Olympus SP-810UZ review

The SP-810UZ stands apart from most SLR-shaped ultra-zoom cameras. With no electronic viewfinder, manual exposure or manual focus and the bare minimum of physical controls, it’s really just a point-and-shoot camera with a very big zoom. That’s not necessarily a criticism, though, and this certainly is a big zoom – its 864mm (equivalent) telephoto focal length is the longest ever to grace an ultra-zoom camera. Meanwhile, it’s reassuring that its point-and-shoot simplicity is reflected in the price.

The 720p video resolution and the fixed zoom while recording are less excusable, though, and the 3in widescreen LCD’s 230,000-pixel resolution is a little coarse. The navigation pad doubles as a dial for entering settings, but it’s somewhat undermined by a menu system that favours fancy visual flourishes over quick operation.

The photographic options are typical point-and-shoot fare, with white balance, ISO speed and so on plus various creative effects such as pinhole camera. However, there’s a conspicuous absence of moveable spot focus. Telephoto photography creates a shallow depth of field, which is great for guiding the eye to the main subject but only if the camera focuses on the right thing. On the SP-810UZ, focus is either fixed at the centre or chosen automatically by the camera.

SP-810UZ took 2.1 seconds to switch on and shoot, and 1.7 seconds between shots. Continuous mode was barely any faster at 0.7fps, but an alternative mode captured 27 5-megapixel shots at 4.5fps. Various faster, lower-resolution options are available too.

We can’t fault it for telephoto detail, but with no manual exposure controls, dialling in -2 EV exposure compensation wasn’t enough to avoid over-exposing this shot – click to enlarge

Image quality under artificial lighting was dire. Colours took on a garish orange cast and noise reduction obliterated details. Outdoor photography was much more competitive, though. It couldn’t match the smooth, crisp details of the best ultra-zoom cameras and the autofocus and optical stabilisation weren’t hugely reliable at the full extension, but firing off a handful of shots provided a useful insurance against blur.

Photos under artificial light suffered from smeared details and strong colour casts – click to enlarge

The SP-810UZ can’t compete with the likes of the

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ48, but then, it is almost £100 cheaper. It’s worth spending more if you can, but if you want to take photos of faraway subjects in bright light – and spend as little as possible – it’s a decent choice.