Olympus's most ambitious Ultra Zoom yet, the 7.1 megapixel Olympus SP-550 UZ features a whopping 18x (28 - 504mm equivalent) optical zoom lens, ranging from true wide-angle to long telephoto. The relatively fast f/2.8 - 4.5 lens employs high-refractive, aspherical and extra-low dispersion (ED) elements to maximize sharpness and clarity, and is also capable of focusing as close as 0.39 inches (1cm), an amazing feat considering the record-breaking zoom range. To help ensure sharp, crisp results at longer focal lengths or in poor light, the Olympus SP-550 is equipped with both hardware and software types of image stabilization. Sensor-shift type image stabilization, a first for Olympus, detects camera motion and moves the CCD to compensate, reducing blur due to camera shake.



Link: Imaging Resource