1 Still enjoy it!
I've owned this camera for several years now and although the resolution is starting to get low by todays standards, I still greatly enjoy this camera. I absolutely love the 10x zoom, and the pictures taken are much better than if you would have a cheapy low-end 3-4 megapixel camera. For anyone on a budget, this camera now offers alot of quality for an affordable price.
2 review for Dennis Curtin's book for c700 Olympus camera
This is the book that should have come with the camera. Text is written in plain language. I learned more in one weekend about my camera than I learned in two years. You may miss some of the wonderful features this camera has to offer. A must have how to book for the Olympus c 700 zoom.
FCR
3 10x great for viewing or calendar size prints
I have used the C-700 for a wide variety of shots. From taking pictures from high-altitude. It shows the glaciers, dams and bridges on highways, even buildings and individual trees changing color in the Rockies. I took a picture at maximum 10x x 2.7x (27x) zoom from a cruise ship in Alaska of Orcas on the beach rubbing barnacles off. I couldn't see the result in the view finder or see the orcas with binoculars, but got good quality full screen images cropping out half of the picture where the orcas were. I've taken close-ups of orchids in Singapore, Bald Eagles, in Arkansas, Geysers at Yellowstone and am very happy most of the time. I carry 5 sets of spare rechargeable batteries and use a recharger that hooks up to the car. With the recharger, I never really have to use more that 2 sets when I have the car. It recharges at home in less than 1 hour, and I seldom need more than 3 sets in a full day of photo taking. I keep about 1100MB of memory cards for a full two-week vacation and read them in with a USB reader. I organize and edit using PhotoParade and save my best ones into Webshots. These work very well for my purposes (viewing on my computer). Shutterfly prints calendars for me and the pictures are amazing.
I haven't had any trouble with the lens cap. Maybe that was an earlier model. The cord attaching it must be facing the side it attaches, but it will open with it on in this position.
I have had a problem early on with purple halo's on zoomed pictures around bright portions of the picture. This turned out to be me moving the camera. I found you can brace your hand against a tree, rock, or anything and get sharp pictures. Also, I don't hesitate to take dozens of pictures of something I really want. Animals and birds aren't very cooperative, but by taking many pictures, I've gotten some great shots. With film, I never would have tried. It is also easy to delete unwanted pictures. For landscape, I normally shot in HQ mode which is still better quality than my 1.3 MP camera gave. The main difference there is it still has the 10x zoom which if nothing else can crop a picture like you want. The 2.7x digital is mostly only good for focusing on something tiny like a small bird.
The only negative I've had is trying to take pictures with sharp contrast - real bright light and real dark shade. I've had this with my other digital as well, as well as with film.
4 Great pictures, terrible lens cap
I've owned this camera for more than a year and have been very impressed with the pictures I've taken. I have some fine close-ups of eagles and whales, taken shortly after I bought it. My biggest disappointment is that the springs in the lens cap break easily--I've broken two and haven't found one in many months to replace it, or I might have broken more. The shutter is also a little slow to respond, so you have to anticipate action shots (a bit hard when you're whale watching). I'm told this is a problems with most/all digital cameras and not unique to this one. I still give 4 stars because of the great pictures, the many options it has for taking photos (more like an SLR than a point-and-shoot) and the 10X optical lens.
5 This Camera is FUN!
Easy to use, beautiful photos, great macro lens for extreme close-up situations. This is my first digital and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a camera with a lot of virsitality.
6 Slick little gadget.
Overall, I like this camera lot. Since many others have waxed poetic in this vein, I'll concentrate on what it doesn't do well.
My two major complaints:
1. The small black and white viewfinder is useless in sunlight. One can use the bigger LCD screen as a viewfinder, but it really eats batteries.
2. There is a several second delay between the time you press the shutter button and the time the image is actually captured. The camera is busily focusing and adjusting itself during this time. This makes it difficult to catch fleeting expressions in people's faces, and if you're working with a toddler, they can be long gone by the time the camera takes the picture!
7 Zoom Zoom Zoom
This is a great camera - the zoom being the reason I purchased it. If you can, find a copy of "A Short Course in Olympus Camedia C-700 Ultra Zoom Photography" by Dennis P. Curtin to get the most out of this camera!
8 Does it all well
Had my C-700 for over a year and it absolutely comes through. Even tho it's my first digital, I did my homework before I bought. Knew right away to get a big card (64 is enough!) and ni-mh batteries (the more powerful ones), and a ... card reader. I've done everything from faraway surfing to weddings to nighttime fireworks and campfires to dirt bike excursions and my son's football. I've blown up 8x10's and made T-shirts. This camera has been everywhere and is in constant use. I've burned hundreds of pictures to CD's. And I save power by NEVER using the LCD screen (except to view and delete).
The color, resolution, and sharpness of this camera is amazing. The flash is strong and far-reaching. It does well with portraits, scenery, and everything in between. And it's fairly small and light, even by today's standards.
Other positives: Self timer works well. Auto shut-off saves power when you forget to turn it off. On night shots push the shutter halfway and it lights up so you can see the picture before you take it. No software needed to download to some (newer)computers. The one time I called Olympus tech support they were very helpful.
The down side: yes, there is one, but it's minor stuff. The manual is hard to read and understand. Some of the menus are hard to get to and figure out. It's not "pocket size". The carry strap looks flimsy. That's it!
