The Olympus digital camera is preferred by many photographers specifically for image quality, even though it may be lacking in some features found in other cameras in a similar price range.

Such is the case with the Olympus Digital Camera SP-500 Ultra Zoom.

Some who have tried this Olympus digital camera with its excellent 10X zoom lens have complained about the lack of an image stabilizer, but it seems all is forgiven when you take the broader picture (so to speak!) into account.

This Olympus digital camera is no mere point-and-shoot - even though the excellent price might lead you to believe that it is nothing special.

It is a true prosumer camera, with a range of powerful features to satisfy even serious photographers, as pointed out in a number of Olympus digital camera reviews.

Starting with the basics, the Olympus SP-500 UZ works with normal AA batteries, so you're hardly ever likely to be completely out of battery options. The camera is reasonably conservative as far as power consumption goes, sparing you from having to carry a whole bag of backups with you on your next field trip.

This Olympus digital camera has a solid grip and feel, much more like an SLR than like it's little consumer cousins, and as an aspiring or even expert photographer, you needn't feel self-conscious in public...

The versatility of this camera is accentuated in Olympus digital camera reviews. The Olympus SP-500 offers you enough manual control to do a lot of experimenting, which is what digital cameras are about! On the other hand, if you're still learning the ropes - or are just in a rush - it has at least 21 pre-set modes to help you out in a variety of situations.

In situations where the excellent autofocus system can't be expected to cope fully, you have the option of using the software-controlled manual focus. This is easy to set by navigating on your LCD screen.

Many photographers prefer to be able to manipulate and process the images on their computers afterwards, instead of relying on the camera's onboard processor. The Olympus Digital Camera SP-500 doesn't let you down in that respect. You can shoot in either RAW or JPEG format, or in a combination of the two.

A host of other features will enhance your digital photography experience. The Olympus digital camera allows you to edit images inside the camera, including red-eye removal and cropping. A number of external lenses can be attached to the Olympus SP-500 UZ, to expand the telephoto and wide angle abilities of the camera.

The generous 2.5 inch LCD screen helps a lot when composing and reviewing your pictures. Another plus is that the Olympus SP-500 uses the newer 1GB xD cards that facilitates storing of many more of your creatively captured images.

Anyone who enjoys photography as a hobby, and can invest some time getting familiar with new features, will find that a camera worth its price is the SP-500 UZ Olympus Digital Camera!

For more information visit Best-Digital-Photography.com

Rika Susan of Article-Alert.com researches, writes, and publishes full-time on the Web. Copyright of this article: 2006 Rika Susan. This article may be reprinted if the resource box and hyperlinks are left intact.