Olympus SP-500 UZ
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"Olympus Scores Again" on by ozgard
Pros: 10X Optical Zoom. Lighter and more compact design. AA Batteries. xD Card.
Cons: You need a steady hand. Little stabilization.
Summary: I have had two of the Olympus Ultra Zoom Camera's, C750UZ and C765UZ, and they both pale in comparison to the newest in the line. Olympus has very little competition in the industry when it comes to the "Mega-Zoom" point and shoot digital camera's. The SP-500 is another winner all around. From beginner to expert this camera offers a bundle of features that can make picture taking not only easy but enjoyable. That the SP-500 uses "AA" batteries is definetly a plus. If you've ever had to scramble to recharge a lithium pack you know what I'm talking about. Olympus needs to do something about stabilization but it only affects the pictures that are taken with zoom almost fully extended. It also can use the newer 1GB xD cards that can store a lot of pictures. For the price, find a better camera, I dare you.
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"Nice camera but needs stabilization for zoom." on by j76ms
Pros: Build quality is nice. Four AA batteries last for a good amount of use. Pictures come out very clear and look great when using mini tri-pod!
Cons: The only problem I have with this camera is that it needs image stabilization while using the zoom.
Summary: I would have given this camera a 10 if it had stabilization. I love everything else about it! It takes excellent pictures as long as you do not use more than 3/4 of the optical zoom. Even the software that it comes with works well. I have no problem at all with the batteries lasting for a long time. I am not sure what "normal" is, but I have had the camera for a week and have taken 120 pictures with it along with other things and they are still not used up yet. I also like the size of this camera compared to others in this catagory. I recommend using at least a 512MB memory card. I do not recommend this camera to anyone that does not have a very steady hand! It is very difficult to get a clear image when using maximum optical zoom and definitlety digital zoom!
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"You're a smart shopper right? read this review..." on by onecubicmile
Pros: complete details in review
Cons: complete details in review
Summary: So, you’re a smart shopper right? If you are considering buying an SP-500uz you will need to read this entire review. I have spent four months getting to know the ups and downs of this offering from Olympus, so sit back and let my experiences with this camera help you make your final decision to buy or pass…
First up, my past digital camera history...
This is my 4th digital camera. Previously I have owned/used the following models.
-Olympus c740
-Panasonic PV-GS200 (mini dv w/2.3 mp digicam)
-Nikon coolpix 8800
I used the c740 for more than 2 years with an average of 150 to 500 or more images per month. It was my first digital camera. I bought it on the advice of a fellow 35mm user who had done much research; actually it was his camera originally so it was already battle tested when I got it. For a 3.2mp I got amazing shots full of vivid color and crisp detail. This was the standard for me to follow
Later I decided to upgrade to a camera with more resolution because I was taking an extended trip and was expecting to shoot more than 6000 images in a 6 month period. I first looked at the c765 and the c770 these cameras were nice and a bit quicker at image processing but they did not have the resolution I was looking for, only 4.0mp, not much of a change from 3.2mp. Also I did not want the added expense of buying extra proprietary lithium batteries because of the considerable investment I had already made in NM-HI AA's
I will never buy a Sony product as long as I live so the 828 was out of the question despite its apparent reputation. I only had a week to buy the camera before leaving so I didn't have the amount of time to do online research as I would normally do (3 to 4 weeks). The SP-500uz was being promoted on Olympus’s website but was not available at the time so... I made a fundamental mistake; I bought an expensive camera without doing my homework on the advice of a salesman (I was in a hurry). This was a painful lesson in consumer awareness. I bought a Nikon 8800 (8mp w/10x optical zoom). This camera produced images that were absolutely horrible when compared to my c740. I ended up shooting over 8000 shots in 8 months. Out of all 8000 shots I was happy with maybe 2 or 3!!! Yes folks, it was that bad. This camera has a very poor contrast ratio, lousy color rendering and a lens from hell. But in the 8800's defense it did have a few useful features that are not on the Olympus SP-500uz namely the image stabilizing, high resolution viewfinder and flip out LCD screen. I do miss those features.
Now, let’s take a good look at the SP-500uz....
