Olympus Stylus SP-100 keeps you on target (pictures)

This camera's clever dot-sight sets it apart from the other bridge cameras out there.

Joshua Goldman

Jan. 28, 2014 10:00 p.m. PT

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Olympus Stylus SP-100

The SP-100 is Olympus' 2014 entry into the superultramegazoom category with a 50x f2.9-6.5 24-1200mm lens.

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EVF

The camera's electronic viewfinder (EVF) has a high 920K-dot resolution and has been specially designed to minimizes contact between your face and the camera's body.

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Dot-sight framing assist

One of the big drawbacks to using a megazoom camera lens is that moving subjects can move out of frame fast, usually requiring you to retract the lens some to relocate your subject. The SP-100's unique dot-sight keeps you from having to do that.

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Head-up display

Built into the frame beneath the pop-up flash is a semitransparent mirror. The dot-sight projects a reticle on to the mirror so you can quickly track and shoot your subject without zooming the lens out and in again.

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It's a big one

When closed, the camera measures 4.8 inches wide by 3.6 inches high by 5.2 inches deep, and weighs 21.1 ounces.

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Mode dial

Shooting modes include: Intelligent Auto (iAUTO), Program Auto (P), Aperture Priority (A), Shutter Priority (S), Manual (M), Super Macro, 17 Scene Modes, 11 Art Filters, and Panorama. Just to the right of the Mode dial is thumb dial for quickly adjusting shutter speeds, apertures, or other important settings.

Secondary zoom control and focus limiter

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Secondary zoom control and focus limiter

The lens barrel zoom control lets you change focal length with the left hand while shooting with the right. Olympus also added a focus-limit button so the camera will focus only in a set range when turned on, and focus only in the distance when off.

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Deep grip

The SP-100 has a deep right-hand grip, which should hopefully make steadying that massive zoom lens a little easier. The camera does have optical image stabilization, too.