Olympus sp-590 uz - 26-676 (26x zoom)

[ghopper]

Originally Posted by felice

I wonder why you ever purchased the SP-590.
The fixed position LCD you should have known of, since the beginning...

I wonder why you ever purchased the SP-590.
The fixed position LCD you should have known of, since the beginning...

I purchased the SP-590 because I was hoping Olympus had optimized its design -- I had used various Oly and Pana super zooms for a long time -- and wanted to get a smaller and lighter camera, and (supposedly) a more powerful zoom lens with updated and improved sensor and processing. Instead, I found their failure to incorporate a vary-angle LCD was a decision made despite the clear superiority of this arrangement -- especially for this ultra-zoom function. So I just reconfirmed my conclusion from past experience -- and my comments here were intended to pass on this insight to anyone else who might think the SP-590 is a miracle combination of the best ultra-zoom features. It's not. It's a poor set of design trade-offs intended to capitalize on the allure of a huge lens in a small package.
In fact, the more I try to use it, the worse I think it does in comparison to the other, older ultra-zooms I mentioned, mainly the Panasonic FZ-50 and FZ-28.
Although there are now reviews of the SP-590, I have seen no mention of the weird automatic default of resolution down to 5,3,2 or even 1 mpixels when you employ "fine zoom," a menu choice with an impenetrable explanation. It's, apparently, a kind of behind-the-scenes and uncontrollable image crop. Like many features in the camera, it is poorly done and gets in the way, rather than helping you take better pictures.

[gjtoth]

Originally Posted by ghopper

I purchased the SP-590 because I was hoping Olympus had optimized its design -- I had used various Oly and Pana super zooms for a long time -- and wanted to get a smaller and lighter camera, and (supposedly) a more powerful zoom lens with updated and improved sensor and processing. I expected that Oly used the fixed back LCD because it wasn't needed -- or even useful -- maybe because they had improved other things. Instead, I found their failure to incorporate a vary-angle LCD was a decision made in spite of the clear superiority of this arrangement -- especially for this ultra-zoom function. So I just reconfirmed my conclusion from past experience -- and my comments here were intended to pass on this insight to anyone else who might think the SP-590 is a new miracle combination of the best ultra-zoom features. It's not. It's a poor set of design trade-offs intended to capitalize on the allure of a huge lens in a small package.
In fact, the more I try to use it, the worse I think it does in comparison to the other, older ultra-zooms I mentioned, mainly the Panasonic FZ-50 and FZ-28.
Although there are now reviews of the SP-590, I have seen no mention of the weird automatic default of resolution down to 5,3,2 or even 1 mpixels when you employ "fine zoom," a menu choice with an impenetrable explanation. It's, apparently, a kind of behind-the-scenes and uncontrollable image crop. Like many features in the camera, it is poorly done and gets in the way, rather than helping you take better pictures.

If it's that bad, perhaps you should get a refund or sell it and get one you're not disappointed with. Good luck with that. As Eric pointed out, no camera is perfect. I have the SP590. I had the SP550 and SP570 before it. I have also had quite a number of other super-zooms including the FZ-28 and Nikon P-90. In my opinion, the SP590 IS superior to those. It performs very well provided you take the time to use it to it's capabilities and full potential. The menu system is a take-off of Canon's VERY popular menu system. Hardly mysterious. Want mysterious? Get a Nikon P-90. Want vari-angle? Get a mirror. The points you focus on are all readily available in the specs from Oly or from here or from just about any other decent photo site.

See the little white spots across the inlet?



This is what they look like at 26x -- HANDHELD.




It seems to me, you failed to do any research and made an impulse buy. Take it back for a refund.

[sioyed]

My Opinion about SP590 is positive, it is a good camera with decent pic quality and good performance, please see below samples all handheld.



The below using TCON 17