesting speed-related tricks to the party.
To put it bluntly, the zoom difference from 20x to 26x just isn't that significant. While the Olympus performed well enough in most tasks, there are simply better choices out there for around the same price point... ”
DigitalCameraInfo's rating: |
|
- 0 |
Complete review here
LetsGoDigital 's conclusion / rating - 16 August 2009 |
“ It is in fact the super mega zoom feature of the Olympus SP-590 UZ that lets us down. It seems Olympus went just one step too far. The specifications are beautiful, 26x zoom and high resolution with many setting options, but in practice the camera does not live up to its expectations. If you expect good quality and all-round photography, you'd better look for a DSLR (for example the Olympus E-450). Although this means you will have to settle for less zoom range, or go through the trouble of taking a second lens along; when it comes to quality, it certainly would be a smarter choice!... ”
LetsGoDigital's rating: |
|
- 4 |
Complete review here
DigitalCameraReview 's conclusion / rating - 20 July 2009 |
“ The Olympus SP-590 UZ should appeal to a broad spectrum of folks for whom an ultrazoom is the instrument of choice - there's all the auto and scene shooting options any dedicated Point and Shoot user could dream of, as well as the face detection and smile detection features that make great marketing copy. But the "death before auto" crowd will find lots to like with this camera as well, beginning with the biggest zoom range in the class and adding in good image quality, color reproduction, and shutter response. AF acquisition times at the telephoto end were sometimes inconsistent even in good conditions, but this trait seems to be shared in some degree with most, if not all other members of the class.
Noise performance is average and the folks who live by the monitor on their point and shoots should plan to pack extra batteries (lots of extra batteries if they're alkalines) for all-day outings. They'll get lots of good stuff never venturing from the auto modes, but this camera does its best work when the user takes charge with the manual shooting options... ”
DigitalCameraReview's rating: |
|
- 0 |
Complete review here
DCResource 's conclusion / rating - 18 July 2009 |
“ What I liked: Photo quality, incredible zoom range, image stabilization, design/build quality, full manual controls w/bulb mode and white balance fine-tuning, fast/precise lens control, conversion lens support, good outdoor LCD visibility, wireless flash support, HDMI output, good battery life, time-lapse feature, in-camera help system, lots of playback mode extras
What I didn't like: Dull colors out of the box, LCD on the small side, no IS in movie mode (unless you turn off sound recording), redeye a problem (though you can remove it in playback mode), plastic tripod mount, reliance on xD cards, lousy manual... ”
Complete review here
DPInterface 's conclusion / rating - 26 May 2009 |
“ The Olympus SP590 Ultra Zoom is a decent super-zoom camera, but certainly not the best out there. The Olympus SP590 boasts the world’s largest zoom lens for a fixed lens camera (that’s 26X optical zoom), a 2.7 inch LCD, full manual controls and modern features (which you may or may not find useful) such as Shadow Adjustment, face detection and now, beauty mode which removes blemishes and smoothens your subjects’ skin.
The Olympus SP590 comes with a decent bundle, though you’ll have to shell out extra for rechargeable batteries. The camera can take both xD-Picture cards and micro SDs (a good thing since I don’t know many people who are fans of the proprietary and slow xD-cards). But that problem comes back again if you want to use the Olympus SP590’s movie mode to its full potential – you’ll need a Type H xD-Picture card for that; otherwise, there’ll be a 40 second per clip limit.
Speaking of movie modes, the one on the Olympus SP590 is full of limitations – the memory card type restriction if you want to record VGA 30 FPS movie clips up to 2 GB (instead of 40 seconds), the inability to use optical zoom without the sound cutting out and sensor-shift image stabilization is completely unusable when recording video.
The SP590 Ultra Zoom’s shooting functions are typical for a big zoom camera. There are full manual controls; including aperture and shutter priority and a manual mode, manual focus and custom white balance as well as automatic shooting with various scene modes. The features unique to the Olympus SP590 are bulb mode (up to 8 minutes) and wireless flash control right out of the box.
The Olympus SP590’s operation, however, proved to be less user friendly than other super zoom cameras of its class. The SP590 has a Function menu which allows for quick access to certain shooting features (such as white balance and ISO), but for everything else, you’ll have to dig into the 5 page Camera Menu. The camera also lacks a control dial of any sort (ie rear rotary wheel or front command dial), so you’ll have to resort to tedious button mashing if you want to tweak exposure.
Performance can be below average or good, depending on where you look. Focusing and shot-to-shot are the strong points of the camera while the full resolution burst mode buffer and telephoto focusing were pretty crummy. Image quality was not pleasant but still usable for prints/display if you stick to ISO 400 and below AND shoot with good light around. If you’re looking for a camera for low-light or high-speed (with high sensitivity) shooting, forget about the SP590.
