Rating: 
Summary: Awesome camera
Review: This is my second digital camera. My first was the Olympus 340R which is still near perfect after 3 years of use. I do a lot of outdoor photography and needed something with zoom capability.
The pixels wasn't that big of a concern because the 1.3 mp of the 340R was suiting me just fine. I run my 19" montitor's resloution at 1600x1200 and the picture fills up the screen with awesome quality.The zoom on this camera is amazing. It can take a picture of 8 pt text on paper from across the room (11 feet) and you can read it clearly. It's also pretty amazing how lighting is composed. Without the flash on, it still compensates for a lot of light. I was able to zoom across the neighborhood for about 1500 feet at night and still get a good picture of cars coming down a hill. With my old camera I found that digital zoom is pretty much worthless unless you print straight from the card. If you need the extra zoom, you can do it on your computer. I tested this out: I took a 27X zoomed picture and a 10X optical zoom of the exact same object. On my computer I enlarged the optical zoom photo 300%. The detail was exactly the same in both photos. When you only use optical zoom, you also get more overall picture. What I mean my this is that you get more frame area to crop out if you need to, abling you to center the object easier. One feature that no one has mentioned yet is the ability to record 4 seconds of audio with each photo. I find this really cool to mark my GPS location points. I mark the position on my GPS, take the picture, and then record what GPS waypoint the picture is of. The 4 second audio is only 32K on the card, so you won't even notice loss of space. You can even go back and re-record or add audio to pictures already taken.
When you play back the photos while connected to a TV, the audio plays with each photo. The stability is somewhat of an issue when zommed in, but I also found the "action" mode to elimate any bluring. A lot have mentioned the "lens cap of doom". It doesn't pop off the lense, it's held by a thumb spring. (mabe the older ones did just snap onto the lense, but my new one doesn't) It also comes with a retaining cord so it's no going anywhere. The camera didn't have a specific place to attach the lens cap cord, so I wove it into the neck strap. It's long enough that it doesn't stop the lens from pertruding out when turned on and you forget to take the lens cap off. Viewing taken photos on the LCD is very quick. My 340R would take about 3 seconds to load each photo in to the LCD. The C-700 is almost immediate, and you can zoom in 3X and pan freely around the photo. After taking a picture, you can also view the last shot immediately and delete it if you want. To do this, press the LCD button [] twice quickly. I use feature this a lot because I like to show people the photo/video right away. The last feature I absolutely love is the USB connection. I have a FlashPath (floppy disk reader) for my old camera, which won't be getting much use anymore. The USB is pretty much as fast a reading from a hard drive. A 4 meg video clip starts playing immediately straight from the camera.
Rating:
Summary: Olympus has a winner
Review: Olympus has a winner with their new C-700 digital camera. This camera is aimed at the serious amateur who would like a fully automatic digital camera with the versatility and capablities to be used in advanced ways as a single lens reflex for available light shots, long telephoto shots, and macro closeups. It accomplishes both these tasks beautifully. It can be set on auto and takes shots effortlessly through a lens with a maximum aperture of f 2.8 capable of an amazing 10 to 1 zoom. The viewfinder is an eyelevel electronic image of the actual image being transmitted by the lens. This simulates the through the lens experience of the 35mm single lens reflex. Focus is automatic, and exposure is automatic. Flash is automatic in dim light situations. The results: uniformly good pictures in auto mode. Excellent 8 X 10 enlargements from the standard HQ (high quality) setting yielding 500k files which expand in the computer to 5 meg pictures. It is when you leave full auto mode that the true capabilities of this camera become apparent. In the "P" mode (programmable manual) you have full control over spot metering option, ISO sensitivities from 100 to 800, aperture priority auto, or shutter speed priority, and even full manual exposure. These capabilities along with the 10 to 1 zoom, gives the kind of control that makes the kind of photos usually reserved for 35mm with long zoom lenses: full face portraits with selective focus dreamy backgrounds, macro shots of flowers, insects, available light shots with the subtleness of natural light. This combined with the picture manipulations possible with the computer with the right software, and the full range of color photography with picture control of darkroom manipulation is within the grasp and pocketbook of the advanced amateur. There is much to like about this new offering from Olympus. There are only a few items on the downside. To pack all of this versatility into the camera, it is slightly more bulky than its cousins from Canon (especially the elph series). Also it lacks image stabilization found on the more expensive pro digital cameras. At maximum telephoto settings, camera shake can spoil the sharpness of images unless shooting outdoors with good light, or the camera is stabilized on a tripod. The lens cap is tied to the body by a strap, and may restrict the lens mount from extending unless it is removed before hitting the "on" button. I hope I make that mistake only once! But these are minor quibbles when you match that with a price below $... and the ability to zoom 10:1 and spot meter. All in all Olympus has been successful in designing a camera that an advanced amateur can grow into, with a price he can afford now. I like it!