The only reason I wouldn't recommend this camera is if you wanted something small, and a 3x optical zoom would suffice. In that case I'd get a Minolta Dimage Xi. If size doesn't matter but sturdiness does, get the Cannon A-40. Or if you didn't need a zoom, just a good 2.0 snapshot camera, then I would say get the Casio pocket or Sony U-20 (no viewfinder).
Otherwise, you can't go wrong with this camera.
9 Very Happy with Purchase
Finally after my 35mm camera was lost in a move I decided to take the plunge into digital. My wife was sold on the 10X zoom, and many reveiwers selected this as the top camera in that category. Since the purchase, it has consistently performed above all my expectations. I can print 8X10 pictures with great detail, or take multiple lower quality pictures to e-mail to family. We just had twins and use this camera every day to update the family. All of our friends and family have been impressed with the quality, ease of use, and versatility of the camera and we have convinced four others to make the same purchase. One reccomendation -- spend the money on the 128 megabyte card. I have never had to worry about a full memory card since we bought the big one.
PROS: great picture quality, ease of use, amazing zoom.
CON: not the smallest camera on the market
Reccomended accessories: rechargable AA batteries, 128 megabyte smartmedia card
10 A good digital camera
I owned this camera for awhile its good actually very good......but the zoom wasnt what I wanted, so I upgraded to a nikon 5700.....Only because I'm use to a camera that behaves like a slr.........but if you do purchase this olmpyus and your a average photo type user or not into tecnical cameras that can be difficult, Then this is the camera for you........
11 Affordable, High-Quality Digital Camera!
I recently ordered this camera for my sister's birthday - we ordered it on the 22nd of December, it was shipped the 23rd and we received it the 24th! And we didn't even pay the extra shipping costs to get it ASAP! Our family has really enjoyed taking such excellent pictures with our first digital camera. It has amazing zoom, clarity and color and it's easy to use. We would highly recommend this digital camera! We bought ours from "ce-corp" and we were very happy with this seller.
12 Very Disappointing
I've had this camera for about a year and taken around 1000 pics. My experience has been that the camera is great taking pics outdoors on a nice sunny day, but under any other lighting conditions this camera is a bigtime ..... The autofocus indoors is completely unreliable and does not consistently produce properly focused pics regardless of whether you are using it in Auto mode or P mode. So the "point and shoot" aspect of this camera is like flipping a coin -- heads, your pic turns out fine; tails, sorry you missed the shot. OK, so why not try manual focus? Well, the viewfinder on this camera is an EVF which produces an image somewhat akin to putting your eye an inch or so from a TV set -- what you mostly see is lots of dots and it is basically IMPOSSIBLE to see a crisp image as you adjust the manual focus to try and sharpen the focus. Using the LCD instead of the EVF to focus the shot is also problematic -- it's just about impossible to see the LCD outdoors in bright sunlight, and even the image on the LCD is not good enough when trying to manually focus using high zoom. I'm amazed and quite skeptical about some of the glowing reviews others have written. They must be using a different camera, because I would not recommend the Olympus C700 Zoom to anyone.
13 Taking pictures indoor with low light
Some of the reviews prior this one told completely opposite stories abouts the ability of this camera to take photographs indoor and with low light. Probably, the truth is NOT that
the C-700UZ isn't able to work well in such conditions, but rather that ITS AUTOMATIC MODES are not suitable for indoor
operation with poor light. In such a case, all what one has to do is to switch from automatic to program or manual mode,
and set the sensitivity to a fixed value among 100, 200 and 400 ISO - but not to 800 ISO, and, most important, NOT to AUTOMATIC selection. DON'T LET the sensitivity value be automatically selected, by the camera itself, because it will be almost certainly set beyond
400 ISO, and you'll end up with ugly, grainy pictures, due to the color noise raised by the excess of sensitivity.
14 Never gets the picture want.
We have had the product for 12 months now. We have taken almost 3,000 pictures with the product, and deleted 2,000 of those pictures. This camera just NEVER gets the picture you want. When you press the button, it can take anywhere from 2 to 5 seconds for it to take a picture. The absolutely bare minimum time is 2, and is almost never met. The camera is designed to eat batteries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We had to buy a rechargeable alkaline system in order to avoid going to the poor-house.
The smart engineers who designed this camera noticed that it eats batteries too quickly. Their solution was to turn off the camera if you let your finger slip from the "shoot" button for only a moment. If you are fortunate to be saving batteries in this way, it takes only TEN SECONDS for the camera to warm up and be ready to take an action-packed shot. This TEN SECOND delay is incurred when you press the "take picture button". The screen often goes blank right before you press this button.
We have used this camera to miss literally thousands of wonderful shots of our twin boys. ...
If you like to miss photographs, if you like to get pictures of people looking the other way, or with their eyes shut, or with their body turned entirely away from the camera, there is no better camera on the market for this purpose.
We're buying another camera. This one is just too useless.
15 Good features, not-so-good performance
A ton of features, including a massive optical zoom, and full manual to full auto functionality.
Here are the negatives to ponder when considering this camera:
It is VERY slow. Plan to take pictures of stationary objects, or people posing. No matter the shutter speed, the time between your press of the shutter button and the actual image capture is an eternity. You will have to "lead" your subjects while holding the shutter button and waiting for the snap.
The internal viewfinder is a small LCD, which is slow and jumpy. The benefit is that you are looking thru the lens. Otherwise it is terrible.
