Olympus Reviews

The zoom is brilliant, but the camera has some irritants. In very bright light, which is usual lighting conditions in South Australia, you need to take control of the exposure, because it will wash out the colours. In low light (ie needing a flash), you have to take control of the focussing. And every time you replace or re-charge the batteries, you'll need to turn off the stupid start-up/shutdown sound effects - if you prefer your photography to be subtle.

This is my second Olympus camera. First one was a C2500L. I still use that camera. I got the C750 because I didn't wait long enough for Olympus to come out with the C2100 with the 10x zoom when I bought the C2500L. So I've wanted a 10x zoom camera for 4 years. The other reasons I went with the C750 is because the hot shoe for the camera is identical to that of the C2500L and it has movie mode with audio.

While I haven't used the camera for more than a day, it is very small compared to the C2500L. The camera comes with a tether for the lens cap that I found convenient. It takes amazing pictures with vivid color reproduction. The flash does not wash out the picture like my C2500L does. Illumination is more consistent throughout the shot than the C2500L. I would have liked the view finder to be optical instead of digital. But I am not going to complain since it automatically adjusts the focus and contrast fairly well for framing the shot. You can use the LCD to frame the shot and for recording movies. Very convenient.

Movie mode is pretty cool and can be done with or without audio. Pictures can also be taken with or without audio, though the wav file is separate from the picture file when you copy it to the computer. The camera will look like a regular drive to the computer. I use Windows XP. No software needed. Just plug and go. I don't use the Camedia software so I can't comment on that. You can record movies and take pictures all on the xD picture card.

Unlike my C2500L, it only takes xD picture cards. Contrary to my initial impression, it can delete all the images from the card all at once, without formating the card. The xD picture cards are so small, I don't mind having three types of cards for two cameras. My C2500L takes SmartMedia and Compact Flash. And the xD card is less than half the size of the SmartMedia at about the same thickness.

The charger that comes with the camera is slow. Said to take 9 hours to charge the batteries. It recommends unplugging the charger after the 9 hours even if the batteries are not fully charged. I haven't looked into that very much but I just unplugged it after ten non-continuous hours of charging and the batteries got very warm but the light didn't shut off. Olympus included 1700 mAH batteries. I'm using 2000 mAH batteries in this camera. I've purposely taken over 100 stills at night with the flash, over 100 stills during the day and four 181 second movies and viewed it many many times with audio and I'm still on the same 2000 mAh batteries on its first charge. Incredible.

I haven't been able to figure out how to get the camera to do fill flash photography. Don't know if it can.

The quick start guide is handy for those in a rush. The basic manual is useless. The reference manual is what most will need and it's on the CD or can be had from the Olympus website, which is where I got it. Unless you shut off All Reset, the camera will keep dumping some of your personal settings every time you power cycle it. That annoyed me because it kept setting the quality to HQ after I had set it to SHQ.

This camera is awesome. It's got lots of features that I've not had a chance to explore. More modes than I am used to with my C2500L. I recommend getting the fitted case for it. It should have been included with the camera but this is America where you get nickel and dimed. And plan on getting a larger capacity xD card. 16 MB just won't cut it.

Update: Fill flash can be done. It was quite easy with the flash mode button. There are two annoying things about this camera. First off, wherever the camera is pointed, it will try to focus so that you can see what you're pointing the camera at through the viewfinder or LCD. The camera does NOT allow you to change the zoom while it's trying to focus. It's a pain in low light conditions and you're trying to quickly change the zoom to take a picture of the moment. You'll miss it by miles.

The other annoying thing is that if you have a dark subject against a plain background, the camera will refuse to focus for the shot. I'll take a black pistol and put it on my bed with light blue covers to take a picture of it. The camera would focus so that the pistol will show up in the viewfinder. But when I tried to take the shot, it won't focus. My C2500L focused no problem. If I put a printed black and white document under the pistol, the camera focused no problem. I ended up taking the pictures with my old digital camera with the external FL-40 flash. I find this camera has inferior focusing capabilities to my C2500L. The C750 has a hard time focusing on a brass door knob on a brown door. No such problem with my C2500L. I took a star from the rating.

