Olympus SP-510

This camera is an OK shooter with a great grip and reachable buttons. Its menu system is somewhat clunky however.

The 10x optical zoom in a relatively small form factor is definitely this camera's party piece. The image quality is decent though you need a good amount of ambient light to get the most of the tiny sensor. The super macro mode is excellent, allowing shots from as close as 2 inches though again, good ambient light is essential. At night time, images will either be too dark to see anything or the ISO will have to be ramped up so high that they're very noisy.

The EVF is a nice touch but bright light can cause a lot of purple fringing though it saves battery life compared to the normal screen.

Battery life is OK but not remarkable. However, when you're using AA batteries, an investment in rechargeable ones is sensible.

This camera's biggest weakness by far is its autofocus. It works almost in geological time so if you plan to do high speed action/sports photography, forget it. Even pre-focusing your shot gives you only a small chance of getting decent results. The autofocus is definitely better suited to portraits, still life or landscapes.

As long as you use this camera with realistic expectations i.e. outdoors for non-action images, you won't be too disappointed though the slow autofocus can be frustrating.

Olympus SP-510. Macro, zoom and long exposure pictures are great and daylight pictures are super. Only bad point, auto pictures at night. A great camera

The Olympus SP-510 is a good camera with excellent picture quality. The zoom is just right (10x) but in a small frame. There can be some noise at higher ISO speeds. Also the anti-shake feature is suspect but can work under some circumstances.