Taking pictures in low light is a [gamble]. You cannot see a thing in either the internal or external LCD viewfinders. You will have to guess what is in the frame, and snap a flash picture to find out what you've got.
The quality of indoor pictures in average lighting is questionable. This camera will not simply make black look black. Dark areas always have red "hot pixels", which makes the picture look very grainy, even with the flash.
Bottom line, I do not recommend this camera for a film replacement. If you take landscape pictures in bright light, it's great. Otherwise, try something else.
16 Marvelous digital camera
We wanted a zoom lens with significant range so the 10x Camedia was an obvious candidate, and then purchase. We are very happy with the product. The 2MP CCD produces excellent shots with flawless color rendition and beautiful sharpness. Battery life is excellent. We use and carry Panasonic NiMH rechargeables. The most remarkable thing about the C-700 is its ability to shoot in true color indoors in dim light. We shot dozens of pictures in medieval churches in Italy a few weeks ago, all without flash of course, and they were perfectly exposed. Amazing! Think very, very seriously about buying this camera.
17 Great Camera!
I have enjoyed the heck out of this Camera! It has ever feature that I would have ever wanted. The pictures are just clear as can be. I love hooking it up to the front input of my TV and reviewing the pictures as soon as I take them. An now that I can send the pictures I want to Wal-Mart over the internet for $.49 a shot, the need to have a film camera is gone.
One suggestion - make sure that you read/print out the manual that is on the CD (PDF file). It is very complete and helpful.
18 Terrific Zoom, Terrific Camera
I bought this camera for the 10x Optical zoom mainly...because finding a camera with that kind of power without sacrificing quality (as in the older Sony Mavicas) was hard to do. After playing with it for some time and taking snapshots, it's an absolutely terrific buy. I would recommend it over the C-720 as well.
Optical zoom aside, and I won't even go into digital zoom because it just kills your quality, this piece takes great pictures. In the program mode, ASA speed can be adjusted to help in photos with speed or low-light situations. The flash is good for fill or brightness. It also has a spot for adding on your own flash if needed. I've had success with both.
The original Olympus lithium batteries its packaged with last ages too. It operates on 4 AA batteries, so keeping spares is no trouble and easy to find if you're caught out without some. The LCD on the back of the camera is large enough to view your images with, and it's programmed with automatic portrait, landscape, and sports settings, as well as the programmable mode.
The only thing negative I can say about this camera is the strap and lens cap. The string for the cap was not big enough to go around the barrel of the lens, and the strap only attaches to one side of the camera. When I put a camera around my neck, I like for it to hang horizontal, not vertical as this one does.
With the 2.1 megapixel rate, I'm still able to take beautiful 8x10 shots. My first camera was a 4.1 megapixel camera and I realized very quickly I would seldom need that kind of resolution. I take a lot of sports photos of youth teams, as well as candids and some portraits of people for a newspaper. Some of it is web work, some is print. Not yet have I had a need for anything over 2.1 (or 8x10 print size).
The C-700 is being discontinued because of the newer C-720. If you shop around, you can find this one on sale at your local computer or photo store. I did!
19 Olympus C700
I love my Olympus C700. While in the Everglades I took pictures of storks, ibises, and alligators. the 10x optical telaphoto gives great resolution. I also took pictures at a night Little League game. Even without a supplementary flash the pictures were very good. Of course I used a tripod. You should see the pictures of my active little grandson!
20 Absolutely amazing!
No word describes how pleased I am with the C-700UZ. I have had it for 3 months, and I am amazed at it's quality, ease of use, and overall options available with it.
I am not a photographer in the least. Best camera I have ever used was a cheap throw away point and shoot. This camera was very easy to start using. Just put the batteries in, put in the smart media (I bought a 128mb card, 8mb won't cut it), and started snapping pictures.
I have used it at parties, at the beach, at a zoo, and at airshows so far. The picture quality is great in any light settings. Great at action shots! The zoom is amazing. You do have to steady your hand when at a full 10x optical zoom, but with a little practice, it's no problem.
The pictures of airplanes flying at the airshow here in Oceana feel as though I'm in the cockpit. Amazing shots of the Blue Angels and the Snowbirds in action. The camera focuses great, with a tiny bit of practice, and with good timing, you can get great action shots! The colors turn out extremely vivid and all things are very detailed!
Zoo pictures are great! the expression on the animals faces is very detailed, especially in zoom.
The 2 things I dislike about the camera are...
1) I can't find a proper size bag to carry it in. I kinda wish I had a smaller camera, but I do want the zoom, so it's worth the size to me, even though it isn't very big!
2) The batteries eat up quick. I have ended up buying cheap 20packs of "AA" batteries w/ deals from bestbuy or circuit city, but they still go by fast. I may think of investing in rechargable ones.
Overall...I give it 9 stars out of 5!
21 No regrets and no looking back to slides
C700 is my first digital, and I went for the zoom. It did not disappoint. Great pictures inside and out at all zoom levels. For years I've been a 35mm slide-taker with a 35-210 zoom, and the C700 takes it to a new level. So far I've just used the auto setting and the results have been great - far fewer throwaways than on my 35mm. Really handy is hooking the camera to the television to show the pictures.
I bought refurbished through Amazon, but note that the camera is about half the total cost which includes extras such as a couple of memory cards, two sets of rechargeable batteries, case, lens cap cord, SmartMedia card reader, and a CD burner to store the pictures.