Rating:
Summary: Love it
Review: I was just given this camera as a gift. It made the whole ordeal of choosing the right camera that much easier. Thank god my parents did their homework before buying this. This is loaded with features. I am the type of guy who will sit down with directions and read front to back. You will find though with this instruction book you will need to go out and play with what you just learned (heres the dog in black & white, heres the dog in sepia, heres the dog ...). I still have not digested all of the instructions and its been two weeks. Read, play, repeat. There is a lot to say about this toy but I will start with the negative. Power consumption. This camera eats batteries for breakfast. Bought new AA's on Saturday and they are dead by Tuesday. Even though I use the back video panel most of the time because I don't really like looking through the viewfinder - I was even getting the 'low battery' signal after only one day of use!. I have just purchased a battery recharger pack which has alleviated my worries. By the way - batteries? Why don't these cameras just plug into the wall and recharge an internal battery? All my other gadgets (phone, MD player, etc) can do this. It seems archaic to have to replace the batteries - oh well. Clumsy grip. My hands are just a little too big for the grip so I end up holding it by the palm and finger tips - would love a big rubberized handle so someone cant bang the camera out of my hands. Auto focus. The point and shoot feature makes you say 'wait, hold on, don't move, almost got it' to your subjects most of the time due to its 2-3 second lag. I can live with it though. Smart media cards. Time of writing the Olympus Smart Media cards are about $1 a mb. I just bought a 128mb card and have enough memory for a long vacation. I bought Olympus because of the panorama feature supposedly only works with Olympus specific cards. Directions. Directions could have been written on something bigger. I doubt the person (I hope you are reading this) who wrote the directions actually tested them on John Q. Public before releasing. Directions should be easy enough to understand that my mother could read and start to shoot. Power adaptor. Where is it? Olympus wants me to pay an extra $40 or so for an adaptor so I wont have to waste batteries. Mr. Olympus - nowadays this is included in everything you buy that requires electricity. One more thing - when will cameras stop looking like the old boxy Brownie cameras? After all - they are just electronics and a lens - you would think they would look like a tube or something else cool by now. Just my $.02. And now for the things I like about this camera. Features, features, features. This camera is chocked full of features (it had better be for the price). Although the features aren't the most user friendly (eg exterior physical buttons that could help you switch settings with just a push) and you have to dig for some of the settings (just yesterday I learned I could save my settings for lower resolution as the default when I turn the camera on - instead of continually switching it in order to take more pictures) there is a lot you can do with it. USB. The supplied transfer cable makes uploading pics quick. Software. The included software package is clear and easy to use. You don't have to dig far to see your thumbnails. The slideshow feature is great for reviewing your recent pics. I can go on and on - but the piece de resistance is the panoramic and the 360 degree Quicktime movies the camera and software can produce. Everyone has tried once in their lives to stitch together pictures but they never work the way you thought. With this software - its done in two mouse clicks and its practically seamless.
Rating:
Summary: Easy, Versatile, Fun
Review: We had a modest early-technology digital HP camera. We bought this because of the zoom, and other features which were less important. We have been amazed by this camera. It is easy to use, takes very acceptable photos ( we have only used the medium picture quality setting), downloads eaily and is easy to show via cable to the TV for sharing. The macro feature is great, allowing real closeups of flowers, etc. The "mini-movie" feature has turned out to be great (we didn't think we'd even use it). The prints I have produced from a [...]HP printer are actually amazing, approaching film camera quality. We are more than pleased with this camera's ease of use, and quality. All in a size that makes it easy to take along anywhere. We did buy the bigger smartmedia card (64m) and adapter and recharger, but I must say the original lithium batteries lasted through our experimentation and the first 100 photos, including "mini-movies" and replaying on the TV. We love it!
Rating:
Summary: C-700 Ultra Zoom
Review: This is a great camera. I previously used the D-460 and was ready to upgrade to something with more resolution. The C-700 has been a joy to learn. The 10x zoom with Olympus' wonderful optical quality lens take great pictures. Be sure to try the auto braketing feature - it's fun and provides additional clarity in low-light conditions. The camera is compact and light and fits nicely in the Tamrac Digital 6 camera bag. I purchased the lens adapter and filter kit with the intention of protecting my lens and have been very happy with this setup.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Camera, but the same problem as every other digital...
Review: This is a great camera, with 10x optical zoom (27x digital zoom!) and the Quicktime movie mode, and it would be a great camera for vacations or outdoor excursions. But it suffers from the same inflated pricing as all other digital cameras. Every other electronic device has followed a more drastic price drop trend than the one we are seeing with digital cameras. Look how inexpensive DVD players, CD burners and of course computers have gotten over the past few months. This will be a great camera to buy when I can't get a better 35mm for half the price! If you want a great picture in your computer, save some money and buy a Canon Rebel and a flatbed scanner.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice features, terrible pictures
Review: Loved the features this camera offered. It does takes pictures very quickly, but I was disappointed with the picture quality. The pictures seem dark and washed out. My Kodak DC215 takes much better pictures. Maybe I just needed to adjust something, but it doesn't retain your settings after powering off, so I'd have to set it every time. Also, it defaults to medium image quality every time it is powered off - very annoying. I think I will try the Kodak DC4800 instead.