This camera is just simply amazing. Whether you are new to photography, or are an avid photographer, this camera will fit all. The auto mode lets this camera operate as a simple point and shoot camera, while the multitude of manual adjustments offer a great deal of flexibility in shot selection. The pictures that I have taken thus far have been of very good quality. I can't wait to see what they look like once they are printed out on a decent printer.
This camera comes with 4 rechargeable NIMH batteries and a charger, Camedia 4.1 software, remote control, and of course users manual and cables. I love being able to view my pictures on a tv with the included A/V cables. The remote control is also very nice if you take a lot of self portrait shots or group photos. I haven't used the included rechargeable batteries yet, but they are only 1700MA.
The zoom of this camera is great. The optical zoom is a whopping 10X, but you can also use the digital zoom to get as close as 40X... and the quality is actually pretty good for that much digital scaling. The 4X digital zoom is available while taking pictures in any resolution!! My previous camera was a Finepix 3800, and I hated the variable digital zoom.
Some of the manual settings include aperture control, shutter control, white balance, saturation, contrast, focus....etc. This camera has been able to do anything that I want and then some.
As of this writing, I have absolutely no regrets about buying this camera. I thought at first that the initial...price was a little steep, but that was before I actually started using this incredible camera.
Great job Olympus!!

However, it does address some of the 730's sluggish autofocus mechanism issues for fewer blurred images.
That notwithstanding, the 700 was my favorite digital camera for a long time, that is, until the 720 came along. Then along came the 730, which maintained the 3+ megapixel resolution of the 720, while reinserting the 10X (true optical) zoom (the 720 has an 8X). Think of the 740 as a refreshing of the line while Olympus was waiting for the truly improved 750 to hit the streets.
In point of fact, zooming on any of the 700 series at 8X or at 10X without a tripod or image stabilization (not present on either the 700 thru the 740) is extremely challenging. Anyway, this camera is beautifully made and ergonomically engineered. The aspherical all glass lens system is excellent and the resulting 3 megapixel images are crystal clear at 8" x 10" and quite acceptable at 11" x 14". The zoom of course remains the trump card on the 740, and the smoothness (just the right damping) with which it reaches its 10x limit is awesome. Another nice feature is its ability to take QuickTime movies, which really adds to its versatility. However, these have no sound, a drawback the 750 will address.
The 740 (a feature that began with the 730) is the second Olympus to utilize the new xD memory card format, the "xD-Picture Card". This is a new type of ultra-compact memory media developed jointly by Fuji and Olympus. The main features of the xD-Picture Card are its ultra-compact size (20.0 x 25.0 x 1.7mm), its lower power consumption (the xD Picture-Card users will benefit from the convenience and savings of longer battery life on a single charge) and its faster read/write speeds. Of course, a new card means a new card-reader will be needed, but these are inexpensive and aren't immediately needed, as the camera can be linked by the included USB cable to your PC without too much fuss. Overall, I think the 740 is a camera I'd take a pass on. If money is an issue, go with the 730 or even an earlier model (I still love my 700); if features are what you long for, pop for the 750.

I just got the C-740 a week ago and I'm really enjoying it so far. I moved up from an Olympus D-360L 1.3 megapixel camera and aside from more megapixels, I really wanted the optical zoom (since digital zoom is a marketing gimmick... really). This Olympus (and its cousin the C-750) has an unmatched 10x zoom lens for this price bracket. In fact, it could cost in the thousands to get a camera with a similar zoom factor. The lens is all glass, which is important.

The camera does very well. Not only are the distance shots great with the 10x magnification, but close ups are also superb, especially with the Super-Macro mode; some of my best pictures have been close ups of flowers. It has all the manual features, which I also wanted for more creative control.

It is worth noting that at full zoom, you can get blurry shots, but this is typical of any unstabilized zoom lens. To correct it, just steady the camera with both hands or use a tripod. I haven't found it to be a big problem, but it is worth noting so that when you get some blurry shots, you were warned.