Finally, I saw a number of reviews that complained about the lens cap being a problem. I don't understand these comments as I don't have a problem with turning the camera on or off with the cap on. Perhaps I have a later version that corrected the problem. Having a simple cap cord ... attached is a convenient way to keep track of the cap.
22 Switch the C-700 to 800 Speed Indoors
Several persons have written to me (based upon my earlier 3/30/02 review) asking me how I'm able to get sharp, hand-held pictures using my Olympus C-700 indoors.
I neglected to mention in my previous review that, when I'm shooting indoors (for theatrical or sporting events), I'll normally switch to Program mode (indicated by a "P" on the selector dial) and adjust the speed to "800." This will cause the Olympus to select a faster f-stop/shutter speed combination, effectively freezing the action better.
As a comparison, if one shoots on "Auto," the camera will select a slower f-stop/shutter speed combination, and the photos may come out blurry.
I recently had the opportunity to make a side-by-side comparison of film versus digital photography to dramatize for myself how capable my Olympus C-700 is indoors.
My daughter had a two-day dance recital in a darkened auditorium. I shot the first day using my Nikon 35 mm SLR with ultra fast print film, and the second day with my Olympus C-700. There was no contest. The 35 mm shots were blurry and the colors were muddy (due to the incandescent lighting). The digital photos, by comparison, were brighter, more colorful, and much sharper. During a particularly well-lit number, I was even able to capture another dancer mid-stride as she was leaping through the air. This was one of the most difficult lighting situations I've yet encountered -- and the Olympus C-700 did wonderfully!
I hope that the above suggestion to adjust the C-700's film speed to its maximum setting when shooting indoors was helpful.
23 The all season camera.
The compact ultra zoom is easy to carry along for your kids special on stage events, and the battery last a long time. I preferred the SHQ highest resolution setting for indoor pictures. Does best outdoors under bright light.
24 Great potential,but
The C-700 is a camera I could really like if I could get it repaired. my C-700 is in the shop For the 2nd time. Can you believe Olympus repair sent it back to me, the first time without checking to see if it was working, it wasn't. I wish I had sent it back to Amazon.com before the time ran out. When I got the camera I rated it 4 stars, now I rate it one.
25 A little disappointed
Base of others review, I gave Olympus a try since they told me the new generation model is much better. I had a first generation model that the can only go up to 1024x960 with fix compression, the picture quality was bad and the flash was inadaquate...hoping getting this one change my mind. No so, yeah, the Zoom was great, a big plus. Yeah SHQ was great, and another plus. But I usually do my take at medium to low light conductions, and boy, too much noise, red dots all over, picture quality suffered. Even if you did your take on Program (P) mode, even with flash, it appeared they automatically set your iso to low light, i.e. maybe iso 800; thus too much red dots (too much grain if it is film). So, not for beginners, I may have to manually set the iso to 100 and hit the flash. If you generally take bright outdoor, yeah this camera is for you, but in medium to low light, without flash, the shutter set to low speed, you got burried picture; with flash and iso higher than 400, too much noise on the picture......not a winner for me. Maybe the 720 is better? I wished I can try before I buy.
26 Excellent Choice
I purchased the C-700 nine months ago. I am very pleased with the results I have obtained with it, including low, and existing light photography. The camera is small, doesn't attract a lot of attention in groups, yet produces excellent pictures. The zoom is very good and easy to use. Battery life has been reasonable. All in all I think it is a great camera. I'm satisfied with my choice.
27 Cristal Clear & Sharp
I have only had this camera for a few days, I have already used just about every mode the camera has to offer and they all worked as advertised. I'm really impressed with the quality of the pictures. They print beautifully, and for the price your not going to find a better camera. Even the short video mode was very easy to use. This camera is great for amatures and Pro's alike. I really believe that you will get more than you bargend for if you purchase this camera. I Have not yet posted any of my photo's yet to the web, but I plane to in the next day or so. Plus i'll add a link to a site where I saw a really nice picture taken with this camera.
28 I went 1st class the 1st time.
My C700 is the first digital camera I have owned. I chose it after seeing a friend's and reading reviews. IT IS AMAZING. As with so many electronic devices these days, it has more features than anyone is likely to use, but they are there,if you should need them. The 10x optical zoom was one of the features which attracted me, and it works like a charm. I particularly like the SLR-like feature of the eye-level screen...I don't like sighting the camera with the little video screen on the back. If it were possible, I'd link you to a couple of the pictures I have taken with this delightful little camera. They range from macro-level studies of flowers to long-distance views of some ducks on a pond. There are a few things which I don't like, but they dont neutralize the good things. Specifically, it is a bit of a battery hog, and one must keep spares available. Also, the silly little lens cap holder they supply is worthless. I bought one with an elastic band and a stick-on holder, which works great. The owner's manual is not exactly informative, and is a bear to navigate through. But, with big enough memory card (and some rechargeable batteries) you can experiment to your heart's delight and learn how to use this camera.
All in all, from my perspective, this is a great instrument
29 Great camera!
First, let me qualify this by saying that I am not a photographer, I just enjoy taking pictures (especially action shots) and working with them on the PC. I've had the C700 for about a month now. Took about 500 pictures so far and I love it! The 10x zoom is fantastic. My son is on the other side of the soccer field (width) and I take shots that make it look like he's right next to me. I've used it primarily for action shots and I'm really impressed. The ball and players are frozen in time and in very clear focus (and that's without a tripod). Battery life appears to be quite good; although I try not to use the LCD much. Software for transferring to PC is very easy to use.
