Olympus SP-820UZ Digital Camera Review

Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification


Olympus have produced a number of super-zoom cameras, with this new SP-820UZ a replacement for the SP-810UZ, now with 40x optical zoom instead of 36x as found on the previous model. These super-zoom cameras tend to be great for those on a budget, but this new model carries an RRP of £279.00. The price is bound to fall on release, but will still be comfortably above the £200 mark. Let's take a look to see what Olympus have done to justify the extra money.

Olympus SP-820UZ Features

The SP-820UZ has a 14 megapixel CMOS sensor with iHS Technology, designed to help you get fast reaction times, radiant colours, plus beautifully sharp images of fast-moving subjects and low-light, backlit scenes. The 40x optical zoom lens is a 35mm equivalent of 22.4-896mm, great for shooting landscapes or zooming in to distant objects, with dual image stabilisation to help keep images as sharp as possible.

To make picture taking as easy as possible there is iAuto mode as well as a range of scene modes, 12 magic filters, panoramas, beauty mode, hand-held starlight, super macro and 4 continuous shooting modes.

Movies are recorded in full 1080p HD, with multi-motion image stabilisation and HDMI control. You can use the optical zoom during video recording as well. When taking pictures the camera can record a short movie clip from 7 seconds before your picture to 3 seconds after.

Key Features

• 14 megapixel CMOS sensor
• 40x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv: 22.4-896mm)
• Dual Image Stabilisation
• 3 inch, 460k dot, LCD screen
• 12 magic filters
• Full 1080p HD video recording
• ISO 80-6400
• 1cm minimum focusing distance
• Smart Panorama
• 3 fps continuous shooting at full resolution

Olympus SP-820UZ Handling

The SP-820UZ is mostly made of plastic and has a very compact, light body considering the amount of zoom on offer, making it easy to carry around in a small camera bag, or even a large coat pocket. The flash doesn't rise automatically, you need to flip it up by hand when required. Olympus have made the camera really easy to grip, with a rubber grip for your right hand and a grooved area around the lens barrel for your left hand. It's worth noting that you have to manually lock the battery cover in place, this got forgotten once of twice during testing which lead to the batteries falling on the floor.

The camera doesn't have many buttons, with most of the settings changed via the menu system which appears down the right hand of the screen, as per most of Olympus' compact cameras. The menu system is easy to navigate, and makes it clear which settings can be changed dependent of which mode you are in. This will make it more time consuming than if you have a dedicated button on the camera body. The buttons which are on the camera include movie record, playback, menu, d-pad, OK, shutter release and zoom rocker. There is also a chunky mode dial on the top of the camera.

Olympus haven't provided a CIPA rating for the camera's battery but it was charged before testing and has not needed to be recharged. We tested the camera's performance at focusing, shutter response, shot-to-shot time, continuous shooting etc. and have posted the results below. To test this we took 6 or more shots and calculated the average.

Shutter Response		0.125 seconds
Wide - Focus / Shutter Response		0.3 seconds
Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response		0.4 seconds
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo		1.4 seconds
Shot to Shot (without flash)		1.2 seconds
Shot to Shot with Flash		1.3 seconds
Seqeuntial 1		1.5 fps
Seqeuntial 2		2.5 fps (max 3 shots)
High-speed 1		10 fps (max 3mp)
High-speed 2		30 fps (max 3mp)

The sequencial shooting modes record at full 14 megapixel resolution, with the sequential 2 limited to just 3 shots. The high-speed modes both record at a much lower resolution of 3 megapixels.

Olympus SP-820UZ Performance

Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Olympus SP-820UZ Sample Photos

Portrait | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 10.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Landscape | 1/320 sec | f/4.5 | 4.0 mm | ISO 80 High-Res
Sport | 1/500 sec | f/3.4 | 4.0 mm | ISO 320 High-Res	Pet Portrait | 1/320 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 1600 High-Res

Sample Photos - Portraits have decent skin tones, but even with the flash it tended to use a fairly high ISO which reduces detail a little, although there is no sign of red-eye. Images are generally well exposed with very pleasant colour reproduction.

Olympus SP-820UZ Lens test images

Wide Angle | 1/320 sec | f/4.5 | 5.7 mm | ISO 80 High-Res	Some Optical Zoom | 1/400 sec | f/5.6 | 76.4 mm | ISO 80 High-Res
Full Optical Zoom | 1/200 sec | f/5.7 | 160.0 mm | ISO 80 High-Res	Macro | 1/13 sec | f/3.7 | 5.7 mm | ISO 80 High-Res

Lens Performance - Detail is really good at both ends of the lens, with a slight softening in the corners. Purple fringing is evident, but only in small amounts in contrasting areas. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of just 1cm, allowing you to get really close to your subject for a well detailed macro shot.

Olympus SP-820UZ ISO test images

ISO80 | 1/15 sec | f/4.7 | 12.2 mm High-Res	ISO100 | 1/15 sec | f/4.7 | 12.2 mm High-Res	ISO200 | 1/30 sec | f/4.7 | 12.2 mm High-Res	ISO400 | 1/60 sec | f/4.7 | 12.2 mm High-Res
ISO800 | 1/125 sec | f/4.7 | 12.2 mm High-Res	ISO1600 | 1/250 sec | f/4.7 | 12.2 mm High-Res	ISO3200 | 1/400 sec | f/5.0 | 12.2 mm High-Res	ISO6400 | 1/640 sec | f/5.0 | 12.2 mm High-Res

ISO Noise Performance - Noise is non-existent at ISO 80 and 100, with only a very slight amount noticeable at ISO 200 and 400. Again, noise isn't much of an issue at ISO 800, with ISO 1600 showing signs of a decrease in image quality. Noise causes the images to become soft at ISO 3200, at ISO 6400 images are very soft with significant amounts of detail lost.