I like the electronic viewfinder. Most cameras have the LCD and an optical viewfinder. This has the LCD and an EVF, which is a mini-LCD in place of the viewfinder. The result is that you get a smaller LCD (and thus less battery consumption), but you can change all the options via menus WHILE looking through the viewfinder. Lots of cameras require you to take the camera away from your face, turn on the LCD, change settings, and go back to composing the shot. Some people may not like it, but I personally like the option. Olympus even did the ergonomics right with the menu navigation buttons!

Pros:
- 10x glass, optical, ED (Extra-low dispersion, which reduces chromatic aberration) lens
- Great great macro
- Intuitive menus
- Electronic Viewfinder (EVF)
- Excellent photo quality
- Solid-feel
- Small
- Takes AA batteries, so you can buy them anywhere in a pinch. VERY GOOD IDEA!

Cons:
- EVF, due to extra battery consumption... unfortunate tradeoff for not having optical viewfinder
- Mostly plastic body, I believe... just don't drop it!
- Manual-focus is iffy, but I've used the Canon manual-focus system and it's no better. I'm waiting for [$$] digicams like this to get focus rings!
- Small capacity xD memory included' and xD is new, which means expensive! But it *is* physically small'
- Non-rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries' replace 'em with NiMH rechargeables!

All in all, it's a great camera with great picture quality. 3.2 megapixel is good for crystal-clear 4x6's and sharp 8x10's. I highly recommend. The next model up, the C-750, has sound recording with movies (which I think is a novelty and unnecessary), a hot shoe for optical flashes, and 4 megapixels. But it's a bunch more money for not much extra. You don't need 4 megapixels unless you're doing big 11x16 blow ups. This is not a simple point-and-shoot camera; I'd recommend the Digital Stylus line or the Canon S45 and similar for a more simple, smaller package. If you want a great zoom, lots of creative control, and great photos, this is for you.

I went to a 4th of July celebration where I took 319 pictures. Only 5 of them were bad pictures (probably user mistake). I have taken some awesome fireworks picture. The 10X optical zoom really helps get in close on subjects. The only MINOR complaints that I have are:

1) It's not a fast click between pictures with AutoFocus.
2) Camera settings are reset each time by default.
3) When changing the quality to Super High Quality, the picture gets darker.

All in all, I am very happy with this purchase.

Although Amazon.com recommends this specific adaptor for the Olmpus C-770 Ultra Zoom model camera, Olympus's site seems to disagree. (...) You will see that you actually need the Digital Camera AC Adapter (D-7AC) for the C-770 model.
General advice is thus to doublecheck on the manufacturer's site before you buy.

This is a great battery adapter for the Olympus C3000 series digital cameras. However, depending on what your application is, you might want ot use a different product. If you are viewing/editing your pictures on a TV screen, then use this product.

If, however, you are downloading pictures into your PC, then use an external reader, such as, the Viking Intelliflash Reader. The external reader won't use up the batteries in your camera, in fact, you won't even need to tie up your camera. Just remove the memory card from the camera and insert into the external reader to upload. If you have more than one memory card, then the camera can go back into action, and you can download the other memory card whenever you have the time.

For my application, the external memeory card reader is a much better application than this AC adaptor.

After reading the other posts, I reconfirmed that this adapter will work on all digital Olympus filmless cameras that use 4 AA batteries (including the C-3040). The URL to verify this is http://www.olympusamerica.com/accessory.asp?accessory=9 . On most of my electronic do-dads I make my own power supplies using various equipment lying around (I do electronics for a living), but when you're plunking down several hundred dollars for a good camera, it's wise to play it safe and use only what the manufacturer recommends.

I am new to the digital photography world, yet consider myself fairly well adept at picking up digital devices if provided with good information and clear instructions. After researching and test driving most major brands and models of 5 MP Digital Cameras recently, I kept coming back to the Olympus C-5000Z and simply could not pass up all the features of this camera when all was said and done. Especially at the price that I did not see even remotely matched by any of the other big brand manufacturer's. However, if size is an issue and a compact, lightweight camera is a priority, you will probably opt for something else. Auto feature allowed me to literally put the battery and memory into the camera, shoot pictures indoors and out, and download to my laptop, even email the photos to anyone in my address book - without one hassle or hitch. It does seem to do better in brighter or well lit areas versus darker, primarily indoor environments. I also learned when I went to purchase the camera there was a $50 manufacturer rebate available, effective through 3/30/04 (I believe)? The rebate and most every other basic feature necessary for the beginner-to-intermediate digital photographer, made the Olympus C-5000 Zoom extremely hard to pass up. Thus far, I have been completely satisfied with the camera and have no regrets with my decision whatsoever.