-The Lens
The SP-500uz uses the same ED lens assembly found on the Olympus Ultra Zoom series (c740, c750, c765 & c770). This is a very well engineered optical system. it's 6.3mm to 63mm (equal to 38mm-380mm for a 35mm) Very sharp with virtually no chromatic aberration (the Nikon 8800 had a shocking amount of this type of distortion). The lens is by far the most important part of any camera and Olympus has a real winner, 10x zoom with f2.8 at its widest and a fast f3.7 at full zoom. The lack of an image stabilizing system might be a drawback for some, but only for certain situations… I.E. full zoom when it's dim and cloudy or if you like to shoot at a lower ISO in order to reduce noise. If it looks like sun, a monopod will do, if it's going to rain, pack a tripod instead. The fastest shutter speed is only 1/1000, another disadvantage for long lens shots. The different macro modes are amazing at yielding crisp and very detailed images of things like bugs, flowers, coins etc... I love macro shots and this is one of the main reasons why I choose to use the SP-500uz. Like with all digital cameras manufactures these days, Olympus has opted to offer the useless "digital zoom" feature. Eventually consumers will smarten up to this cheap marketing tactic. I guess it somehow sells cameras so we are stuck with it for a while.
-The CCD sensor
At first this camera goofed up 2 or 3 shots while writing to the XD card. I suspect the CCD was the cause because of the nature the problem (missing lines near the bottom of the frame). This has only happen 3 times since I have had the camera (4 months w/3500+ images). I have not had this happen since the first month so I am not sure what the problem was, since then the camera has been fine. It may be a firmware issue. Something to think about if you are a perfectionist for flawless image capture. Other than this anomaly, the CCD has preformed very well, I.E. no dropped pixels other than mentioned above.
-LCD and Viewfinder
The LCD on the SP-500uz is a vast improvement from the c740. It's much larger and protected with a smooth plastic cover that is integrated into the camera body, very easy to clean with your shirt sleeve. Solarizing is what you would expect for any camera (I really miss the flip out LCD in the 8800). It’s also bright for most situations but the high gloss finish on the screen protector reflects too much incident light, this makes reviewing the pictures in the field difficult when it's sunny. The viewfinder is okay but does not hold a candle to the 8800's very hi resolution viewfinder. One thing I don't like about the SP-500uz viewfinder is that every time you try to access the main menu it switches from the VF to the LCD, you can't over-ride this very annoying function. The VF has enough resolution to be able to flip around the menus but I guess Olympus didn't think so. You cannot focus the VF to suit your eyesight like on the c740, I wear glasses so this feature is missed on the SP-500uz.
-Flash
The flash on the SP-500uz is handy but requires an observant operator to decide when it should be used, this flash does not pop-up automatically. Personally, I hate flash photography so this doesn’t bother me. The flash does have some nice functionality. The SP-500uz does not have a hot shoe like the c770. You are pretty much stuck using the internal flash but for a little flash it's got a good range. It has the usual red eye reduction and auto settings. It's pretty good at filling in shadows on sunny days (less then 15 ft) you can set the flash compensation in the main menu over a range of -2.0 to +2.0. Using the -2.0 setting is excellent for achieving a very high flash speeds at close range for ultra high speed imaging (the flash burst is quicker than 1/10000 sec). I have captured extremely sharp and detailed images of water drops like this. You can also arrange the flash as a slave trigger with adjustable levels for those who have external flash equipment. If you use the CL4- tube adapter you will have a problem with flash shadowing, using the WCON 0.7x lens makes the flash almost unusable. These attachments block the flash from 1/6 to almost 1/2 the frame. If you want to use these items and the flash together you will have to bounce the flash using a small piece of paper tucked into the flash assembly, boosting the flash level to +2.0 will also help when doing this. All in all, the flash has some limitations but is functional for 90% of situations requiring flash.
-Batteries
Hooray for AA!!! I love rechargeable batteries. I have 4 sets from using my c740 so I didn't have to buy a whole wack of expensive proprietary lithium batteries. Like the c740, the SP-500uz also uses four AA's. I have been using 2100 mAh for the most part. I love Olympus's decision to go back to AA's, they are quick and easy to change if your batteries go dead, and you just have to buy a 4 pack of alkalines in any store for emergencies (alkalines go dead MUCH faster then NI-HM's). I like to shoot with the view finder and no flash so I always get good battery range. I have shot 200 to 400 images on one charge while using the zoom more than 50% of the time, it's pretty good. The "auto-off" feature will help forgetful types in preserving power but you cannot bypass it. So far so good right? Now it’s time for the bad news. The flash, once you start using a LOT of flash you will see the limits of AA's. I recommend that you buy at least 8 hi capacity NI-HM AA batteries (2100 mAh to 2500 mAh). This should be plenty for the casual user, avid flashers should travel with 16 (four complete sets). Most of you will find these amounts to be way more then necessary but to me, nothing sucks more then running out of juice before running out of memory! Another thing I don't like is the battery door. It feels very cheap and flimsy. A careless user could easily break this piece so beware.
