Olympus SZ-11 Stylish and Compact Ultra-Zoom Camera

On July 27 2011, Olympus announced the SZ-11 ultra-zoom compact camera. Olympus refreshes its ultra-zoom camera's line with new and improved models. The SZ-11 belongs to Olympus S-series. Digital cameras that blends power and versatility. The S-series include cameras like the SP-810UZ, SZ-30MR, SZ-10, SZ-20, SP-610UZ, SP-600UZ and SP-800UZ. The new SZ-11 is the latest addition to this lineup and aimed for travel and sport events photographers.

SZ-11 in Red

Beautiful camera

Overview

I must admit that it's easy to get confused by looking at the amount of super-zoom cameras which are available today. Cameras like the SZ-11 are known to provide a good arsenal of useful features, useful long optical zoom, but also produce high image quality and be stylish as well. Usually shorter range zoom cameras can bring better image quality compared to the longest zoom cameras, due to the complexity of the lens.

The SZ-10 features 20x (25-504mm equivalent) Wide Optical zoom lens, 14MP reoslution, 720p HD videos, 3D Photos and a wide range of in-camera software-based features (ie. filters, scene modes, face detection, etc.).  At $279.99 MSRPS, this camera certainly aimed for photographer on a budget who want a flexible, affordable yet very capable camera.

Stylish Camera

We have come a long way since the squarish design of digital cameras about 10 years ago. Today, in order to sell more cameras, the design is not less important than the camera's features. In fact, many people will base there buying decision by just looking at the camera.

Beautiful curved, prestige finish and modern design

The Olympus SZ-11

The Olympus SZ-11 looks pretty damn good I must say. It's a compact camera (106.3mm x 68.7mm x 39.5mm) which weights only 226g (without batteries and media card). The SZ-11 doesn't include the latest technology innovations, latest features or excellent battery life, therefore it SHOULD look better one the outside to compensate what's on the inside.

So you won't find Full HD video recording, nor you'll get a 921K dots Tilting LCD, but as the saying says: "You get what you paid for.". So I do agree that this camera is a nice compact traveling camera, and quite affordable indeed, but it's more beautiful on the outside as smart and advanced on the inside.

For its style, I would give it a 9 score, really a magnificent looking camera. Style aside, not lets see what else this little new ultra-zoom camera offers.

20x Optical Zoom

Probably one of the most important factors for people searching for an ultra-zoom camera is the optical zoom magnification. The Olympus SZ-11 features a 4.5-108mm F3.0-6.9 lens, which in terms of 35mm cameras, equals to 25 – 500mm.

25mm is pretty wide. Wide as the Olympus SZ30MR (24x, 25-600mm) camera and wider than the Olympus SZ-10 (18x, 28-504mm) camera. In terms of optical magnification, the SZ-10 camera goes up to 504 mm, the SZ-10 to 504mm also.  All of those cameras are super-zoom digital cameras in the S-series. The SZ-30MR has the advantage, because it has a longer zoom (600mm).

The SZ-30MR is an advanced camera, more advanced than the SZ-11, and of course it costs around $120 more. The difference in Zoom is not huge, although I think that people who are searching for a really long zoom, might prefer buying the Olympus SP-810UZ or other thirds party ultra-zoom camera. 20x zoom is very useful for both sports (although it depends on other factors), family and travel photography.

Another thing worth mentioning is that this is a slow lens. With F3.0-6.9 minimum aperture, it certainly not the fastest lens in its group. We've already see some ultra-zoom cameras with faster lenses. However, this is an affordable camera, and there are more advanced cameras in Olympus S-series lineup.

Battery Life

Many people might skip this section, but eventually it will meet you while shooting pictures or videos. There's nothing that makes me more frustrated than when the battery drains so quickly. But as I said earlier, yuo get what you pay for. The 200 shots battery life (CIPA) is quite embarrassing, after all, the camera is aimed towards travelers too.

The SZ-11 gets its power from a Li-ion Rechargeable Battery (LI-50B). I think that it would be better to make this camera work on AA batteries, so when traveling, you can just grab a pack of 20 AA batteries and not worry about battery life. This is my opinion, I have a feeling that most people won't even pass this amount of shots anyway, but this is just a rough assumption.

SZ-11 for Sports Photography

Olympus also aimed this camera towards sports event photographers. Well, the camera can shoot 1.7fps in full 16MP resolution (up to 18 images), 7.0 fps in full-res (up to 5 images) and 15 fps in 5M reduced resolution up to 70 images.

Is this camera good for sports photography? - Well, it's pretty good, not the best I've seen, but for what you pay for, it's pretty good.

The camera shutter speed range from 1/1700 sec to 1/4 sec (up to 4 sec in Night Scene mode). I personally don't know why Olympus is using such 'slow' shutter speeds in its latest cameras. The SP-810UZ shutter speed is 1/850 sec! (that's relatively very slow), other cameras offer at least 1/2000 sec and even 1/4000 sec.

What Else? + Conclusion

The SZ-11 is a good camera. More than what I've mentioned above, the SZ-11 features a wide range features, including: Shadow adjustment technology (something like Nikon's D-lighting), Pet mode (AF on dogs and cats, like the Pentax RZ10 pet face recognition), Beauty mode (to get those blemishes and fine wrinkles out of the way, make your gramma look like she's sixteen), 3D photos, A lot of art filters and sweep panorama.

For the asked price, I think that the Olympus SZ-11 is a very nice camera, especially on the outside. For those of you who just want an affordable super-zoom camera, and don't need Full HD, or don't want to cross the $300 barrier, the Olympus SZ-11 looks like a good alternative to more advanced ultra-zoom cameras, which will cost you more. You can buy the SZ-11 in either Red, Silver or Black. The camera is also Wi-Fi compatible, accepts EyeFi™ card (optional).

Want MORE ZOOM? - I recommend reading the following reviews:
Olympus SP-810UZ vs Sony HX100V vs Nikon P500
Nikon Coolpix P500 vs Canon SX30IS, Sony HX100V and SP-800UZ

Panasonic FZ45 vs Nikon P500, Sony HX100v

What do you think about the SZ-11?, share your opinion.