Two minor complaints:
1. When the battery finally died, the camera just shut down. It didn't even retract the lens. There was probably some indicator on the LCD telling me that the battery was near-dead, but I wasn''t looking for it; nevertheless, the lens should automatically retract before dying.
2. It appears that there is no way to delete individual pictures from the flash card while in the camera. I've only been able to delete the entire set of pictures. If there is a way to do this, then it is certainly not obvious. Note that to be fair about this comment, be aware that I have not exhaustively studied the on-line documentation, so there may be a way to do it and I just haven't figured it out yet.
Overall, an outstanding package. Took it with me skiing last weekend and got shots that make it look like I'm right next to the person skiing (~75 feet behind the boat).
Thanks Olympus!!
30 honestly........
This is my first digital cam, and I did research trying to narrow down my choice as I tried to stay in a budget. I was very much leaning towards the c700 because of the great reviews. When the price came down a 100 dollars I couldn't pass the deal up.
I have read so many good reviews and now I truly wonder how many were being honest to their word. The camera is nice, great for outdoors!! But as for shots in lower light or indoors.....poor quality shots. Very disappointed since I wanted to capture the right moment at anytime or any place. I dont like being limited or having to sacrifice quality.
I also find the camera too slow to capture things in a quick amount of time, lags ....unless you have it on the sport's option and I find it not to be the best quality on this mode, however it still does fairly good.
The movie mode is cool,(you can take a small video clip), but again the quality isn't there, but I haven't tried this mode outdoors yet....but regardless that shouldn't matter.
The zoom is ok, my sister has olympus 1 pix with 3x optical zoom and we compared the two with shots of the same picture to discover that there's only a slight difference.
I am being truthful to what I have experience with my camera.
It's not a terrible camera but I was disappointed after reading the reviews than receiving mine.
Good point....the camera is easy to use.
No matter which digital camera you purchase two things that will make your life easier
1.) you must have a memory card of 128mb! It holds a lot of pictures which is what you want. Its always there and ready even if you didnt get time to download your last set on the computer.....plenty of space. The 128mb was the best choice and couldn't imagne having anything less.
2.) Memory card reader. No waiting time and easy to do.
good luck,
Kathy
31 Awsome
The camera is perfect. Only downside is battery consumption.
32 The Best Buy
When I was looking at a new camera I looked at all of them. Read the reviews and rateings for 100s of digital cameras. I wanted one not cheep looking with a variety of options but still in my price range. I am a professional videographer and needed something more pro looking and pro acting. This was the only one that met all I wanted. It can go full auto or full manual and in between. It has a good Optical zoom not a digital zoom that will cut down the qulity of the photo when zoomed. And it looks and feels like a good camera, and it is. You cant better camera and a better price.
33 Almost Famous
Pros:
- 10x Optical zoom, 27x total (not all good).
- Portrait, Scenic, Sports, etc., presets for speedy setup changes on the fly.
- Full use of manual setting.
- All the obvious: 2.1megapix, macro, different flash modes, 16 second shutter, 12 second timer, etc.
Cons:
- Manual flash release -- I sometimes still forget to press this!
- Digital viewfinder, slight lag (similar to display window, about 15fps, but easy to get used to), very jumpy once you get close to full zoom, must have very steady hands doctor.
- Could have used more than 1.5 frames per second.
34 Superb Digital Camera
I purchased an Olympus C-700 almost a year ago and I have been very happy with it. The 10X optical zoom is higher than most other digital cameras and comes in handy. The LCD viewfinder gives you a SLR type accuracy for composing pictures. I have found that battery life is very good if I use AA lithiums and avoid use of the LCD screen. It's amazing how good indoor pictures can be WITHOUT a flash as long as you keep a really steady hand. The 1600 x 1200 pixel images produced by this camera is more than enough for personal use.
35 Excellent camera, brilliant pictures
I love this camera. The zoom is what makes it great. I would like better than 2.1 megapixels, but with the flash, I have literally thousands of great shots. We have a new baby, and I have taken lots! I only gave it 4 stars because the focusing could be a little faster.
Buy a smart media reader, so you don't use up battery life formatting, and copying images. NM-Hi batteries last a long time in this camera, even when you use the screen on the back for viewing.
Use the SHQ quality (1600x1200), you don't need the TIFF format, it is not that much better.
36 Excellent camera, brilliant pictures
I love this camera. The zoom is what makes it great. I would like better than 2.1 megapixels, but with the flash, I have literally thousands of great shots. We have a new baby, and I have taken lots! I only gave it 4 stars because the focusing could be a little faster.
Buy a smart media reader, so you don't use up battery life formatting, and copying images. NM-Hi batteries last a long time in this camera, even when you use the screen on the back for viewing.
Use the SHQ quality (1600x1200), you don't need the TIFF format, it is not that much better.
37 Great camera - could be alittle faster
I bought this camera about 10 months ago, as we were expecting a baby. We have used it repeatedly for pictures of the little guy, and it is great to know if you "got the shot."
Several weeks ago, we tried to take a picture of the three of us using a self-timer...and couldn't find that feature. I never asked anyone, but rather assumed that a camera with all the other capabilities of this camera would have a self timer. Perhaps it does and we just haven't figured it out yet.