-XD Card system
I like XD cards despite there high price. There small and light so having 4 or 5 is not bulky in a camera bag. The SP-500uz has a pretty good write time for a 6MP camera. It's not lightning fast but it's pretty good, faster than the c740 and on par with the 8800. I like to shoot full resolution in the SHQ JPG mode (highest before using RAW) and the recycle time is adequate for most situations. I use 512MB cards so with this image size I get roughly 140 shots till the card is full. RAW shooters will get 57 images on a 512MB card. Unlikethe c740; The SP-500uz does not have a TIFF format, a huge oversight by Olympus in my opinion. The drawback of the XD card is that they have not made one bigger than 1GB, considering the price of XD cards I would expect more value at this point since the system has been out for a few years now. The camera also has a 10MB internal memory, a nice little feature considering most manufactures overlook this in favor of lowering costs. You won't get too many hi resolution images with this but it's there in a pinch if you need to get that last shot.
-Focus and shutter
Many of you reading this article will have skipped down to this part so I will start by saying that I am a "pre focus" shooter. That is to say I never just "hit the shutter and pray that the camera will know what to do". I always pre focus and pre meter my shots. Even the best digital camera will NEVER beat my old 35mm Nikon F for split second shutter timing. Lets face it folks, the mechanics of capturing images with a digital camera are totally different from a well built manual film camera. You have to adapt your shooting style to your particular camera model and its strong points. That being said, when compared to the focusing disaster of the Nikon 8800 I was relived to see that the SP-500uz has the same "contrast-detection" focusing system as the c740. The focusing system will require a certain amount of contrast in order to focus properly. There are 3 different auto focusing modes. iESP, SPOT and AREA. iESP is Olympus's system of automatically predicting the most likely area of focus within the viewfinder image. I don't use this setting and have found it annoying because for some reason the camera defaults to this as the preferred focus method when I turn the camera on and off, very annoying! At all focal lengths the SP-500uz has no trouble pre-focusing in very low light levels, even without the use of the orange focus-assist LED (For "candid shooters" like myself you can thankfully bypass this feature). In a nutshell, when pre-focusing images, the camera has preformed very well. On the occasion that I have "shot from the hip" I have found the SP-500uz to be very typical of all digital cameras, press the shutter button and focus lag forces you to wait 1 to 3 seconds until capture. For me, this just isn't an acceptable method for getting high quality images. This is why I I have adjusted my shooting style. If you’re taking pictures of quick moving kids, animals etc... Hold down the shutter halfway to focus and meter and wait for the action to happen. That's what you have to do to capture well timed shots with this camera. This is true even of the best professional digital or 35mm camera systems on the market. The technology is only as good as the input from the user! The manual focus system is useful but again, like most digital cameras, it’s clunky when compared to a manual focus ring. I use the manual focus setting all the time and I have gotten used to its shortcomings. When compared to the Nikon 8800's completely useless manual focus setting, the SP-500uz is just fine. What about the shutter system? Well, you had better have a steady hand. I was disappointed to learn that the fastest shutter speed is only 1/1000 sec. This is too slow considering the power of the lens. No image stabilizing system makes motion blur a problem at any shutter speed bellow 1/1000 sec when using full zoom. A 1/2000 sec shutter speed would have solved this problem. In manual mode you can get shutter times up to 15 seconds long. In shutter priority or aperture priority modes you can only get up to 4 seconds long. In manual mode you can also use the "BULB" setting to get shots as long as 10 minutes. I have found the "BULB" setting to be useless because it forces you to keep your finger on the shutter button the entire time and even when using a tripod your hand still shakes the camera enough to cause image blurring. I think a "T" setting would have been much better than a "BULB" setting. I was amazed that Olympus overlooked this. Again, maybe a firmware update could correct this blunder.
