The pop-up flash is okay for nearby subjects, although it
doesn’t have a massive reach.
The lens cap is not secured to the body – you’ll need to
keep an eye on it.
The 21x zoom gets you close to the action and helps you pick
out details in the scene.
Buy this if
You want a camera with a bit zoom for very little money
Get a lot closer to the action with this far-reaching
superzoom camera from Olympus
There are two main things you should know about the Olympus
SP-620UZ: it’s cheap and it has a big zoom. For some, these two factors may
have you sold already, but they do come at s price.
Our biggest criticism is the camera’s inability to focus in
limited light. Taking shots of a children’s football match inside a sports hall
rendered this camera practically useless, with no sharp shots at all. Even with
the ISO setting ramped up to the maximum, the SP-620UZ could not focus and pull
off a crisp capture.
Outdoors though, the focusing is a much more normal affair,
locking onto subjects quickly and capturing a shot without delay. This camera
lends itself to landscape photographers, who will normally be capturing images
in daylight. Colours are well saturated, with lots of green tonality in
landscape subjects – just watch out of dark shadow, which often lack detail.
If you are looking to shoot indoors for birthday parties or
others events, then this camera might not be able to capture the shots you
want. There is of course the flash to fall back on, which is fine for close-up
subjects, but not so good for subjects positioned further away.
A great selling point of this model is the exaggerated grip,
making it extremely well-balanced in the hand and easy to hold. The plastic
body won’t win any awards for design or quality, but it’s a practical,
well-built model.
There are plenty of features on board to keep the beginner
occupied, including a movie model, 16 scene modes and a selection of Magic
Modes such as Pop Art, Pinhole and Drawing to add artistic effects to your
shots. All the modes are located via the d-pad and menu button, which may be a
bit tricky to access at first.
This camera does an okay job of shooting in daylight, and
the zoom is a great feature. But those looking for quality images in any
situation may be disappointed.
Hands-on
When taken in the right light, this camera gives great macro
images, however, the lens is quite large, which limits how close you are able
to get to your chosen subject.
The exaggerated
grip makes this really comfortable to hold and shoot with one hand
We answer your questions…
Is this model good to take on a cruise?
In a word, no. it would be ideal for shooting the details in
daylight of your travel destinations on the shore using the zoom. However it
just wouldn’t be able to cope with shooting any of the colourful, fast-paced
action of the on-board cabarets and entertainment shows.
What’s good about it
ü
It has a great telephoto lens for picking out details in the
landscape
ü
It has some fum Magic modes to experiment with for creative shots
What could be better
ü
The camera really struggles to capture sharp shots of moving
subjects
ü
There is no separate mode dial for easy access to the exposure
modes
How good is it for
Portraits: If you are outside or next to a window
then it perform well
Landscapes: One of the camera’s stronger subjects due
to the ample daylight
Sports: Not a chance. This camera is slow to read and
subjects are reduced to a blur
Low light: Even with the ISO raised to its highest,
the camera struggles to perform
Macro: It captures good close-up detail, but the
large lens limits your distance
The info
Price: £180/$200
Megapixels
/ 16MP
A generous
helping of megapixels to give you decent-sized prints
Zoom /
21x optical, 4x digital
The zoom
is stabilized to reduce camera shake and blurry shots
Shutter
speeds / 4-1/1500sec
An average
shutter speed spec for easy day-today snapshots
ISO
sensitivity / 80-1600
A decent
ISO range means you can shoot more in low light
Exp.
modes/ 16 scenes, plus iAuto, PA, Magic Filter, panorama, movie, 3D
photos
A fabulous
array of automatic settings, great for beginners
Aperture:
f3.1-5.8
Flash
modes: A, RE, FI, FOff
Weight:
435g
Dimensions:
109.7 x 74.3 x 73.7 mm
Batteries:
AA: Alkaline/ Ni-MH
Storage:
SD/ SDHC
Screen:
3 inches
|
Verdict
Features: 3/5
Design and
handling: 3/5
Build
quality: 2/5
Image
quality: 2/5
Value for
money: 4/5
This
camera is a cheap option for landscape shooters, or for daylight photos.
However, anyone wanting to capture fast, indoor shots is likely to feel let
down using the SP-620UZ: 3/5
|
