Olympus SP-500 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera
Today Olympus announced the Olympus SP-500 UZ Ultra Zoom digital camera, it has been designed to deliver performance and creative control. This digital camera pleases both advanced and amateur-level photographers.
“The SP-series cameras are designed to offer an all-in-one camera solution for photographers of all skill levels. The beauty of the Olympus SP-500 UZ ultra zoom digital camera is that it packs a wealth of manual and automatic features and an incredible focal range into a compact, light-weight body design.”
2.5-Inch Premium Size LCD
Composing and reviewing images is far easier when you don't have to squint. The 115,000-pixel anti-glare LCD enables you to view images in large and vivid detail. What's more, you don't have to download and print images each time you want to share them – you can treat your friends and family to a slide show right on the back of your camera. With the large 2.5-inch LCD, the Olympus SP-500 UZ is a veritable walking photo album!
6.0-Megapixel Image Sensor for Large-Format Prints
The 6.0-megapixel CCD image sensor delivers super high-quality images that are consistently sharp and vivid even in large-format prints.
Manual Settings for Added Creative Control
The addition of manual Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes gives users versatility and control for optimal performance in any situation. Users can express their creative vision – adjusting the f-stop for detailed portraits with softened backgrounds, or slowing the exposure speed to create the blurred effect of motion.
27 Selectable Shooting Modes
The Olympus SP-500 UZ makes it easy to capture great images in a variety of lighting situations with 21 pre-programmed scene modes, such as Night Scene, Indoor Portrait or Cuisine Mode. And with its QuickTime ® Movie Mode, the SP-500 UZ can record movies of any length, limited only by the size of the internal memory or xD-Picture C ard in the camera.
TruePic TURBO™ for High-Speed Response
Olympus' exclusive TruePic TURBO™ Image Processor enhances image quality and delivers faster overall processing speeds for rapid startup, shutter release and playback. TruePic TURBO TM enables the Olympus SP-500 UZ to capture information from all 6.0 million pixels with pixel “micro-smoothing” that delivers clearer and more color-accurate photos, even at lower resolutions. The fast startup of less than one second and nearly instant shutter release time ensures a high-speed response so you are always ready to take great pictures.
Accessory Lenses for Expanded Capabilities
The SP-500 UZ features a threaded barrel, which enables easy attachment of add-on wide angle or telephoto conversion lenses for even more creative control. Compatible accessory lenses include the WCON-07 and WCON-08 wide angle lenses, which enable a wider field of view for shooting skylines, landscapes or group shots, and the TCON-17 telephoto conversion lens, which extends the camera's magnification capability to a 17x optical zoom for bringing subjects dramatically closer, great for shooting sports events, concerts or wildlife.
In-camera Editing
With in-camera editing features such as Red-Eye Fix, color brightness and saturation adjustments, users can edit photos on the fly – no longer do you have to tool around with computers and editing software for simple image touch-ups!
High Quality Olympus Lens Elements
Olympus photos are known worldwide for sharp, vibrant image quality. This is achieved through a number of key technologies, such as Olympus' new high-refractive-index aspherical lens elements, designed specifically for digital cameras. The lens provides the equivalent of 38 to 114 mm focal length, f2.8 – f 4.9 in 35mm photography, with 15x combined total zoom (3x optical and 5x digital) to bring the action closer, and a Super Macro Mode that captures details as nuanced as the iridescent petals of a flower, from as close as 2 cm .
Ultra Zoom
Thanks to years of experience crafting Ultra Zoom digital cameras, Olympus is able to deliver a superior designed-to-be-digital 10x optical zoom lens ( 38mm – 380mm equivalent in 35mm photography) to bring the action closer. The bright, high quality optical system is comprised of eleven elements arranged in seven groups and includes two aspherical lenses, plus an extra-dispersion (ED) glass element typically found exclusively in pro-level SLR cameras.
Style and Ergonomics
With the Olympus SP-500 UZ, Olympus returns to the traditional, compact appearance of its traditional range-finder cameras. At a compact size of just 4.2 " W x 2.9" H x 2.8" L and only 10.1 ounces, the camera tucks away easily into a pocket or backpack. The addition of an ergonomic grip makes it easy to hold with one hand, for capturing those photo ops when you are, literally, on the run.
Easy USB Auto-Connect
Connecting the Olympus SP-500 UZ to a computer is easy with the USB Auto-Connect feature, which connects directly via USB 2.0 cable and requires no software.
PictBridge Enabled – No Computer Necessary!
The power of PictBridge technology enables photos to be printed directly from the Olympus SP-500 UZ to any PictBridge-enabled printer without using a computer. And the new one-touch printing button makes printing a single-step process. Printing and sharing images has never been easier!
OLYMPUS Master™ Software
OLYMPUS Master™ software provides the ultimate in digital imaging management. An intuitive user interface makes downloading to your computer quick and simple, and images are searchable by date or keyword in the Calendar View. And with one-click editing tools, such as red-eye reduction, images can be touched up before printing or emailing. Online support, templates, firmware upgrades and other user services are just a mouse-click away.
So whats in the Box?
