The Olympus SP-350 impresses the most with its high-quality images and full set of features. It produces sharper images with less noise than the vast majority of compact cameras. The SP-350 is also equipped with more features than other compact cameras with support for RAW images, complete manual controls, 5-shot bracketing, focus-point selection, white-balance tuning among others. It body is also well designed with a good grip and easily accessible buttons. The main disappointment for the SP-350 is its speed which is below average in virtually all aspects.

For its excellent image quality, the Olympus SP-350 is definitely recommended. For people and action photography, this camera is too slow. Instead, look at the Canon A620 which is faster, has an unlimited movie mode but does not have all the features of the SP-350 and produces good (but noisier) images at all ISO settings. If features are more important, look for the Canon S70 (which can shoot RAW) or the Canon S80 (which can't shoot RAW, but has an amazing movie mode). Note that both the S70 and S80 strongly compromise on image quality compared to the SP-350.