-Camera body and button arrangement
Don't plan to put this camera in you pocket! You will need a good sized camera bag to fit the camera and all its attachments. Even so, it is still much lighter and smaller than a complete 35mm system. How about the body? I wouldn't want to see how this camera would look after a 5 foot fall onto solid concrete! I’m not sure, but I think the SP-500uz chassis is made from some type of Delrine. Despite that, It feels very light and fragile in my hand after handling the 8800's very solid magnesium body. I use auxiliary lenses frequently and I have developed a problem with an aluminum ring on the front of the camera where you attach the auxiliary lens tube adapter (in photos of the SP-500uz this is the part where you can read the lens specifications). This ring is attached using only one micro screw and a bit of glue. Like the battery door, it’s also very flimsy. Correcting this defect is not difficult. I got some loc-tite and glued the ring back into place and now it is much stronger than before. I would anticipate many SP-500uz owners having this problem if they plan to use the WCON 0.7x lens. Despite the fragile feel of an all plastic camera I love the button arrangement on the SP-500uz. Everything feels comfortable and well placed. The thumbwheel, zoom and shutter are all well located and the custom programmable button is a "must have" feature for me. I always leave the CL4-A lens tube adapter attached the camera body in order to protect the lens from bumps (The Nikon 8800's lens was very susceptible to this type of damage). Your fingers might get in the way of the focus-assist LED and the microphone if you’re not paying attention. The zoom lever does not feel very solid and I suspect that it might be an issue down the road sometime, for such an important part I expect a better design. The flash pop-up button is in the right place and a display will indicate when you need to use it. I like to "buffer the flash" when it pops by just holding my finger lightly on top. Like the 8800, the flash jumps up with some energy and since its plastic, I try to protect the fragile parts of the release mechanism. The tripod mount could have been put in a place more near the middle of the camera. The camera will sit flat on a table unless you’re using the WCON 0.7x lens. Once this lens is attached the camera will feel very unbalanced. If you’re not shooting handheld; trying to frame shots without the aid of a tripod will be a frustrating experience. One thing I miss is not having the "self-portrait" setting on the thumbwheel like on the c740, a small thing but I hate menu flipping. My tripod plate sticks out at an odd angle because of this. Bottom line, the body is ergonomically well put together and the all plastic design is what you would expect for a $300 camera.
-Connections
This camera claims to have USB 2.0 and that may be so, but transferring images from the camera to the computer is painfully SLOW. 6 to 10 minutes for a 512MB card. Maybe there is something wrong with my computer? I find this to be very inconvenient when you have 5 cards and it takes 30 to 50 minutes to transfer all your data. Maybe it's just me. I don't know but my c740 with USB 1.0 transferred faster than this camera! Another disappointment with the USB is Olympus's decision to combine the USB and AV port into a single proprietary jack. The AV preview function has some nice features but I don't have a need for it. I would have preferred a standard mini USB cable and separate AV jack like on the c740. Sadly this seems to be an industry trend in order to save space and aid in miniaturization. In my opinion, this is a nuisance. The USB jack feels fragile like many other things on this camera. The 6.5v adapter is the same one used for the c740. They are cheap and widely available.
-Regular features
The SP-500uz has many useful and standard features like previous models. The startup time is good and on par with other cameras in this price range. For the first time user Olympus has put together a comprehensive list of over 20 presets for you to use in differing situations. The auto functions will do most of the work for the novice user but manual intervention is a must for the flash. You will be able to grow with this camera as your understanding of photography improves. Noise reduction works well and is improved from the c740. Manual, aperture or shutter priorities are all there for more advanced users. There are a few different drive settings for sports photography but most of then are only useful at low resolutions. If this is your principal shooting style, I would not recommend this camera, you’ll have to step it up and buy something a bit more professional. Speaking of advanced users, knob twirling control freaks will be right at home with the SP-500uz, you can dial in many settings and customize this camera to match your layout style. I like how Olympus has made it easy to customize the SP-500uz to just the way I like, it's a breeze in the field and you can save up to 4 different layouts for multiple users or shooting styles. The image/video playback is easy to navigate and has some nice touches like cross fading and wipes. Displaying through the AV jack on a standard television is straight forward (NTSC or PAL). A sales person might find this useful on the road for presentations and a regular user could have a nice slide show on the spot at the family party by just hooking it up to the tube. Over all, lots of standard features, too many to detail, it's not light in this department; it's well loaded and very flexible for customizing.