Anyway, my only wishes for improvement of this camera would be a self=-timer and a faster shot cycle. Often I am waiting for the camera to get ready before I can take the next shot.
For the money, we are very pleased with this camera. Go buy one for yourself and see what great pictures you can take.
38 Great pictures, but the digital viewfinder is cumbersome.
I love the pictures this camera produces and I've always found it to be a great camera, however, I find the optical viewfinder very cumbersome in low light situations. There's no way to see your subject in night shots. So if that's not an issue, go for it, but to keep with the Olympus line, you give up the additional zoom on an optical viewfinder.
39 Great Zoom!
This camera has the best zoom capabilities of any camera in it's class!
40 Great Zoom!
This camera has the best zoom capabilities of any camera in it's class!
41 Three weeks in Canada & Alaska
I think the camera is great, but more importantly, the pictures were fantastic. I should say that I bought an 128MB smart card, with a 64MB backup, and a Panasonic 1600 mAh NI-MH rechargeable battery system with spares before I left on the trip. We spent 3 days in the Vancouver, BC area, 7 days on the ship to Seward, AK with shore excursions, and the rest of the time on Buses, river boats, rafts, choppers, dog sleds, trains, and the good old foot.
I didn't care about printing 8 X 10's, but I did take almost 700 pictures and could have taken about 800 more using the lowest resolution. Used both the lowest (SQ) and the next lowest (HQ)on the 128 MB card.
Because I could take so many pictures, I just took them and so what if some are not focused or a tree moved in front of the moving whatever or the small boat was going rapidly up and down and/or sideways. I never ran out of battery as long as I put in a fresh set every morning. I should say the days were 22 hours long, but it rained every day but the last one in Fairbanks, AK.
The zoom works like you can't believe, eagles, orcas, humpback whales, moose, caribou, grizzlies (lots of zoom is nice here), wolfs, black bears, Dall sheep, mountain goats with kids, sea lions, sea otters, birds of all kinds, seals, other wild life I don't know what they are and glacers calfing. Of course we had Buchart gardens, ship to shore, from domed trains, choppers, site seeing, and the Alaska pipe line, you name it, we took it. Got home down loaded using a Smart Card reader and reviewed the pics. Eliminated the mistakes, mostly mine, left with over 600 pics. Making a CD for the kids and grandkids of breathtaking sights. I about paid for the camera in the money saved in film and developing plus the albums to put them in.
I used the viewfinder to site the picture and to see what I took because it freezes the shoot as it records so I know what the pic looked like so I could take another if I needed to. I could also play back to show my wife to insure I got what she wanted. The camera was light and fit under my jacket. It also fit inside a zip lock bag in the rain. The lens cap is attached to the post where the carrying strap is placed before the carrying is placed there. I used auto for everything because when you are pitching on a boat, ship, raft, etc, you don't have time for anything else, plus why bother. The picture taken is better than what you see in the viewfinder. The zoom permitted me to take pictures out the other side of the train without focusing on the window reflections. You can't see the window. I took shots in dark, gloom, rain, snow, sunlight, and in the ship where there wasn't any natural light, they all worked. The shots of jets, choppers, and eagles taking off all worked. The Orcas feeding on salmon worked. It is a great camera that works. But I don't print 8 X 10s and I wear glasses but my monitor is 19 inches and about 18 inches from my nose.
42 This camera is a marvel!
This camera is a marvel! I bought it (my first digital camera) in December 2001 and since then have used it successfully in a number of situations. On the resolution side, this may initially seem downmarket at 2.1 MPs. However the picture quality on a computer monitor or in a 4x6 print is simply awesome and 8x10s are pretty good. I had done a lot of research before buying and while larger MP cameras may give even better pictures, the humongous file sizes and higher prices are simply not worth it for a non-professional. The kind of detail I have got on nature (Cherry Blossoms in Washington) and human photos (Disneyworld) is way better than anything I got on a regular camera. One reason for this is the super high quality optics. The aspherical glass lens is very, very good, making for both sharp images and deep detail. The 10x optical zoom (38-380 mm equivalent) is outstanding and I think easily the best on any digital camera. It also has a digital zoom but with such good optics, I have never needed to use it and anyway digital zoom is generally overrated.
The Olympus has several pre-programmed modes in auto mode including the vanilla landscape, close-up and so on. There is even an Action mode for moving objects (about which more later). As a result, you can get started very quickly and go on to explore the features as you get more comfortable. I claim to be at best average technically and I had no problem understanding the operation of the camera. The LCD screen on the back is beautifully sharp and well positioned so that it is easier to frame an image holding the camera about a foot in front of you rather than the standard eyepiece - in fact the latter is pretty pathetic but I guess after the initial adjustment, few bother to use it. A good playback facility puts the shot pictures on the LCD screen either singly or in groups, making it easy to dump a bad shot and re-shoot.
Images are stored on SmartMedia cards. Make sure you pick up a good 64 MB or even 128 MB card. It is a good idea to shoot on high quality and then scale down using the Camedia software. This means a typical picture will be about 400-500 KB and you will need lots of card space if you do not want to keep switching cards. The Camedia software is pretty decent too, allowing you to trim, filter brightness and contrast, rotate, scale etc. You can even add text captions to the pictures (somewhat tedious). Annoyingly, the images are given serial digital numbers as file names and this can get pretty confusing at times, especially with multiple cards. The camera has a good USB connection through which images can be downloaded to a hard disk / CD. However I suggest you pick up a SmartMedia reader ...so you don't have to over use the camera itself.
