Features & Controls

The large-barrel 21x zoom lens offers the equivalent of 25mm - 525mm, which gives you both a generous wide angle and powerful zoom. An external lens cap is included, which you can attach to the camera body with a small bit of string.

The camera can shoot at shutter speeds of 1/1500 second to 1/2 second, and up to 4 seconds in Night Scene mode. The aperture range is f3.0 (W) - f5.8(T).

The focus ranges are:

Normal Mode: W: 0.2m～∞/T: 1.8m～∞
Macro Mode: W: 0.2m～∞/T: 1.8m～∞
Super Macro Mode: 0.01m～∞/14.6mm (Standard only, Flash Off)

Three focus modes are offered: Face/iESP, Spot, and AF Tracking. The camera uses CCD contrast detection auto focus.


Olympus does not publish the range of its built-in flash, but I found that it casts a good amount of light for its size. Rather than springing up automatically, you manually lift the flash when you want to use it.

Three flash modes are offered:

• Auto (for low light and backlit conditions)
• Red-Eye Reduction
• Fill-in

The LCD offers a middling resolution of 230,000 dots, which is adequate but not thrillingly detailed when viewing photos. At this resolution it's not ideal for critically inspecting focus when zooming in on images.


At the top is the dedicated movie recording button for capturing high-definition 720p video.

Below, the four-way control doubles as a thumb wheel, which is very convenient when scrolling through menus or gliding through a series of images in photo surf mode. But it's too easy to mistakenly press the wheel and make an unintended selection when adjusting camera settings. Also, the playback, menu and help guide buttons are crammed in so close that pressing them without also pressing the four-way control can be difficult. 


The body and hand grip are sturdy. For a point-and-shoot with this SLR-type styling, the SP-620UZ is on the small side. Nonetheless, the hand grip is large enough to be a comfortable fit, with adequate room between it and the lens barrel.


Behind a rubber flap sit two ports: a multi-terminal (USB and A/V output) port and an HDMI Type D output. A USB cable is included, while an AV or HDMI cable is optional.


The zoom ring surrounds the shutter button (no zoom ring is offered on the telescoping lens barrel). Notice the substantial depth of the hand grip, which makes one-handed operation easy.


The SP-620UZ accepts SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards. The card slot sits next to the battery compartment on the underside of the hand grip. In addition there is 59MB of internal memory, however that won't get you far. We recommend a fast memory card with at least 4GB of space (UHS speed class is not supported).


The camera runs on four AA batteries, and they include four Alkaline cells. This makes it easy to find backup power in a pinch without having to recharge a lone Li-ion battery. You can use one-use batteries like Alkaline and Lithium cells, or you can get a set of high-capacity rechargeable NiMH cells. NiMH cells last longer, and save you money in the long run.

Jump to Page: SP-620UZ Specifications Physical Views Features & Controls Record Screens & Menus Playback Screens & Menus Steve's Conclusion Sample Photos