Olympus Camedia C-720 3MP Digital Camera w/ 8x Optical Zoom

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Summary: A Great Family Camera
Review: I've tried several digital cameras over the last 2 years searching for the elusive combination of speed, image quality, and lens. While the C-720 isn't the best in any one category, it is a great package for families and trips. The autofocus is quick and the lens is outstanding - long enough without being so long as to cause excessive shake. You have to work with this camera - set the shutter speed high and you can zoom all the way out without a problem, perfect for parades, and other family outings. No digital camera is perfect, at least not in this price range, for some things nothing beats a large film image - but for 90% of what we take photos of, this camera, and its siblings (730/740/750) are perfect for what they do,

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Summary: Best Value for the Price
Review: If you're looking for a camera that will give you 3 megapixel resolution and can zoom 8X, then this is the one for you. The price is incredible, when you consider how it compares feature by feature to the competition. I love this camera, and use it for landscape photos that will be blown up to 11 x 14"... the clarity is first rate. The camera isn't perfect, but in comparison to the others in its class (megapixel and zoom) it's tops...

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Summary: Olympus C-720
Review: If you're looking for a great digital camera for a great price, get the Olympus C-720. Like most of you, I'm not a professional photographer, but in the first week I was able to take what I consider to be some very nice shots. After reading the extensive manual, I quickly came to the conclusion that this camera will do a LOT and I'm going to have to experiment with it quite a bit to learn all of its capabilities. The only beef I have is the slow auto-focus only, no manual focus. Though the manual zoom is accurate, it can be a bit slow when you're trying to catch a fast moving object. For example, I was trying to take a shot of my dog as he was running toward me . . .forget it . . .the focus was just too slow. Olympus' suggestion is to "pre-focus" on the subject, then take the shot. Okay, sounds good. But why not include a manual focus? The 8X optical zoom is awesome. Coupled with the 3X digital (to get 24x) it is incredible. As with other high-zoom cameras, use a tri-pod for high zoom shots or a VERY steady hand. The 8X optical zoom is so good, I rarely use the digital zoom at all. Though this camera has a smaller rear viewing monitor than most cameras in its class, it hasn't bothered me at all. I can still review photos with ease and it saves on battery life. The quality of the photos is remarkable. My wife and I have taken quite a few "jaw-droppers" in just the first few weeks of owning the camera. It's nice not being saddled with film processing costs and delays. You can review the shots right on camera and delete what you don't want. Consequently, we've taken more pictures with this camera in a few short weeks than with all the other cameras we've owned, combined! So far, the battery life is amazing as well. Around 400 shots! IMHO, it blows the 2MP cameras away. Get a 128MB card and you'll have a hard time filling it up in one day.

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Summary: Could the 700 be improved?
Review: In a word, yes. The 700 was my favorite digicam ever, putting most everything else in storage. However, along comes the 720 & adds a 50% better resolution while sacrificing only a small amount of the fine optical zoom (from 10x to 8x) that the 700 is known for. In point of fact, zooming at 10X without a tripod or image stabilization (not present on either the 700 or the 720) 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 720, and the smoothness (just the right damping) with which it reaches its 8x limit is awesome. Another nice feature is its ability to take QuickTime movies, which really adds to its versatility. The camera as shipped does benefit from some upgrading, but these things can be added later. I would suggest the first purchase be a much larger memory card than the 16 megs included (I like the 128); if possible, buy Olympus, as these proprietary cards allow for a few more digital formatting tricks than do the others.

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Summary: Not for moving objects!!!
Review: My husband purchased this camera for me for Christmas. I'm sure it has some excellent features, but I can't get past the slow auto focus. I mainly used it for taking pictures of my 2 year-old twins and I've missed some really cute shots because of the slow focus. EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING!!! I will be returning this camera tomorrow.

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Summary: Versitile, but still needs some tweeking
Review: The Camedia is a great camera for anyone who takes photography somewhat seriously. The multi settings are great, from an automatic ANYONE can use, to the manual settings that will satisfy the amateur photographer. I wish they had put in a ring for manual focusing, as is now, the manual delays picture taking by anywhere from 1-2 seconds, on top of the already 1 second delay. For the price range, however, the camedia is the best you will get. If you would prefer higher MP the camedia 4mp with only 3x zoom is practicaly identical. I had a tough time deciding. The 3mp is good enough resolution for photo quality print outs at slightly less than a full sheet of paper. Compression rates are excellent, 7 pictures on the 16 megabyte card at SHQ, but only 1 at tiff (although the results are incredible). Also, the side output units rock. It even comes with a video out cord to hook up to a VCR.
Conclusion- fun easy to use camera with many possibilities

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Summary: Olympus Camedia C-720 digital camera W/ 8X optical Zoom
Review: The camera is really nice and works well but, will not work great in low light,unless you use the flash and are pretty close to your subject matter but not too close, other than that the zoom is really nice it really brings things in close and with the 8X Zoom the 3 megapixel is nice,I have taken some great photos in full light and in medium light making sure that the camera was held still. The software will let you do a lot just using the auto enhance option.
On the down side it is just a bit too big to put in a shirt pocket so I had to get a bag for it or put it in a jacket pocket in cooler weather.

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Summary: Wide angle problems??
Review: The specs show that this camera has the 35mm equivilent of 40-320 mm. With only going as low as 40mm, do wide angle shots suffer? Are wide angle adaptors available to screw on?

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Summary: Olympus C-720 Ultra-Zoom digital camera
Review: This camera has a great 8X lens, which attracted me. The 8X lens makes it possible to take clear photos of distant objects. The camera does not take good photos at night, as the lights all show up as large spots. And, the electronic viewfinder is difficult to use in other than optimal conditions. The LCD screen is too small for an otherwise competent camera. The photo processing computer program provided by Olympus is difficult to use, and would be much improved if it had right-click commands. The camera can use 4 AA batteries. Battery life with AA alkaline batteries is adequate, and they are much cheaper and more convenient to replace when traveling than $pecial camera batteries often required by other models. All in all, the 8X lens is what the Camedia has going for it.

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Summary: Grrreat Camera!
Review: This camera is great! The best thing about it is the lens-you can take photos of far away objects easily. The 8x optical zoom is wonderful and the digital 3x is surprisingly clear. I especially enjoyed all the options. There is a movie mode and many exposure commands. The LCD screen on the back is bright and clear. You may take timed exposures and macro shots. There are screws on the lens to add filters and other lenses (check out Ebay: "720 Olympus filters"). Also, there camera comes with a wide array of items. It comes with lens cap, straps, cables and manuals. The software included is very good and becomes outstanding with the upgrade-check out free stitch. The memory goes up to 128meg and is easy to purchase at Amazon-lookup "128meg smartmedia". The included (stereo port) TV cable enables viewing shots on the TV-and even slideshows from the camera (12' Sterio cord extension from Radio Shack helps). Overall, it's a great camera with lots of good-great for family or pro. I highly recommend it.