Olympus D-550 Zoom Review

Olympus 2.8x zoom lens (5.8 - 16.2mm), F2.9/4.4 (equivalent to 36-100mm on a 35mm camera)

Stepless 3.6x digital zoom when combined with the optical zoom gives a 10x seamless zoom. TTL system auto focus (contrast detection system) with a focusing range: 31" ~ infinity (0.8m- infinity) in Normal mode and 8 to 31" (0.2m-0.8m) in Macro mode. It also has the One Touch Focus button (the up arrow on the 4-way navigation control) which locks focus on infinity, in macro mode or standard AF.

The lens retracts inside the camera when powered down and the sliding cover protects it, no lens cap required.

The zoom lens control is located on the top, next to the shutter release.

In Play mode this also selects the zoom-in (magnify) and index modes.

The D-550Z has a large and bright optical finder and Olympus has added a diopter control adjustment.

The green LED indicates a focus lock and the amber LED tells you the status of the flash.

Built-in multi-mode intelligent speedlight; Auto (automatic flash activation in low light and backlight), red-eye reduction, fill-in (forced activation), off (no flash).

Working flash range: Wideangle 7.9" - 11.2' (0.2m - 3.4m) @ ISO 100, Tele: 31" - 7.6' (0.8m - 2.3m) @ISO 100 with an eight second full recharge rate with new batteries.

On the back is a 1.8-inch color TFT LCD monitor with 61,000 pixels and the majority of the camera's controls. The 4-way switch lets you navigate menus (see next page) and select playback images, enable macro/infinity focus modes, enable self-timer, select the desired flash mode, and the new Olympus feature - Virtual Mode Dial with the 5-Scene Program Modes. Below that is the MENU button which also serves as the OK (accept selection) button and the MONITOR button that controls the color LCD.

On the left side are the I/O ports:

USB (1.1) data port, Auto Connect enabled

Video output, video is NTSC format only(US models)

DC INput for optional AC adapter or an external battery pack

The D-550Z stores its images on 3.3v SmartMedia cards. On the back side of the handgrip is the card slot which accepts any size up to 128MB. Olympus includes an 16MB card with panorama function.

The D-550Z is powered by four AA type batteries or two CRV-3 lithium non-rechargeable packs. A set of alkaline AA batteries are supplied but I highly recommend the use of high- capacity NiMH rechargeables which are more environmentally friendly.