Olympus SP-800UZ 14MP Digital Camera with 30x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0 inch LCD

by Olympus

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 3 x 2.8 inches ; 15.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0031RGEVS
• Item model number: SP-800UZ
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #840 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 1, 2010

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Inside its slim, elegant body, the SP-800UZ hides something amazing: a 30x wide-angle optical zoom. Bringing you all the power of a 30x zoom in a camera that’s small enough to go wherever your travels take you. And with advanced features like Creative Art Filters, you can truly express yourself.

30x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom (F2.8-F5.6, 28-840mm Equivalent) The longest, most powerful zoom in the world is also incredibly compact and portable. It zooms in 30x for extreme close-ups, then all the way back out for wide-angle panoramas.
HD Movie 720p A simple, one-touch button allows you to record movies with amazing clarity in high-definition, right from your camera.
Dual Image Stabilization The 2-in-1 anti-blur solution. Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization, which keeps your shot steady by compensating for camera shake, combines with Digital Image Stabilization to capture crisp, clear images in any situation.
AF Tracking Automatically tracks unpredictable, fast-moving subjects like kids and pets. Continuously adjusts the focus and brightness so you can easily capture a great shot of your subject in motion.
Creative Art Filters Give your photos a distinct look and artistic feel by applying one of four different Magic Filter effects, including Pop Art, Pinhole, Fisheye and Drawing.

Olympus SP-800UZ Features

14 Megapixel
An amazing 14 million pixels in the high-resolution CCD create superior image quality. Create poster-sized prints without losing a single detail.

30x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom
All the capabilities you need in one compact lens. The 30x optical zoom gets you amazingly close to the action while the 28mm wide-angle lens lets you capture breathtaking panoramas.

3-inch LCD
The huge 3-inch LCD features an extra-wide viewing angle and anti-glare technology for easier composing and shooting even in direct, bright sunlight.

HD Movie 720p
A simple, one-touch button allows you to record movies with amazing clarity in high-definition, right from your camera.

Dual Image Stabilization
Dual Image Stabilization combines Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization with high ISO sensitivity and fast shutter speeds to capture crisp, clear images in any situation.

2 GB Internal Memory
Store more photos and videos than ever before, right in your camera with 2GB of internal memory (usable memory is 1.83GB).

AF Tracking
AF Tracking automatically tracks unpredictable, fast-moving subjects such as kids and pets, and continuously adjusts the focus and brightness so you can capture these photogenic whirlwinds with ease.

Creative Art Filters
Using Creative Art Filters you can give your photos a distinct look and artistic feel by applying one of four different in-camera effects, including Pop Art, Pinhole, Fisheye and Drawing.

Intelligent Auto
The Intelligent Auto setting identifies the scene you're shooting -- portrait, landscape, night portrait, macro, or sport -- and adjusts the settings to optimize results.

Advanced Face Detection
Face Detection automatically focuses on your subjects' faces and optimizes exposure for sharp, brilliant portrait pictures.

In-Camera Panorama
Captures three images and stitches them together to create one amazing panoramic picture by simply pressing the shutter button and slowly panning across a panoramic scene.

Shadow Adjustment
Shadow Adjustment Technology helps you capture scenes exactly as you see them, even in difficult lighting situations--perfect for outside shots in bright sun when dark shadows are prevalent or shooting in backlit situations.

Beauty Mode
Beauty Mode lets you smooth a person’s skin, removing unwanted wrinkles or blemishes. Additionally, make subtle edits, such as slightly emphasizing and brightening the eyes, with a new post-capture feature: Beauty Fix.

Perfect Shot Preview
Using a live, multi-frame window on the LCD, Perfect Shot Preview lets you view the effects of various settings and then select and capture the perfect shot.

