Product Description

Far and wide, the world's most powerful ultra zoom. Capture the moment, and capture the action, with the world's most powerful ultra zoom - the 7.1 megapixel SP-550 UZ. Its new 18x wide-angle super-telephoto zoom lens gets you closer to your subject than any other compact digital camera on the market. Dual Image Stabilization eliminates blur. And with high-speed sequential shooting and new Pre-Capture technology, you'll capture anything that moves. Even shoot in low light without a flash, thanks to Bright Capture Technology, and it's easy to preview, shoot and share with the large 2.5" high-resolution LCD.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9015 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Olympus
• Model: 225885
• Released on: 2007-03-01
• Dimensions: 3.10" h x 5.00" w x 3.10" l, .75 pounds
• Display size: 2.5

Manufacturer Description
Featuring the world’s most powerful zoom lens (f/2.8-4.5, 28-504mm equivalent), the SP-550UZ offers maximum shooting versatility for travel, sports and everyday use. The 18x super telephoto zoom gets you closer to the action than any compact digital camera on the market, and at the same time, the wide-angle lens gets more into your frame -- perfect for shooting indoors, landscapes and group shots. The result is 100x total seamless zoom.

Stylus 550UZ Highlights

7.1 megapixels The SP-550UZ’s high-resolution CCD delivers superior image quality for larger prints without sacrificing detail.

Dual image stabilization The 2-in-1 anti-blur solution. Sensor- Shift image stabilization keeps your shot steady by compensating for camera shake (ideal for shooting in low light and zooming in on your subject), and digital image stabilization freezes the action with high ISO sensitivity and faster shutter speeds. These 2 anti-blur technologies combine so you can capture crisp, clear images in any situation.

15fps high-speed sequential shooting Shoot fast-action sequences like a pro! At the click of a button, you can take several shots in rapid succession to capture every moment of the action. With a burst rate of up to 15fps, you can freeze moments in time to get the shot you want.

Pre-Capture Pre-Capture begins working as soon as the focus is locked, automatically archiving five frames in the camera’s buffer memory prior to the shutter release, so you’re sure to capture the perfect shot even if your reaction time is slow.

ISO 5000 The SP-550UZ offers the highest sensitivity of any ultra zoom (up to ISO 5000) for superior low light and fast-action photography. Combine with shutter speeds of up to 1/2000 seconds to capture fast-action photos, like sports and pets, with ease.

2.5-inch high-resolution LCD The large, bright LCD (230,000 pixels) provides easy shooting and sharing of your images with friends and family.

Bright Capture technology Keep it bright even in low light! When shooting or recording in low light, Bright Capture allows you to clearly preview your shot on the LCD and capture brighter, more vivid images -- without a flash.

Full manual exposure control Provides creative control for advanced users, yet it’s easy enough for any family member to pointand- shoot beautiful images.

30 shooting modes including movie with sound Getting the best shot has never been easier. Preset shooting modes optimize the camera’s settings for any shooting situation to ensure you capture a great shot. Select Scene modes such as Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Beach and Snow, Underwater and more. Records TV-quality AVI movies with sound (640 x 480 resolution at 30fps), up to the capacity of your xD card.

Customer Reviews

Great camera
I have really enjoyed this camera. It seems to offer a few things that I can't seem to understand how to access. It's relatively easy to use in the automatic mode. It takes good pictures, even from far away. It offers several different picture modes. I used the glass mode and took pictures of an aquarium. The pics were so clear it looked like I was in the water with the fish!

You control how you shoot.
If you are looking for a point and shoot camera keep looking. If you want more control with how you shoot. This camera will do everything you need and more. My first suggestion, take enough time before going on vacation to learn all the options that are on the camera. I got this one because I do a lot of bird and nature shooting, 'Very good optical zoom'. Turning off the sound is nice when I need quite. Cropping photos in the view finder. Being able to adjust my depth of field. Or the shutter speed I want. Focus on what I want. Every option worked right out of the box. You've notice that I tell the camera what I want to do. So if I have a bad shot I know who to blame. Mine was refurbished. Only down side was the manual looked like a copy of a copy, pictures and symbols where very hard to understand(One star off for that.) Equipment wise, five stars. I feel you get a good bang for the bucks. No regrets, I'll buy another if I wear this one out.

Battery Hog
This model is my third Olympus. My old ones have superior battery life but not this one. It's batteries need a recharge after 35 images, max, although I don't use the large viewer and turn off the anti-shake. Then I have to charge them 2 or 3 times to get them to work. I was using Sony and Energizer 2500Mah with poor results, so The company accepted it back as flawed. The replacement is the same. I then ordered the Olympus charger and batteries recommended for this camera, and they are no better. What's funny is, my daughters Canon Supershot (same Mpix, anti-shake, large videos) worked fine on my "spent" batteries.

A lot of "noise" is evident in images taken in low light. The high ISO which is supposed to help in low light, actually makes it worse.

All my Olympus cameras are well made and easy to use, though the internal battery died in one after 3 years, so I have to redo my settings every time I change the battery. There are better cameras out there. I wish I'd gotten something else.