I've had this camera for a few days now and it is awesome. It takes great pictures and has a lot of options. I don't have a detailed review since I've only owned the camera for a short period of time but when I was trying to decide which camera to purchase some of the reviews for this camera said it took poor indoor pictures...this is not true. I've only taken pictures indoor and the quality is above most cameras.

GReat Camera,,,, but you can get it about $80 cheaper than target$399 if you go to amazon site. I got the exact same camera for $313 and free shipping....shop around

The simple fact that the zoom is 100% optical sets this camera apart from other performers in [this] price range. This camera has a solid feel in the hands much like a standard SLR. 8 X 10 reproduction is as good as film media. Video at 15 FPS is a nice touch unavailable with most comperable cameras. The only drawback, which is easily corrected, is the 8 Meg memory. ...

I am blown away by this. The indoor flash is great; so much better than a friend's Sony that, while cute and small, ain't so great inside.

I get 170 pictures at once with the 64 memory stick. And I can't tell the difference between high quality, about 650k per picture, and the ultra high, which is about twice the size. You might need to replace the batteries before you have to delete all the pictures to leave room for more.

It really is the best 3.3 MP deal you can get. You can keep shopping and come to the same conclusion eventually, or you can figure you've done enough research now and just buy this one.

After literally days of research (reading reviews and specs) while looking for a digital camera in Toronto, the C-3000 has truly won my heart, and I'm sure I speak for many who bought this camera.

As I've been an active amateur photographer for 20+ years, I really appreciate the versatility the C-3000 comes with and yet it allows me to fully engage my shooting with manual settings like using my SLR. It is a great piece of gem as an upgrade replacement to my older point-and-shoot digital camera that I bought years ago and now I always carry it around with my SLR. Many good things about this camera have been said here and so I try to be concise.

For less than $..., you get:
1. Great optics and resolution: 8 elements in 6 groups, aspherical lens equivalent to 32-96mm zoom lens on 35mm camera, f2.8-11; 3.3 megapixel CCD producing image resolution up to 2048 x 1536 (Olympus always has excellent optics and image reproduction)
2. 1.8" LCD display and optical viewfinder
3. Macro mode for close-up shooting, minimum range: 0.8"
4. Supports Panoramic feature (w/ Olympus SmartMedia only)
5. Supports full program, aperature priority and shutter priority auto exposure as well as manual exposure; auto exposure bracketing; spot metering; exposure compensation
6. Allows manual focusing
7. Able to capture QuickTime movie (15fps) with sound
8. IR remote control
9. aluminum casting!

A few features that I wish it had:
1. a faster lens ... like f2.0 in the C-2040 or the f1.8 in C-3040
2. a larger memory buffer to allow a faster shooting sequence and a longer movie capture time
3. a bigger memory card! the 8MB card that it comes with is nowhere near sufficient!
4. a more standard lens diameter ... the 43mm threaded lens mount (w/ the CLA-1 adapter) is such an odd size! and you can't put a filter right on the CLA-1 adapter because the lens tube will hit the filter when the camera is powered up!
5. a better design: the extended lens with a step-up ring and filter will obstruct the object from the viewfinder!

After putting in a lot of time researching digital cameras I finally decided on the c-3000 and couldn't be happier. The picture quality is superb and the special features are easy to use and provide incredible flexibility. I've had no problems witht he battery life, and the lens cap doesn't seem to be as much of a nuisance as others have made it out to be. One of my favorite features so far is the quicktime movie recording mode. Although it's not the highest quality, you can also record sound, and a fairly long video clip, I recommend a high capacity smartmedia card, i have a 128mb. The only things I have noticed that aren't fantastic is a small delay when zooming with the optical zoom, and a somewhat confusing setup for choosing the desired picture quality. Overall this camera is a great buy, I highly recommend it to anyone!