Batteries, well that is the bane of all digitals, but keeping the LCD screen on power save mode helps you save on battery life. Avoid the AA batteries; they die fast. Stick with the CR-V3 Lithium cells which are more expensive but have a decent life. Or get a charger with re-chargeable batteries. I have found the re-charged cells to give excellent life.
Some cribs. The lens cap is a disaster and Olympus seemed to try and cut costs with a flimsy cap that is hard to keep track off. Worse, I dropped it once and the spring slipped off. It's been 2 months and Olympus still can't get me a replacement! (I finally complained to Olympus Japan and got it post-haste!). Speed-wise, like all digitals, this camera can be slow, with the result that an action photo is pretty challenging since the action is often over by the time you get the camera to fire. But all in all, a great buy and no regrets from me. Highly recommended!
43 lacking instructions
The instruction manual does not say anywhere that "FORMAT" means ERASE. This is new to me. I accidentally said YES to format option and erased 20-30 pictures.
Instructions lacking for the novice....very poor
otherwise camera is good/very good
44 Not Good For Low Light
I was in love with this camera for a while because I was using it to take pictures while hiking. The Zoom feature and all the manual settings made it the perfect camera for me. Then I tried taking pictures indoors and the first think that goes wrong is that you can't see a thing through the view-finder because it is a digital image and without a lot of light you can't even see your target. An even bigger problem was when taking the picture the auto focus never seems to work properly without a lot of light. Very disappointed with the indoor use of this camera.
45 I Love it
This is a great camera! Nice big lens that gives real nice pictures even in low light situations. The optical zoom is extraordinary, and while things might look a little shaky through the view finder, the images come out clear and in focus. I think the shakiness may be just a facsimile of the small LCD through the viewfinder, and Olympus probably didn't spend a lot of money on stabilization software. The camera is easy to use, fits in my hand easily, takes pictures easily, and is a joy to use. I've been playing with it in the auto mode, and I'm really looking forward to playing with all the different ways I can set aperature and shutter speed and all those other adjustments that I never wanted to waste film on playing with. I bought the refurbished one through Raintrade, and so far (two weeks) everything is totally fine.
46 Excellent Camera, but Know Your Preferences
First of all, let me say that this camera is very well designed with only a couple of exceptions, and the construction is flawless. I would definitely look to Olympus first on my next camera purchase.
On the plus side, the zoom is awesome. Even with the digital zoom, pictures turn out just as you would expect. The 2.1 megapixel processor delivers pictures of greater quality than most other 2.1 MP cameras, thanks mostly to the quality of the lens. Controls are easy to get to and operate flawlessly. There are a wealth of camera settings that even most professionals would find appeasing. The Smart Memory Card system is awesome (go ahead and spend the extra [money] to get a USB Card Reader so you can take your memory card straight from your camera to your computer).
Now for the bad. First, as you'll see in other reviews, one of the design flaws is the lens cap cover...it isn't attached to anything, so it's up to you to devise a way to keep up with it. The second (and more important to me) flaw is the viewfinder. It is digital, not optical. It tends to lag behind your range of motion, making it very difficult to tell what you're actually taking a picture of. The faster you move, obviously, the greater the lag. To me this is very annoying. Like other reviewers, I use the LCD screen more than the viewfinder for this reason.
Another annoying thing is that the camera does NOT ship with it's own AC Adapter, which to me is unbelievable. Save yourself some time and money immediately...buy a compatible AC Adapter AND get yourself some good rechargeable batteries.
The 8Mb Memory Card that ships with the camera is useless; it's too small to hold more than 8 pictures on the highest quality setting. I bought 2 Viking 64Mb Cards, and it's turned out to be about right for the volume of pictures I take (most of them on high resolution).
But...finally, for me it's the resolution. I like to take close up pictures, or pictures in less than optimal lighting. The 2.1 MP processor just doesn't deliver enough crispness for my taste. Please understand that it's NOT the camera (other than the digital viewfinder); it does exactly what it was designed to do better than other cameras in the 2.1 MP class. But if I were buying another camera, I'd forego some of the options on this camera (ie the 10x Zoom), pay a little extra money, and get a 4MP Camera with an optical viewfinder. Olympus just happens to make one for about $900. Pricey, but you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to technology.
47 Excelente relaci—n Calidad / Precio
Por muchos a–os utilicŽ una Nikormat SRL conformando mi equipo con 2 Zooms y 2 lentes convencionales y me encontraba en bśsqueda de una alternativa practica que me introdujera a la fotograf’a digital con un equipo f‡cil de llevar, as’ que cuando descubr’ esta nueva c‡mara Olympus Camedia C-700 con su espectacular Zoom, corr’ a adquirirla. Considero que sus mejores caracter’sticas son: Capacidad para tomar fotograf’as en condiciones de poca luminosidad, capacidad "macro", posibilidad de enfocar manualmente, facilidad para "bajar" las fotos al computador v’a la conexi—n USB y por supuesto, las posibilidades que brinda el lente zoom. Adquir’ conjuntamente con la c‡mara un juego de cargador y pilar Ni-MH el cual resulta esencial y recomiendo adquirir un segundo juego de pilas para evitar sorpresas "in the field" y comet’ el error de comprar un Memory Cards de otra marca diferente a Olympus por lo cual no puedo utilizar la opci—n "Panor‡mica" con dicha tarjeta por incompatibilidad con la C‡mara, funcionando a la perfecci—n en todas sus otras funciones. La C‡mara ha resultado la favorita de mi esposa por las facilidades que van impl’citas con la fotograf’a digital, tales como editar la composici—n, ajustar el brillo e imprimir r‡pidamente despuŽs de tomada la fotograf’a. Creo que la C‡mara representa un buen compromiso entre Calidad de Fotograf’a, Versatilidad y Tama–o.
