Olympus SP-570 UZ

The Olympus SP-570 UZ (*Est. $400) was the first ultra-zoom digital camera to offer a 20x zoom lens, but it has since been joined by the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS (*Est. $380), Casio Exilim EX-FH20 (*Est. $500), and surpassed by Olympus' own 26x SP-590UZ (*Est. $375). Nonetheless, the Olympus SP-570 UZ still stands its ground in this growing field of rivals. At first glance, its size, design and 15.7-ounce weight can easily be mistaken as a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR). In fact, the Olympus SP-570 UZ has a zoom ring like a DSLR, although DigitalCameraReview.com says the device is imprecise and jerky. In addition to the 20x zoom, the 10-megapixel Olympus camera touts a 2.7-inch LCD display, electronic viewfinder, manual options and RAW (uncompressed) image support. It bests the competition with dual-image stabilization, which PCMag.com says is great for extremely shaky shots. PCMag.com also likes the Perfect Shot Preview, which shows beforehand what a shot will look like using different settings.

Reviewers aren't thrilled with the Olympus SP-570 UZ's speed. Power-up time is 3.5 seconds and in-between shot recovery 3.1 seconds. The unpredictable auto focus and convoluted menu interface hinder performance. Inconsistent image quality, however, is by far the biggest drawback. Imaging-Resource.com editors say the Olympus SP-570 UZ suffers from softness (loss of detail) at the corner of the frame and chromatic aberration, or inconsistent color. Other reviewers note image noise at higher ISO settings. While these setbacks were outweighed by the Olympus SP-570 UZ's assets at the time of its debut, newer ultra-zoom cameras are providing formidable competition. Reviewers agree that the best overall is the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, which has the same powerful 20x zoom with superior image quality.

Testers at PCMag.com and CNET thoroughly evaluate cameras yet write for a general readership, using scoring and ranking systems that make for quick and easy comparisons. Longer, more technical but less comparative coverage is available at Imaging-Resource.com, Steves-Digicams.com and DigitalCameraReview.com, while user reviews at Amazon.com show potential problems that crop up with long-term use.