I bought my first digital camera about five years ago, and I pay $400 for it, and it was good by that time but not better than a 35mm film camera, the resolution was pretty bad, the size of the pictures too small and just 1Mb of internal memory. I decided to buy a new one so I checked a lot of reviews about this camera. That you can see at . . .

and other reviews of different cameras and my conclusion is that the Nikon Coolpix 990 is the one that takes the most beautiful pictures, has the best and amazing macro ability and excellent manual white balance. But the flash is the worst of all the digital cameras of this quality I have seen, has no audio ability and no remote control. The picture quality of the Nikon coolpix 990 is just very but very slight better than the olympus 3000, the white balance of the olympus 3000 can not be set up manually but is incredibly accurate, the macro mode is fair and good and my olympus 3000 has a very good flash with red eye control, audio ability, one of the best things the remote control and of course the price that is lower than the nikon not including the price of the bulky external flash that would be needed that is more. So for me this was the best buy and if you compare it with the olympus 3030 is also better because the only difference is the software included that I already have, 16MB smartmedia card I already have a 64MB one of my MP3 player and a feature that nobody uses much the 32MB of internal memory buffer that let you take longer mov movies.

The pictures that I have taken with this camera are amazing a lot better than a 35 mm camera, the detail is incredible and if you have a very good printer you would enjoy the best pictures ever, It is so easy to use that everybody can be a professional, you can see the results immediately and if you do not like what you see just erase the picture, change the settings and take another picture. So there is nowhere else to go, this is the camera If you want to ask me something just write me an email to elcambur@yahoo.com

I bought this camera a little over a month ago and have been very happy with it. Before this, I used a Fugi MX 1200. There is 1 thing that I wish it had an optical viewfinder. It can be hard to see in the sunlight. As for size, its big because it has a built in printer. I found an ac adapter at a ... chain store and use it with the camera. The cost was less than [money]. The pics are quick b/c you are downloading via usb. I use this camera with my MGI Family Ed. Photo program. I also use 2 online photo sites that I found on the net. They are snapfish and ofoto. Wow, was I surprised when I received some pics back that I had sent on the net. I experimented with 1 photo and had it blown up to an 8x10 size. Everyone was amazed at the quality of this picture. I use rechargable batteries and keep several smart media cards handy all in my camera bag. I am in charge of our Family reunions and I think that this camera will be ideal for this. It gives family members a chance to pick up film and have a picture to keep if they want too. The film is around [money] for 10 pics or [money] for 20 pics. This camera seems to be well made. I was happy with the Fugi but I was ready to move on to more pixals and I wanted to get an optical zoom. This camera had both and the price was right since I found it on special for [money] b/c it had an instant [money] rebate. To get anything near this camera without the built in printer would have cost over [money] more. Again, i'm thrilled and it's simple to use with a little bit of reading the book and practice. I print pictures out on my Hewlett Packard model 920 c printer with the resolution set up to 2400 by 1200. Using photo paper or brochure paper can make your picture worth framing. And a laminater can preserve your photos. I also make picture cds on my cd burner to save and use later. As you can tell, I am really into these electronic gadgets now and I research everything that I can about these new products.

It is somewhat bulky. However, once I began using it, I realized how flexible it is. You capture pictures, then you can download them, or print them immediately. The camera also has Optical zoom which is the best zoom type to have (digital zoom is not useful). The instant photo capability means you can instantly print a picture, erase the memory, and then take more pictures. I began operating it immediately without reading the manual. That's how easy it is to use!!

I bought this camera about month ago...and I use it alot. Its so versatile... I love Polaroid 500 pics anyway...so this was neat because it is a digital cam along with the OPTION of polaroid *quick* prints. Yes it IS larger size...BUT ...I still love it.

On the polaroid part... you can take 4 to 9 pics (which you have taken on the camera) ...and put on ONE polaroid print... it's SOOOOOO cool.

One thing I havent been able to do yet is download... for some crazy reason...my computer isn't picking up the cam... BUT... I still love the camera....I RECOMMEND it... Its a fun camera :-)

ITS AWESOME!! Go for it :-)