Olympus SP-500 Digital Cmaera, Wrist Strap, Camera WIN/Mac USB Cable, Video cable, 4 AA batteries, Quick Start Guide, Basic Instruction Manual, Warranty Card, CD-ROM with OLYMPUS Master Software, and Camera Advanced manual.
Olympus SP-500 Digital Camera Specifications:
| Imager | 6 megapixel effective, 6.37 megapixel gross, 1/2.5” CCD |
| Lens | 6.3 - 63 mm (38-380mm equivalent in 35mm photography), 11 lenses in 7 groups, 2 aspherical lens |
| Zoom | Seamless to 50x (10x optical and 5x digital combined) |
| Aperture Range | f2.8- f3.7 (adjustable in 1/3 EV step) |
| LCD | 2.5" color LCD, approx. 115,000 pixels |
| Viewfinder | Electronic viewfinder |
| Focus System | CCD Contrast detection |
| Focus Range | Normal: (W) 0.6m (23.62 inches) - infinity, (T) 2m (78.74 inches)-
infinity Macro mode: (W) 0.07m(2.76 inches) - 0.6m (23.62 inches), (T) 1.2m (47.24 inches) - 2m (78.74 inches) Super Macro Mode: up to 3cm (11.12mm) (1.18") |
| Focus Mode | iESP auto, Spot AF, Selective AF target, Manual |
| Shutter Speed | 1/1000 sec –15 sec., Bulb |
| ISO | Auto/80/100/200/400 |
| Metering Mode | Digital iESP multi-pattern auto TTL, Spot metering, Center Weighted metering |
| White Balance | iESP2 multi-pattern auto TTL, Pre-set, (One-touch, Overcast, Sunlight, Evening sun, Tungsten,(3) Fluorescents) WB compensation +/–7 |
| Exposure Compensation | +/- 2 EV steps in 1/3 EV steps |
| Recording Modes | DCF Exif 2.21, JPEG , PIM 3 |
| Adjustment Resolutions | RAW 2816 x 2112 SHQ 2816 x 2112 SHQ (3:2) 2816 x 1880 HQ 2816 x 1880 HQ (3:2) 2816 x 1880 SQ1 2592 x 1944 high, normal 2288 x 1712 high, normal 2048 x 1536 high, normal 1600 x 1200 high, normal SQ2 1280 x 960 high, normal 1024 x 768 high, normal 640 x 480 high, normal |
| Shooting Modes | 27 shooting modes AUTO, Program Auto, A, S, M, MY, Scene Preset (Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Night Scene, Sport, Night + Portrait, Indoor, Candle, Self-Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Museum, Behind Glass, Cuisine, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select1, Shoot & Select2, Beach, Snow) |
| Panorama Modes | Up to 10 frames automatically stitchable with Olympus Master software when using Olympus brand xD-Picture card |
| Custom Settings | 4 My Mode |
| Sequential Shooting | High speed; 2.5 frames per second up to 3 frames Normal speed; 1.5 frames per second up to 11 frames in HQ mode |
| Shooting Assist Functions | Histogram, Frame assist |
| Shooting Edit Effects | N/A |
| Image Quality Adjustment | (Adj. ±5) sharpness, contrast, saturation |
| Movie Mode | QuickTime Movie with Sound, JPEG, SHQ 640 x 480 30fps/ HQ 640 x 480 15fps/ SQ1 320 x 240 30fps/ SQ2 320 x 240 15fps |
| Image Processing | TruePic TURBO Image Processor |
| Pixel Mapping | Pixel Mapping via menu setting |
| Noise Reduction | Set automatically at shutter speeds of 0.5 seconds or longer |
| Image Playback | Single/ Index/ Enlargement/ Slide show/ Calendar/ Album For Movie: Normal, Still (frame by frame), FF/Reverse, Index jump, playback zoom |
| Playback Edit Effects | Still Image; Black & white, sepia, resize, crop, raw data edit,
compose, red eye reduction, brightness, saturation For Movie: still image edit, index |
| Direct Printing Options | PictBridge EASYPRINT and DPOF |
| Flash | Built in Pop-up |
| Hot Shoe | No |
| Flash Modes | Auto (for low light and back lit conditions), Red-eye Reduction, Fill-in, Fill-in + red eye, Off |
| Flash Working Range | Wide: 0.3~ 4.5m Tele: 1.2 ~ 3.4m |
| Selftimer | 12 seconds |
| Setting Memorization | On/Off (hold changes/Reset to default settings) |
| Date/Time Calendar | Simultaneous recording into image data, Automatic up to 2099 |
| Memory | 10MB internal memory |
| Removable Media Card | xD-Picture Card (16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512MB or 1GB) |
| Outer Connectors | Multi-connector for USB and A/V, DC input |
| Auto-connect USB | 2.0 High Speed |
| Weatherproof | N/A |
| System Requirements | Windows 98SE/2000PRO/ME/XP, Mac 10.1 and higher |
| Operating Environment | Operation: 32° - 104°F (0° - 40°C), 30 - 90% humidity Storage: -4° - 140°F (-20° - 60°C), 10 - 90% humidity |
| Power Supply | 4 AA batteries |
| Size | 4.15" W x 2.93" H x 2.80" D (105.5mm x 74.5mm x 71.0mm) |
| Weight | 10.05 oz. (285 g) without batteries and media card |

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