Product Description

OLYMPUS 227665 14.0 Megapixel SP-800UZ Digital Camera

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

472 of 481 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Camera, April 1, 2010

By 

Steven J. Streitfeld "SJS" (yonkers, ny United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olympus SP-800UZ 14MP Digital Camera with 30x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0 inch LCD (Electronics)

I should say right from the outset, the most important factor in buying a digital camera for me is the camera's zoom capability. Several years ago, I began my digital camera collection with a cheap Samsung (S630), followed the year after with the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-8 (432mm zoom) and the next year with the FZ-18 (504mm).
It seems each year, camera companies try to outdo one another with the biggest zoom for the buck. Several weeks ago, I bought this camera with a mind-numbing 840mm zoom. Don't be surprised if the 1000 mm zoom comes out next year. Surprisingly, for a camera with this kind of capability, it is light as a feather and differtentiates itself from the other ultrazooms out there by eliminating the Electronic View Finder completely in favor of a 3" screen monitor (I suspect this omission may cost them sales). The instruction manual can be downloaded from the Olympus web site. The camera's software can be downloaded by connecting the camera to your computer (make sure your memory card has been removed to download software)
What also differentiates it from the others out there is that you can edit the still pictures you have taken using the special effects function from reducing red eye, shadow adjustment, adding/reducting color saturation, and cropping. Some of these functions were available in my Samsung S630, but in none of the more expensive Lumix models. With most digitals, if you want to edit your pictures, you would have to download them to your computer and use the camera's editing software or Photoshop.
By using Panorama function you can take up to 3 shots manually or automatically and the camera's computer "stitches" them together into one panoramic wide angle shot. quite a technological achievement.
Also differentiating this camera from its main competitor, the Fuji HS 10, a rather affordable price tag of $349 vs. $499 for the Fuji. The HS10 also has a smaller manual 720mm zoom and uses 4 AA batteries as its power source, which I consider a disadvantage in taking motion pictures. The SP 800uz has the capability of adjusting the focal distance during film recording in some modes, not always available in cameras of this class. Unlike the Lumix cameras, there is no hood lens included to take shots in bright sunlight, a slight disadvantage. There is no thread on the barrel for attaching wide angle or telephoto lenses, but with an 840 mm telephoto lens, why would you need one?
The camera comes with cables to connect to your computer and your HDTV to playback still and movie pictures in 720i high definition. A rechargeable lithium battery pack is offered instead of the Alkaline or NiMH rechargeable batteries in Olympus' previous models. If you take a lot of motion pictures, alkaline or rechargeable NiMH batteries must be replaced or recharged at more frequent intervals than most Lithium battery packs, or you could continue to invest in 12 packs of disposable alkaline cells.
The rating for the included standard Lithium battery pack is 900 mAh. Imported batteries with a rating of 1400 mAh are available from 3rd party suppliers. A higher Mah rating means you get more usage between charges since the battery has a higher storage capacity, similar to having a larger gas tank on your car. Battery capacity is important if you use your camera frequently or take motion pictures which drains the battery...and your memory card.
Another factor to consider is the camera's 2GB internal memory, making it possible to store many pictures without the use of a memory card. The camera has an app to transfer the pictures taken from the camera's internal memory to the memory card. The camera accepts SDHC cards up to 8GB, an important consideration if you take a lot of motion pictures.
There are several shooting modes available and the camera has a small user-friendly internal manual to explain each mode and what flash, ISO, aperture, white balance settings are available for each mode, making taking pictures almost foolproof. There is a manual pop up flash for low light conditions. For shots taken with the digital zoom you should use a tripod to avoid camera shake at the far ranges, a problem endemic to a lot of ultrazoom models, not just this particular model or manufacturer.
This is a great camera if you take sports pictures from the nosebleed seats, go on whale watches frequently, or want to take unobtrusive shots of your subjects from a distance. With an impressive ISO of up to 3200 sensitivity (unfortunately, the higher the ISO, the higher the distortion and graininess when enlarged for prints) you can also take excellent shots of moving subjects.
I rate this camera highly.