Olympus SP-820UZ White-balance test images

AWB preset - incandescent lighting | 1/20 sec | f/3.6 | 5.1 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Incandescent preset - incandescent lighting | 1/20 sec | f/3.6 | 5.1 mm | ISO 100 High-Res
AWB preset - fluorescent lighting | 1/4 sec | f/3.6 | 5.1 mm | ISO 100 High-Res	Fluorescent preset - fluorescent lighting | 1/4 sec | f/3.6 | 5.1 mm | ISO 100 High-Res

White Balance Performance - Under the incandescent lights, the AWB preset gives a slight orange cast, with the incandescent preset performing much better. Under the fluorescent lights, the AWB setting does really well, with a magenta cast when using the fluorescent preset.


Panorama | 1/500 sec | f/3.4 | 4.0 mm | ISO 80

Panorama mode - Panoramas look great when resized for web use, when viewed full size, there is evidence of ghosting going on where they images haven't stitched together properly.

Zoom Example 1 | 1/1000 sec | f/5.7 | 160.0 mm | ISO 500		Zoom Example 2 | 1/1000 sec | f/5.7 | 160.0 mm | ISO 200
Low Light | 1/4 sec | f/4.4 | 15.1 mm | ISO 80		Documents | 1/50 sec | f/4.4 | 15.1 mm | ISO 250

The first two examples above show the image quality when using the zoom to its maximum. The third image has been taken with our studio lights turned down as low as they'll go.

Olympus SP-820UZ Digital filters

Magic Filter Dramatic | 1/320 sec | f/4.5 | 4.0 mm | ISO 80 High-Res	Magic Filter Miniature | 1/250 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 80 High-Res	Magic Filter Drawing | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Magic Filter Fisheye | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res
Magic Filter Fragmented | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Magic Filter Pin Hole | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Magic Filter Pop Art | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Magic Filter Punk | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res
Magic Filter Reflection | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Magic Filter Soft Focus | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Magic Filter Sparkle | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res	Magic Filter Watercolor | 1/50 sec | f/4.6 | 17.9 mm | ISO 800 High-Res

Digital Filters - Here are examples of the 12 magic filters available, nine of which can be used when recording videos.

Video - Videos are recording in full 1080p HD with optical zoom also available, an example of which can be found on the ePHOTOzine Youtube Page. Quality is good, with the focusing quickly adjusting when using the zoom.

Value For Money

The Olympus SP-820UZ is currently priced at £279.00. It's not a bad price for a camera with so much optical zoom. If you want the most optical zoom available, the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS currently leads the way with 50x.

Fujifilm FinePix SL300	Fuji FinePix HS30 EXR	Nikon Coolpix P510	Sony Cyber-Shot HX200V	Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
				To be rated
£185.00	£262.00	£294.00	£364.00	£449

You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.

Olympus SP-820UZ Verdict

This latest ultra-zoom camera from Olympus is certainly a much better performer than its predecessor, the SP-810UZ. Feature wise, there is more zoom, ISO up to 6400, 1cm minimum focusing distance and full HD video. It's an ideal travel camera, but it would be even more appealing to the globetrotting photographer if it had GPS.

Olympus haven't changed much with regards to the body, but image quality is much better, clearly an improved sensor has been used on this new model. Although it's a more expensive model than the SP-810UZ, the SP-820UZ is a camera we are happy to recommend.

	The Olympus SP-820UZ packs loads of optical zoom with good image quality at a reasonable price.

Olympus SP-820UZ Pros

Feature packed
Good amount of optical zoom
Decent value for money
Body is small and light considering the amount of zoom
Image quality is good

Olympus SP-820UZ Cons

No manual controls
No GPS
Battery cover is fiddly

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT

Olympus SP-820UZ Specifications

Manufacturer	Olympus
Lens
	Max Aperture	f/3.4 - f/5.7
	35mm equivalent	22.4mm - 896mm
	Optical Zoom	40x
Image Sensor
	CCD pixels	14Mp (Megapixels)
	Pixels (W)	4288
	Pixels (H)	3216
	Sensor Type	CMOS
	Sensor Size	1/2.3 inch
	Sensor Size (width)	No Data
	Sensor Size (height)	No Data
	Aspect Ratio	4:3 16:9
LCD Monitor
	LCD Monitor	3in
	Screen resolution	460k
	Touch Screen	No Data
Focusing
	Min Focus	1cm
	Focusing modes	Autofocus Face Detection AF Tracking Spot
Exposure Control
	Shutter speeds shortest	1/2000sec
	Shutter speeds longest	4sec
	Exp modes	Program A
	Metering	Spot ESP Light Metering
	ISO sensitivity	80 - 6400
	White balance	Auto Outdoors/Daylight Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent
	Exposure Comp	+/-2
Shooting Options
	Continuous shooting	1.5fps
Video
	Movie mode	Yes
	Video Resolution	1920x1080 1280x720 720p 640x480 VGA 320x240 QVGA
	Video FPS	No Data
	Stereo Sound	No Data
	Optical Zoom with Video	No Data
Other Features
	Image Stabilisation	Yes
Interface
	HDMI	Yes
	USB	USB 2
	Wi-Fi	No
Storage
	Card Type	SD SDHC SDXC
	File Type	JPG
Power Source
	Battery Type	AA batteries Alkaline or Ni-MH
	CIPA Rating	No Data
Box Contents
	Box Contents	No Data
Dimensions
	Weight	485g
	Width	116.9mm
	Height	78mm
	Depth	93.2mm

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