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Olympus SP-800UZ
Prasad Naik, Jul 26, 2010 1220 hrs ISTHigh zoom point-and-shoot camera that offers good image quality
30x optical zoom, fairly compact design despite the large lens, good image quality, HD video recording
Poor layout of controls, no shortcut buttons, cramped navigation dial, no manual settings, standard 4:3 aspect ratio make images look small on the wide screen display
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Design & Construction
The Olympus SP-800UZ looks like someone took a point-and-shoot camera and stuck a large lens on its front. Technically, that's what it is, actually. The main body of the camera is pretty slim, unlike the HS10. Unfortunately, this has it's disadvantages. The SP-800UZ doesn't offer a good grip. Since the camera is not very tall, the lower half of your hand has nothing to grip onto. Even the rubber grip in the front is very tiny. 
The lens on the SP-800UZ is pretty big when closed, but, unlike the HS10, it does not pop out nearly as much at its highest zoom level. On the top right of the lens is the microphone, on the top left is the focus assist lamp and on the bottom left is the loudspeaker. Above the lens sits the flash, which has to be manually opened every time you want it to fire. On top of the camera is the shutter button with the zoom ring and the power button. 
The back side of the SP-800UZ is rather bare. On the left you see the large wide screen display. The display quality is decent but since it is a wide screen display it is more suited for viewing videos, as the images only take the center portion of the display. One good thing is that the icons take up the black space on the side, so your view is not blocked. The display is your viewfinder on the SP-800UZ, as there is no optical viewfinder. 
On the right you will see the prominent red colored video recording button. Below is the playback button, the rotating jog dial and the menu buttons. I found that the jog dial was a bit too small and difficult to operate. It was easier to press it than to turn it.
The SP-800UZ, surprisingly, does not have any shortcut buttons for any of the functions. For everything you have to go into the menu and then adjust. This can get annoying and tedious while shooting.
The build quality and fit and finish of the camera is top notch. It has a well-weighted feel to it and feels sturdy.
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