Probably the number one reason to own the Olympus SP590 is to boast about your camera having ‘the world’s largest optical zoom lens’ (that’s true, by the way). But looking at the camera as a whole, it is nowhere near great and looking at noise levels and image quality, I would only recommend it if you’re going to be taking pictures in good lighting most of the time (ie wildlife), and hopefully, with still subjects. Don’t forget to check out the competition before you buy though; there are other super zoom cameras which perform better in terms of speed, image quality and, especially, in the movie department... ”
DPInterface's rating: |
|
- 0 |
Complete review here
Photoreview 's conclusion / rating - 28 April 2009 |
“ Twenty-six times optical zoom is a big ask for a compact, small-sensor digicam, even with optical image stabilisation built-in. Yet that's what Olympus is offering in its 12-megapixel SP590 UZ model. Equipped with P, A, S and M shooting modes, the SP590 UZ is designed to appeal to photographers who want an extended zoom range without the hassle of carrying extra lenses. Many compromises have been made to achieve these objectives... ”
Photoreview's rating: |
|
- 4 |
Complete review here
InfoSync 's conclusion / rating - 15 April 2009 |
“ Do you repeatedly find yourself longing for the biggest fixed lens zoom on the market, even if it means a sacrifice in image quality? Do you want a compact that’s comfortable to hold and packed with random features? Are you a beginner? If you answered yes to all of these questions, then the Olympus SP-590UZ is your winner. Its 26x optical zoom and stellar Image Stabilization make this 12-megapixel Ultra Zoom compact a fierce contender in today’s digital imaging market. But the SP-590UZ lacked the image quality and features we liked on the 24x optical zoom Nikon P90. “Hit or miss” was the SP-590UZ’s theme, and it applied to nearly every category. We’d snap a beautiful image, and then follow it up with an amateur-grade shot. The Auto focus excelled, but then the Auto White Balance turned everything red in most shooting environments. The unconventional two-tone lens barrel excited us, but the conventional 2.7-inch LCD put us to sleep. And thus, the vicious cycle repeated, a constant yin yang of pleasure and vexation throughout the entire duration of our Olympus SP-590UZ experience. If you want to zoom like nobody’s biznasty, then the SP-590UZ is at least worth a look... ”
Complete review here
Trusted Reviews 's conclusion / rating - 09 April 2009 |
“ The Olympus SP-590UZ has a lot to commend it. The price is good, and the overall design is attractive and functional, with very good handling. It performs well and it's low light performance is especially good. However that title-capturing 26x zoom lens is far too big, produces inferior image quality and cannot be used at full zoom without a tripod. Image noise issues are also a problem... ”
Trusted Reviews's rating: |
|
- 3.5 |
Complete review here
PhotographyBLOG 's conclusion / rating - 02 April 2009 |
“ The Olympus SP-590UZ literally stretches the super-zoom category to new lengths, with a competition-beating 26x zoom lens that incorporates appealingly wide 26mm and incredibly close-up and personal 676mm settings. Having both in one relatively compact camera does literally open up a whole new world of possibilities - this was the camera that I most often reached for during the last couple of weeks of testing. The ability to go from capturing wide-angle landscapes to distant details in a 4 second zoom of the lens cannot be underestimated, especially as there's little distortion to worry about at either end and excellent sharpness across its entire range. Just make sure that you provide stable support at the longer focal lengths to avoid camera shake, and you won't be disappointed.
Its operational speed and high-ISO image quality might not be a match for DSLRs, with a very slow burst mode and noise appearing at the relatively slow setting of ISO 200, but it makes up for what it lacks in these departments by offering greater flexibility in a much more compact package. You'd have to buy and carry a DSLR with at least 3 heavy lenses to achieve a similar focal range (and even then you might struggle to match it). The Olympus SP-590UZ provides full control over the photographic process, with PASM modes and lots of flash, focus and metering options making this one of the better-appointed super-zooms. Unfortunately though, Olympus have decided to drop support for the RAW format, a strange and ultimately detrimental decision, especially given that their other two super-zoom cameras both offer RAW.
So in summary, the Olympus SP-590UZ is an intuitive and well-featured compact bridge camera with a frankly amazing lens and focal range, which delivers good-looking images if taken in the right lighting conditions. It doesn't fare so well in low-light, isn't a great choice for keeping up with the action, and feels incomplete without the RAW mode. On the whole though, the Olympus SP-590UZ is a great do-it-all camera that's easy to highly recommend... ”
PhotographyBLOG's rating: |
|
- 4.5 |
Complete review here
|
|
Comments (1)
Video reviews (1)
Camera info
Digg
del.icio.us
Reddit
Google
Home
Simulator