Olympus SP 550 Ultra Zoom
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Written by Gordon Laing
Olympus SP-550UZ wide-angle uniformity comparison
Olympus SP-550UZ results
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Noise 2 / Corner sharpness / Fringe & macro / Geometry / Vignetting
To measure and compare the Olympus SP-550UZ’s vignetting and light fall-off we photographed a white target with a highly diffused custom filter using it and a number of rival models. Here are the results for each camera with their lenses set to their widest focal lengths, the apertures wide open and the focus set to infinity. The images were analysed with Imatest and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Bigger percentages are better. | ||
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4.7-84.2mm at 4.7mm f2.8 Mean corner fall-off: 82.7% | ||
| The image above was taken with the Olympus SP-550UZ zoomed-out to 4.7mm with its aperture wide open. Here the light falls off in the corners to an average of 82.7% of the centre measurement. This is a better result than the other cameras we’ve compared it against here, and you’re unlikely to notice any light fall-off with the SP-550UZ when it’s zoomed-out to wide angle. |
Canon PowerShot G7 |
Nikon D40 Using DX 18-55mm II |
Panasonic DMC-FZ50 | ||
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7.4-44.4mm at 7.4mm f2.8 Mean corner fall-off: 73% |
DX 18-55mm II at 18mm f3.5 Mean corner fall-off: 52.1% |
7.4-88.8mm at 7.4mm f2.8 Mean corner fall-off: 76.7% |
Olympus SP-550UZ telephoto uniformity comparison
 | To measure and compare the Olympus SP-550UZ’s vignetting and light fall-off we photographed a white target with a highly diffused custom filter using it and a number of rival models. Here are the results for each camera with their lenses set to their longest focal lengths, the apertures wide open and the focus set to infinity. The images were analysed with Imatest and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. Bigger percentages are better. | |
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4.7-84.2mm at 84.2mm f4.5 Mean corner fall-off: 78.6% | ||
The image above was taken with the Olympus SP-550UZ zoomed-in to 84.2mm with its aperture wide open. Here the light falls off in the corners to an average of 78.6% of the centre measurement. This time the result may be slightly below the other compacts, but there’s still little light fall-off to worry about. The bottom line is the SP-550UZ doesn’t suffer from noticeable darkening in the corners of its frame when zoomed-out or in, which is impressive given the massive optical zoom range. |
Canon PowerShot G7 |
Nikon D40 Using DX 18-55mm II |
Panasonic DMC-FZ50 | ||
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7.4-44.4mm at 44.4mm f4.8 Mean corner fall-off: 81.2% |
DX 18-55mm II at 55mm f5.6 Mean corner fall-off: 73.7% |
7.4-88.8mm at 88.8mm f3.7 Mean corner fall-off: 86.5% |
