Olympus SP-590UZ

Review Index – (updated 08 October’09)

DigitalCameraReview (As compared to the Nikon P90)
“Is it unbridled zoom power you’re after? The 26x Olympus SP-590 UZ might be the camera for you. Do you attach more importance to the look, feel, and user experience of your camera? Take another look at the Nikon Coolpix P90. Bottom line – there are no losers here.”

Cameras.uk
“If it is plenty of zoom you are after you will struggle to find more than the 26x zoom on offer here. The camera does a good all round job and achieves what it sets out to do. It has a set of manual exposure controls and a wide angle lens.”
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Steve’s Digicams
“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.”

DigitalCameraInfo
“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.”

CNET Asia
“We debated on the rating of the SP-590UZ’s photo quality. It’s not bad, and if you’re not picky, you’ll probably be very happy with the photos. However, even at low sensitivities (ISO 64 and ISO 100) our photos displayed visible noise, a lack of sharpness and had that painterly artifact quality usually associated with higher ISO images, which makes prints look soft.”
Rating:  

LetsGoDigital
“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.”

CNET
“Ultimately, the Olympus SP-590 UZ ranks as a functional but not particularly notable megazoom. While none of the current models have a 26x zoom lens, as with many megazooms the EVF makes it impractical to shoot the things most people want the long lens for–kids’ sports, for example. So you might as well go with an alternative: save money with a cheaper camera or got for a more expensive camera and get better image quality and performance.”
Rating:  

DigitalCameraReview
“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.”

DCResource (As compared to the Kodak EasyShare Z980, Nikon P90, Pentax X70)
“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.”

PCWorld Australia
“The camera’s zoom is quiet but it was slightly slow. Operation is on par with other advanced compact cameras we’ve tested, with shots taken quickly and an impressive 10 frames per second in the continuous shot mode in our testing. Interestingly, we did notice a faint but constant rhythmic ticking sound while the Olympus SP-590UZ was on — thankfully the camera didn’t explode. “
Rating:  

DPInterface
“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.”

PhotoReview
“Buy this camera if: You’re looking for an ultra-zoom digicam with good wide-angle coverage, plenty of adjustable controls and image stabilisation – You want manual flash adjustment plus a good range of flash settings, along with the ability to work with multi-flash set-ups. – You’d enjoy taking very close ‘macro’ shots.”
Rating:  

Photoxels
“The Olympus SP-590UZ has most everything a beginner or serious amateur photographer needs ( only RAW file format and hot shoe are missing). Consider: super macro at 1 cm, satisfying wide-angle at 26mm, incredible tele reach at 676mm, full exposure flexibility with PASM, sensor-shift image stabilization, fast and precise AF in good and low lighting, a much improved menu system, and, more importantly, all of this packaged together so they work as a complete whole.”

InfoSync
“This is the “Hit or Miss” poster camera. The Olympus SP-590UZ would crank out a beautiful image in one shooting environment and then an exceedingly sub par image in the next. At close range, the SP-590UZ was great, but landscapes were bland and most colors lacked electricity.”
Rating:  

CNET UK
“Superzooms are tricky to recommend. Real photography enthusiasts will find they do a great deal but only tolerably well. The Olympus SP-590 UZ, however, is one of the best of the bunch and comes at a price that makes it well worth a punt.”
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Trusted Reviews
“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.”
Rating:  

PhotographyBlog
“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.”
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DigitalCameraReview (Hands-on Preview)
“Like most continuation models, there’s a lot that is, to put the matter bluntly, unremarkable about the 590. We haven’t even made it around to the camera’s electronic viewfinder and its 2.7 inch HyperCrystal II LCD, for instance, as neither is especially noteworthy or memorable.”