A low-cost entry for those who are interested in trying their hands on CCD sensor imagery. The Olympus SP-500UZ, launched in 2005 by Olympus, comes with a 6MP CCD sensor, a fast Olympus aspherical glass 1:2.8-3.7 10x optical (+ 5x Optical) zoom lens, a non-adjustable electronic viewfinder, and a 115,000 pixels 2.5 inch LCD with four display option. The focal length of the lens is 6.3–63mm, which works out as equivalent to 38-380mm on 35mm full-frame cameras. The camera runs on 4X AA batteries.
Small, light, and compact, the camera measures 106 x 75 x 71 mm and weighs 285 grams, has a manual pop-up flash, and a lens that extends forward when switched on. Unlike some other long-zoom models, the SP-500UZ does not have in-built image stabilization but compensation for digital camera movement is, however, provided in movie mode. A top-mounted exposure mode dial carries settings for Auto, P, A, S, and M modes, a customizable My Mode setting, a selection of 21 Scene modes, Movie, and Playback.
The SP-500UZ has a rather extensive menu and display options, best learned with the help of the instruction booklet. Pressing the menu button located in the middle of the four-way controller, for example, will bring up the main menu selection. The top, left, and bottom 'shortcuts' can be assigned to almost any setting, and the right arrow takes you to the menu pages. The four tabs are for the camera, picture, card (formatting), and setup settings. The menus have options for virtually every shooting variable, from macro, burst, and drive mode to ISO, white balance, focus mode, sharpness, saturation, and contrast.
