Olympus SP-510 UZ Ultra Zoom Digital Camera Announced

[Ben Stafford]

The Olympus SP-510 UZ (ultra zoom) is one of nine new cameras announced by Olympus today.  The SP-510 is an upgrade from the SP-500.  The new camera features 7 megapixels, a 10x optical zoom, and a 2.5 inch LCD.  Look for the Olympus SP-510 UZ in September for an estimated street price of $329.

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Olympus' SP line features digital cameras that are targeted at the intermediate photographer or the first time "enthusiast".  With features like manual modes, RAW capture capability, the SP cameras offer plenty of creative control.  They are also built to accept lens accessories that can be screwed onto the threaded barrel.  The UZ cameras offer the longer zoom ranges that aren't available on the other SP models.

Besides increasing the capture resolution in the SP-510, Olympus has also improved the auto focus speed (30% faster) and improved battery performance to over 500 shots.

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Olympus SP-510 UZ features

• 7 megapixels
• 10x optical zoom
• 2.5 inch LCD
• full manual and automatic shooting modes
• optical viewfinder
• Digital image stabilization
• Sensitivity up to ISO1600
• ED lens elements
• TruePic TURBO image processor
• RAW and JPEG formats

 

[m@tt]

Wow, was anyone expecting another update to the UZ line this soon after the (oh so disappointing) SP-500?

Looks pretty good at this stage.

I'm a highly satisfied C770UZ user, ready to upgrade as soon as something takes my fancy at a low enough price - this might just be the camera to do it! We've waited a long time for image stabilisation on an Oly UZ, hopefully it will deliver the goods. I'll also be waiting to hear whether it is available in black (and is that casing metal, or painted plastic?) and whether the viewfinder is up to scratch (the SP-500 was by all accounts a huge step back from the C-770's excellent digital viewfinder). I use this almost exclusively over the main LCD to save power and stabilise the camera. And because you look like a tool when framing a shot using the LCD!!!

Judging by the form factor - and Oly's recent form - I'm guessing this uses 4x AA batteries rather than the proprietary li-ion - not too sure how I feel about that. I guess that big handgrip has to be filled with something...

And of course it would be great if Oly would put a slot for anything other than xD in their prosumer cameras, but I guess that's their strategy - use proprietary accessories to lock consumers into their brand... There's always their CompactFlash-equipped DSLRs I guess

Oh, and have Oly addressed the appallingly slow startup and auto focus times of the C770? I really hope so...

Looking forward to hearing more det's and a release date (and price) for Australia!

[Ben Stafford]

The only thing about the image stabilization is that it's "digital image stabilization", so it's not a lens-shift or CCD-shift mechanism. It probably uses a combination of higher sensitivity (ISO) and maybe some electronic correction.

I assume that the case is plastic and it does use AA batteries. Olympus claims that it can get 630 shots on alkaline batteries (CIPA standard).

I'm with you on the xD - it's pretty annoying.

Here's the full US press release: http://www.olympusamerica.com/oai_He...sp?pressNo=476

I don't see any info yet on Olympus' Australia site.