-Special features
There are few special features on the SP-500uz. I think Olympus decided to focus on more important features this time around. The time lapse feature is okay but quite limited. It does not have the functionality the 8800 which was much better in this respect. Gone are the B&W, sepia, black board and white board features (Photoshop has these). The video feature is better than it used to be but still the resolution is too low. 320x240 is okay for the web but don't expect to make CNN with the video from this camera. The video is a novelty anyway. If you want good video, buy a video camera and leave your digital camera at home. If you like, you can also record 4 second audio clips in after each shot. This feature could be very useful for many practical applications (appraisers, repair technicians, production mangers, art directors, insurance adjusters, detectives, etc...). Interestingly, the SP-500uz has usable "near-infrared" sensitivity and with a 720nm filter (widely available on Ebay for less then $50) you can capture some creative and original images. Lots of fun for the advanced "Photoshopper"
-Ruggedness
Well, the plastic body is exactly that, plastic. It scratches and would probably crack if you dropped it on a sidewalk from 5 feet, but Delrine is pretty tough and I have put my camera through a lot already. From frozen Canadian winter snow and freezing rain to Caribbean heat, humidity and sand the SP-500uz has seen it all in the last 4 months and hasn't even blinked. I let this camera get pretty wet more than once and nothing came of it (keep in mind that the lens was always well covered with the CL4-A tube adapter) The body has some light scratches from me tossing it into my camera bag without proper placement, something I do ALL the time. The LCD screen is well protected. Other than the adapter ring mentioned above, there have been no other physical malfunctions to date and I am very hard on equipment. Remember that the battery door must be babied. I do have some concern for the zoom knob over the life span of this model. My old c740 shutter button started to act up after 2 years of constant use. I hope this camera does not suffer from the same fate.
-Add on accessories
Olympus makes a few extras for this camera and I would consider most of them essential for anyone looking to use the SP-500uz as an all-in-one camera system. First up is the CL4-A tube adapter. This adapter is a proprietary 46.5mm to 55mm adapter tube that is essential if you want to use filters or extra lenses with the SP-500uz. The WCON 0.7x wide angle lens is great for interior photography but don't try to zoom with it, it's not designed for that and doing so will add considerable distortion to your images in the form of purple fringing (chromatic aberration). Next is the TCON-17 1.7x teleconverter lens, I plan on buying one of these in the next week or so but since the 10x Ultra Zoom is already pretty powerful I don't think most users will need it. Also, the lack of a very high shutter speed will make use of this item somewhat limited. With the CL4-A tube adapter you will be able to use 55mm filters. However, since the lens itself is quite narrow, with an appropriate 55mm to 49mm step-down adapter ring you can get away with using 49mm filters (even at full wide angle). This is very convenient since I already have a large and complete collection of this size of filter. 49mm filters are quite common and always very affordable on Ebay, Amazon, B&H's used department or KEH.com. Go out and get a good camera bag for the SP-500uz, you will need it.
-Who should buy and who should avoid
Who would benefit most from this camera? People that want something powerful, light, flexible and yields high quality images with room to expand and grow affordably (I.E. photography students, hobbyists looking to deepen their knowledge of photography without breaking the bank) Who should avoid this camera? Sports photographers that don't have patience to work within the SP-500uz's limits, the zoom will bring the action to you but you have to seriously adjust you shooting style and sharpen your intuition for anticipating action. Also people who only use their camera at family gatherings or like to take 640x480 snap shots should avoid this camera, get something cheaper, you won't appreciate the quality or features the SP-500uz provides and your money would be better spent elsewhere. Careless individuals will want to avoid this model as because of its inherent frailty. No hot shoe might make people in journalism think twice about the SP-500uz.
-Final words
After a painfully long wait enduring the Nikon 8800's many, many flaws, I finally sold my 8800 in order to buy a gray market SP-500uz from Ebay. Even B&H didn't have a SP-500uz available when I bought this one. I was eager! It's turned out to be a very good purchase. Overall? I like the SP-500uz for the same reasons I liked the c740, superb image quality, powerful zoom, an all-in-one style that's light and highly portable, a camera system that is very affordable from the main unit down to the last accessory. The SP-500uz has faults that would annoy some photographers (low top shutter speed) but it has more pluses than minuses. So take an SP-500uz, add the extra Olympus lenses, some Ebay filters and accessories, and you will have a complete and powerful digital imaging system for somewhere around $700 bucks that will easily fit into a mid-sized camcorder bag and weigh less around 5 lbs. A simple tripod would make the outfit complete. In my experience, nothing is a 10-on-10 so I give the SP-500uz a 7-on-10 mostly for its excellent image quality. Olympus can earn those last few points by improving some small things on the next model; in particular, the low top shutter speed and getting the USB data transfer up to 2.0 speeds and once again offering a TIFF format. It's a good camera and very afforable. I am very pleased with my SP-500uz. Happy shooting everyone!