Rating:
Summary: Camera gives control of a good SLR
Review: This camera has a great flexibility, from point and shoot, to full manual control. The specs didn't really indicate the quality of the status displays in the view finder. I take a lot of available light pictures for our newsletter, and the results are very good. The instruction book is written with quite small type, so the bi-focal crowd may be frustrated. The instruction book on the CD is about 200 pages long, and is very well written. You can use the camera as a point and shoot with good results, or you could make it a research project to take advantage of all its' features. The electronic viewfinder is like having a SLR, except for shots of fast moving airplanes--the viewfinder can get behind the action, which takes some adaptation by the photographer. I expect to use this camera for a lot of things for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: I just love this camera!
Review: First of all, I must say that I'm new to digital cameras. And we've only had this camera for 2 weeks (during which we finished wedding plans and survived our daughter's wedding), so we haven't fully explored what this little marvel of engineering can do. We chose the Olympus C-700 because of the excellent reviews here on Amazon and on other websites. We spent many hours researching digital cameras, which confirmed our immediate reaction looking at this camera at the store. It feels GREAT in your hand, and once you look through that LCD viewfinder, you just won't be happy with any other viewfinder! My advice is the buy the 128MB card right away. We haven't filled it up yet, and I was shooting pictures like crazy! When you look in the viewfinder, it tells you how many pictures are left on the card at High Quality. After reading about how digital cameras drain the batteries so quickly, we were prepared with alkaline batteries as well as an extra set of lithium rechargables, but we were pleasantly surprised with how long the batteries last. This is really the only camera you'll find with a 10x zoom, except for the older Olympus C-2100UZ, which is not only harder to find, but about twice as heavy! The only advantage to this other camera, from our research, is that it has image stabilization. But part of the joy of a digital camera is taking it along to capture those special moments, and it would be a real pain to have it twice as heavy! Even though I'm not an experienced photographer even with a normal camera, I was able to take excellent pictures with this camera! It's just wonderful being able to see your pictures right away on the screen. How many times have you taken 10 pictures of a certain subject, only to find later, when it was too late, that the lighting wasn't right for the situation? We enjoyed being able to hook up the camera to the TV and show them to a whole room of people. Hooking up the camera to the computer via the USB is easy too, and the software is straightforward. One of the things we were carefully looking at was the fact that this camera is "only 2.1 megapixels". We compared reviews of the C-700 to Olympus cameras with over 3 megapixels. It seems that the image quality is just as good (some reviews say better!), especially if you're not needing to print out pictures larger than 8x10's. According to all the reviews, the lens makes a huge difference and this camera has a great one. I tried out the 10x zoom by taking pictures of my daughter's wedding bouquet the day after the wedding. The pictures are just gorgeous! Oh, and I've only used the AUTO setting so far. I'm looking forward to learning more about the camera, especially the "burst mode" where you can take a whole bunch of pictures right in a row. The only downside we've seen to this camera so far is the lens cover. It does come with a small cord which attaches to it, but we never figured out how you're supposed to connect this little cord to the camera. We tried to thread it through the same opening that the camera strap goes through, but that didn't work. The result is that the lens cover was accidentally dropped after we owned it just a few days. A little black piece of plastic came out of the lens cover and when we tried to put it back together, it wouldn't squeeze together to grip the lens. Apparently there was a small spring which was lost, but my husband improvised a temporary fix with a small piece of foam which he put where the spring was. Then we took a piece of 6-ply black cross-stitch thread and threaded that through the cord on the lens cover and then attached that to strap. It's not a perfect solution, but at least the lens cover stays with the camera! The directions/design for this lens cover attachment could be better for sure! This is an amazing little camera - great for people like me who need just point-and-shoot, and also for those people who enjoy changing the settings themselves....
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera
Review: I researched digital 3 mp and 2 mp cameras under [...]for weeks and agonized. Read all the reviews at prof. websites like dpreview.com, looked in stores, compared features and prices and finally bought the c700, primarily because of the zoom. I've had it for over a month now, taken nearly 100 photos and the camera is awesome. The image stabilzation is not much of a problem except in low light. It has an action shot mode that compensates -- I took shots of my daughter playing tennis from outside the court with max zoom and froze the ball and her swing in mid-air with perfect focus. I've had professional prints made up to 8x10 and they look exactly like 35mm film prints! -- excellent quality and NO NEED for 3mp which just hogs space. B&W and Sepia modes are fantastic. The bright light color problems mentioned by the expert reviews are minimal if they ever occur. Easy to use auto modes and full manual as well. 3x zoom cameras simply cannot compete with the 10x optical zoom. Easy to download to my computer (Windows ME -- no software or tinkering required -- the photo software that comes with the camera is pretty lame). After a month and 100 shots I still have not changed the non-rechargeable batteries that came with it. You do need to add an ac adapter, 64mb card, a case and some rechargeables. Unless you are an expert photographer (and they always complain about something) you cannot go wrong with this camera.
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