http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/ Engadget Comments for Olympus' SP-800UZ 30x superzoom starts taking pre-orders http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 9:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 9:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 10:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Yeah, that's actually my biggest beef with these cameras.. The sensor in them is the same size as any other p&s camera, making the larger lens almost pointless. And while having a big zoom range is convenient, all these superzooms go way overboard with it, to the point where you will not get a good picture at the maximum zoom without a sturdy tripod, a completely wind-free day, and some luck. ]]>Feb 19th 2010 1:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/
Jokes apart, if you are serious about your photography, go for a DSLR by all means. If you are just another casual photographer, then this kind of camera makes sense.

By the way, even pro DSLR users have a P&S as a backup though, so such camera can fill that niche comfortably.]]>Feb 19th 2010 1:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/
By the way, I am a Nikonian though...:)]]>Feb 19th 2010 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/
Thanks for the insights. As of right now my mind is made up on the T2i because it's also looking very promising in the video department. It has an external mic input which I haven't seen on a Nikon in that price point. I'm secretly hoping Nikon will come out with something to compete soon, I have a colleague who does professional photography on the side and he uses a Nikon. I wanted to be able to rely on his insights as I learn. I was seriously thinking about the D5000 before I heard about the T2i. I'm hoping it will make a decent enough video recorder, that's what I'm using to convince my wife :) I guess time will tell!]]>Feb 19th 2010 1:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 10:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 10:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/
Also, it has both mechanical and digital IS. This is direct from Oly's site "Olympus’ mechanical Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization keeps images sharp by adjusting the internal image sensor to compensate for camera movement, even in low-light conditions when shutter speeds are slower. Additionally, Digital Image Stabilization freezes the action with high ISO sensitivity and fast shutter speeds that prevent blurry images often caused by a moving subject."

Olympus makes some really good cameras. My old C2100Z has better images (even with it's measly 2MP) than anything currently under a grand. Sadly, after 6 years it started fritzing out on my so I had to buy a newer 10MP camera. So if Oly was successful in combining high-MP with awesome image quality, I may have to buy this.]]>Feb 19th 2010 10:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Looks good on paper, but it doesn't work that well in practical usage. Most cameras nowadays have some sort of image stabilization system. The problem with p&s cameras is that the image quality degrades terribly at even medium iso ranges. You'll start noticing noise at 200 iso on most cameras, 400 on better ones, and almost all p&s will produce very grainy images at 800+ iso unless you have perfect lighting. This is a function of the 1/2.33" sensor that all of these cameras come with. Also, don't expect to be able to take shots at night at high iso+high shutter speed. The lens and sensor are just too small.

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_PowerShot_SX10_IS/noise.shtml
There is an iso comparison to demonstrate the point. ]]>Feb 19th 2010 1:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-SX20IS-Stabilized-Articulating/dp/B002LITT3I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1266596830&sr=1-1]]>Feb 19th 2010 11:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/
image quality wise, probably worse than the SX20is. 800UZ is on a 14 MP sensor where as the SX20 is on a 12 MP, that alone will usually mean worse image quality, considering the sensor's physical size is the same and u can only jam so many sensors into a chip before image quality suffers. the sweet spot seems to be around 8 MP for a point and shoot camera, sadly these days almost every new camera is beyond that, and suffers for it.

in fact, the SX20's image quality is noticeably worse than its predecessor, the SX10, which had a 10 MP sensor.

but the 800UZ's 30x zoom at least has piqued my interest, i think that's the biggest zoom I've ever seen in this category of cameras. ]]>Feb 19th 2010 1:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 11:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 23rd 2010 7:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 1:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/
QFT.]]>Feb 19th 2010 4:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 5:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/olympus-sp-800uz-30x-superzoom-starts-taking-pre-orders/Feb 19th 2010 6:43PM