L.C.Updated
PROS
- very high quality, sharp images with vivid & acurate color
- 10x optical zoom brings the action close enough to "fill the frame"
- uses AA batteries!
- light weight & portable design
- affordablly priced camera and accessories
- lots of user presets for beginners or hobbyists looking to expand
understanding of photography
- customizable layouts and feature packed for the avid prosumer
- strong macro abilities
- excellent value for the money
CONS
- low top shutter speed @ 1/1000 sec
- very slow image transfer via USB
- overall fragile/plastic feel
- no hot shoe / limited flash capabilty
- XD cards too expensive compared to CF or SD
- propritary AV/USB jack & cables (costly to replace)
- Quicktime video could use improvment
- no TIFF format
- has non-bypassable quirksUpdated
PROS
- very high quality, sharp images with vivid & acurate color
- 10x optical zoom brings the action close enough to "fill the frame"
- uses AA batteries!
- light weight & portable design
- affordablly priced camera and accessories
- lots of user presets for beginners or hobbyists looking to expand
- customizable layouts and feature packed for the avid prosumer
- strong macro abilities
- excellent value for the money
CONS
- low top shutter speed @ 1/1000 sec
- very slow image transfer via USB
- overall fragile/plastic feel
- no hot shoe / limited flash capabilty
- XD cards too expensive compared to CF or SD
- propritary AV/USB jack & cables (costly to replace)
- Quicktime video could use improvment
- no TIFF format
- has non-bypassable quirks -
"Quality Camera for its price range" on by nascarlurg
Pros: easy to use, plenty of bells and whistles
Cons: No stabilization
Summary: When you first take this camera out of the box, you are easily impressed with the little extras that Olympus has put into this unit. From the little splash tada start up sound, to the little shutter sound when snapping a picture. Now none of these little things enhance the photo's mind you, but Olympus delivers on that side easily, with its seamless Optical 10x zoom and nice 2.5 inch LCD screen.
The Optics are very good for a camera in its price range and a 6 megapixel is also above average these days. Anyone who buys a camera for digital zoom is either not serious about their photos or they don't know what they are doing. Digital zoom is garbage and should not be used in the first place. Your computer software can blow up any photo you take later if you like and by not using digital zoom, you don't lock yourself into photo quality loss while zooming. That's why the 10x optical is plenty of crystal clear zoom, using optics rather than enlarging the photo with digital.
The cameras takes AA size power cells (4) which is a plus considering the expense of Lithium cells or weak internal charging cells. One should always invest in some Ni-MH rechargeable, which last a lot longer in cameras that eat power than throw away alkaline. However in a pinch, its always nice to be able to drop in normal AA size if you need too.
The LCD screen to me was fine, I had no problem with its quality...maybe some need better glasses. All the controls are easy and the wheel mode selector was real nice rather that hitting tiny menu buttons over and over again.
The only draw back was no stabilization and without a tripod (outdoors especially) 10x zoom without it you really need to hold your breath. But unless you are going to be zooming that much constantly and are a wildlife photographer, you really don't need to worry about it much.
So for a real feel of a professional digital camera at a great price, this model delivers with all its easy to use controls. The included software, Olympus Master is a very nice software tool for your computer as well.
Don't be afraid to buy this model, you wont be disappointed -
"A solid camera and good value" on by Lucky2000
Pros: Qaulity pictures, right size, AA batteries
Cons: Lack of stablization feature, manual flash pop-up
Summary: I buy Olympus because its picture quality, especially for the showing of details and the sophistication that most of other similar cameras do not provide. SP-500 UZ lives up to that expectation. It seems that batteries can last longer than my old C-3000. I took some shots with a tripod in a gym with the “indoor scene”. The pictures came out surprisingly well. The long zoom, when fully extended, may present an issue when shooting indoors without a tripod.
I don't think this a dummy point and shoot camera. But if you like taking pictures and can spend some time leaning its features, SP-500 UZ is best you can get at this price range.
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