182 of 186 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Camera for amateur and professional, April 21, 2010

By 

Gary Vengley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Olympus SP-800UZ 14MP Digital Camera with 30x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0 inch LCD (Electronics)

There are so many models out there and this camera is really a good fit for those who want to just take good looking photos and videos without having to go to school to learn how to operate this camera. Once you get past the prelimanary stages of locating all of the buttons and what they do it is pretty easy to perform the functions and it will do just about anything you want it to. It's versatility is what sells this camera as it doubles as a camera and video so you aren't lugging around equipment when you go out on your vacations or just to the park. The 30x zoom makes life so easy when you are on trips and can't get close to the subject matter. We take a lot of cruises so when you are on the balcony and want to take a picture of something that is far away...no problem at all. The Panarama setting is so easy to operate that it adds another dimension to taking pictures in exotic locations. The digital age makes it so easy to take and discard photos that you like and don't like and you end up with the 'perfect picture' that you wanted. 14 megapixels will ensure you never have to worry about quality of reproducing photos and since we don't reproduce any photo over an 8x10 we know it will come out perfect.

A 4 gb chip is more than you need and gives you enough room for photos and videos. Anything more than this chip is overkill and who wants to store that many photos on a chip without D/L to a storage area?

The only drawback I see on this camera is the setup where you really need to read the instructions so that you don't end up erasing the memory of the camera instructions before you insert the chip. Our camera did not come with the instruction booklet so I had to go to the website to D/L it and then go step by step from the instructions to set it up. Very important that you follow this or you will erase the onboard camera memory...that's a bad thing.

Camera setup
Set the camera date and time, time zone
and display language automatically; install
the camera instruction manual and PC
software (ib).
Do not insert SD/SDHC memory cards
before the camera setup.
Do not format the internal memory until the
camera setup is complete. Doing so will
erase the camera instruction manual and
the PC software (ib) data that are stored on
the internal memory.
Check that your computer meets the
following system requirements:
Windows XP (SP2 or later)/
Windows Vista/Windows 7
Refer to the PC software (ib) help guide for
details on how to use the PC software (ib).

308 of 321 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice Camera with Drawbacks!, April 4, 2010

By 

Brian M. Edwards (Edinburg, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Olympus SP-800UZ 14MP Digital Camera with 30x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0 inch LCD (Electronics)

This is one nice looking camera with the best quality build I think I have EVER seen in a camera, really, it screams quality at you and if you plan to use this solely for photography and NOT for video, then I give it 5 stars.
The quality of the photos to my (amateur) eyes are very good even in relatively low light, the zoom is excellent (for photography) and the proprietary battery seems to last for ever. Actually, I have been using it right out of the box without ever charging and it is still going strong!
The setting are easy to access, and a breeze to adjust or just leave it in I/auto as I did for great results.

The Bad

I am quite disappointed with the video capabilities (or LACK of them!) with no optical zoom available for HD video recording unless you switch off the sound! Birthday parties and sports events will never be the same without sound and it beats me why Olympus would come out with such a stunning camera and leave out such an important feature!
I also tried shooting video in VGA mode but still no optical zoom. The camera does allow you to use the digital zoom but it turns decent quality video into a horrible blur! (I could have lived with the digital zoom for my purposes if it had worked better)
Also worth a mention is the auto focus on video recording which is very slow, too slow for me.


The Pro's
Really excellent quality build, this camera will last for years!!! (if you don't end up returning it)
Excellent 30x optical zoom capability
Great looking design, compact and light
Long battery life, I still have not charge the battery yet and have taken 100 photos and 20 minutes of video.
Nice LCD screen
Excellent quality photos (well,to my eyes, everyone will have their own opinion)
Many nice features that should satisfy most folks.
2 gig built in memory


The bad
No zoom capability when recording video with sound
Slow auto-focus when shooting video (too slow for me)
No HDMI cable included (seems to be standard with most camera makers)
The "magic" settings, are just a cheap gimmick and not worth bothering with.
On the Olympus web-site, the spec's for the camera include 1080i HD video, it DOES NOT have this feature!

As you can see, there are a lot of pluses with this camera and one big minus, and because I planned to use this for wildlife photography where the zoom will come in handy; as well as to record video of birthday parties and some soccer games the lack of zoom capability is hard to swallow.
I was aware that the camera may have a zoom issue but the digital zoom would have been suffice it would have worked better. The auto focus on the zoom is also slow.
I have also ordered the FUJI HS10 and will receive it this week. I will be doing a comparison of these two cameras and decide then which to keep!
Bottom line is this is a five star camera if you plan use it for photography ONLY and a great buy for the money. However, if you also need it for video, I don't recommend it!