The Olympus SP-560 UltraZoom digital camera features a 1/2.35 inch CCD imager with a resolution of eight megapixels, coupled with an Olympus-branded 18x optical zoom lens with an extremely wide-ranging choice of 35mm equivalent focal lengths from 27 to 486mm and f/2.8 to 4.5 maximum aperture. There's a choice of both an electronic viewfinder (specification unknown), plus a 2.5-inch LCD display with a resolution of 230,000 pixels. Autofocus is via contrast detection, and the camera can also be focused manually. ISO sensitivity ranges from 50 to 6,400 equivalent, controlled automatically or manually, and the Olympus SP-560 UZ also offers what the company calls "Dual Image Stabilization" mode, which combines both hardware image stabilization and software anti-blur. By default, exposures are determined with Olympus' Digital ESP multi-pattern metering, with spot and center-weighted metering options also available. The exposure can be linked to the camera's face detection autofocus, metering on the point selected for focusing. Users can tweak the exposure with +/-2.0 EV of exposure compensation, in 1/3 EV steps. Shutter speeds range from 1/2,000 to 15 seconds, and the Olympus SP-560 UZ offers automatic or preset white balance control via six presets, plus a custom white balance mode. The Olympus SP-560 also includes a six-mode internal flash that is good to a distance of 21 feet at wide-angle, and offers beginner-friendly control over images courtesy of around twenty scene modes. As well as still images, the Olympus SP-560 UZ can capture movies at VGA or lower resolution, at a rate of 30 frames per second. The Olympus SP-560 has a 12-second self-timer to let you get into your own pictures. The camera stores images on xD-Picture cards, or a reasonably generous 47MB of built-in memory, and also offers both video and USB 2.0 Hi-Speed computer connectivity (rather faster than the USB 2.0 Full Speed connections that some cameras are still using). Power comes from four standard AA batteries, with disposables of unspecified type in the product bundle. The Olympus SP-560 UZ started shipping in October 2007 in the USA, priced at $450.

Basic Features

8.0 megapixels 1/2.35 inch CCD

18x zoom (27-486mm 35mm equivalent)

EVF viewfinder with 2.5 inch LCD with 230,000 pixels

ISO sensitivity from 50 to 6,400 (6,400 at reduced image size)

Shutter speeds from 15 seconds to 1/2,000 second, plus Bulb to 8 minutes

Max Aperture of f/2.8 at wide-angle and f/4.5 at telephoto

xD Picture Card support up to 2GB

Four AA batteries for power



Special Features
18x optical zoom plus 5.6x digital zoom, seamless to 100x
14 lenses in 11 groups, four aspherical lenses, two ED lenses
Dual image stabilization with sensor shift optical image stabilization and digital image stabilization
Face detection technology
Effects preview for EV, white balance, metering, and Movie smoothness
15 fps sequential shooting (at a 1.2 megapixel image size) and pre-capture
TruePic III image processor
Raw file format option
Shadow Adjustment Technology
Full Manual control
Focus ranges include Normal (to 3.9 inches), Macro (to 3.9 inches), and Super Macro (to 0.4 inch)
Focus modes include iESP Auto, Spot AF, Face Detection AF, Full-Time AF, Selective AF Target, AF Lock, Predictive AF, and Manual
White Balance modes include iESP 2 Auto, One-Touch, Presets (Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, and 3 Fluorescents), and White Balance Compensation
Scene modes include Portrait, Landscape, Landscape+Portrait, Sport, Night Scene, Night+Portrait, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Behind Glass, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select1, Shoot & Select2, Beach, Snow, Smile Shot, Underwater Wide1, Underwater Wide2, Underwater Macro, Quick Shutter
Playback Edit effects include for still images: Red-Eye Fix, Lighting Fix, Resize, Rotation, Black & White, Sepia, Frame, Label, Calendar, Layout, Expression Edit, Face Focus, Raw Edit. For movies: Frame Index, Movie Edit, Still Image Cropping
47MB internal memory

In the Box

The Olympus SP-560 UltraZoom ships with the following items in the box:
SP-560 UZ digital camera
Four AA batteries
USB cable
AV cable
Manual
Lens cap and string
Strap and strap rings
Warranty card

Recommended Accessories
Large capacity xD memory card. These days, 2GB is a good tradeoff between cost and capacity, but if you plan to capture many movie clips, 4GB should be a minimum.
Small camera case for outdoor and in-bag protection
AC Adapter (C-7AU)
TCON-17 Tele conversion lens (increases magnification by 1.7x)
CLA-10 Conversion lens adapter (required for conversion lenses)
PT-037 Underwater Housing