48 Disappointed
I was really anticipating getting this camera because all the reveiwers seemed to rave about it. I also wanted a digital with great zoom capabilties. The camera is light-weight and user friendly. It has an awesome zoom ability. BUT... the stability is poopy, unless you have extremely steady hands or a tripod everything comes out blurred. If you want to capture a spur of the moment photo forget about it! I'm sorry to give a poor review but I feel the stability is a major drawback and I will be exchanging mine for something else once I do a little more research.
49 Excelente c‡mara
ComprŽ una Olympus Camedia C-700 y su comportamiento ha sido excelente tanto en calidad de fotos como en cantidad.
Soy un aficionado a la buena fotografia y he logrado obtener un muy buen equipo a un costo muy razonable hoy en dia.
La definici—n es perfecta para las necesidades b‡sicas, por ej. para presentar un informe de visita de obra es perfecto pues para el tama–o de las fotografias que se necesitan y para manejar el archivo final del informe en calidad estandard es perfecto.
Por otro lado la velocidad de toma entre una y otra es muy buena, lo cual es muy importante en un evento en movimiento por ej un desfile.
Tengo 3 tarjetas de memoria y podria decir que es suficiente para unas buenas vacaciones, estoy hablando de por lo menos 1500 fotografias en calidad standard.
El objetivo inicial al comprar este equipo fuŽ el de tener un buen equipo, con buena definici—n y buena velocidad a un precio adecuado, he logrado esto con creces, por esto mi calificaci—n de 5 estrellas.
Esta ha sido mi primer c‡mara digital y no tengo punto de comparaci—n con otras. Suerte en su bśsqueda.
50 Amazing Indoors and in Low Light!
The Olympus C-700 is an absolutely amazing camera. First off, it has a 10x zoom lens that's equal to 38-380 mm (in 35mm) -- or an even more phenomenal 38-1,026 mm(!) if one counts the 2.7x digital zoom. So if you're looking for "telephoto," this camera has it in spades!
The camera is even fantastic indoors and in low light (inside or at night). The camera adjusts the exposure to the equivalent of 800-speed film, but I'd swear the sensitivity is even higher. I've gone to indoor theatrical events and shot - with no flash, hand-held and with telephoto -- and the photos have come out great!
Nighttime images are also a piece-of-cake. Long exposures are rendered perfectly (and not washed out)! And even when the scene is too dark to see on the display before the shot is taken, the actual photo is viewable immediately afterwards in all of its splendor. The camera's "exposure lock" is also handy for locking-in the proper exposure indoors (which is useful when the lighting changes dramatically during a stage show, or when the performers are only in the spotlights). Simply press the exposure lock, verify the exposure in the viewfinder's LCD display -- and repeat the procedure until you achieve the level of brightness desired. (Using the exposure lock -- and adjusting the brightness using the digital viewfinder -- takes the guesswork out of overcoming previously difficult indoor lighting situations).
My favorite use for the C-700, though, is taking photos of my kids playing basketball indoors. The camera's dimunitive size (being much smaller than a normal SLR) makes the unit easy to hand-hold and maneuver under all photographic situations. And although the camera's normal focus is slow (like most digital cameras), the shutter will fire almost instantaneously -- if you pre-focus ahead of time (so catching the action is not a problem). (The C-700 will also take a few seconds, in addition, to recover for the next shot; so its important to plan accordingly.) Digital photos of my kids playing basketball are now scattered liberally throughout their rooms. My kids love 'em!
The camera has two LCD displays; one on the camera's back -- and one in the viewfinder; the latter providing an SLR-like view of the actual photo -- both before and after its taken. The LCD viewfinder is ideal for accurate composition, especially when the zoom range is so broad. But both displays will tend to wash-out when shooting in bright sun; so I'll normally end up cupping my hand over the eyepiece when I shoot outdoors. (If most of your photography will be outside -- and if you don't need the ultra long zoom lens offered by the C-700 -- then I would urge you to consider purchasing, as an alternative, a digital camera with a traditional glass viewfinder. Viewing the image in the see-through viewfinder will be much easier -- and much more satisfying.)
Even though printing photos from my PC isn't a problem, my favorite way of outputting shots from my Olympus C-700 is actually -- to bypass the computer entirely -- and use HP's new PhotoSmart PS 100 printer, which reads from the camera's Smart Media card directly. Since both the Olympus and HP save and read, respectively, in what's called DPOF (digital print order format) -- I can crop (and select) the photos I want to print on the camera's rear LCD screen -- pop the Smart Media card into the printer -- and then print borderless 4" x 6" photos by hitting just the "Print" button (since the PS 100 will always call-up the DPOF pictures first). What could be easier?
With its 2.1 megapixel capability, the camera also makes great 8 x 10's, which I output in the more traditional manner from my computer to my HP Photosmart 1315 or HP 990 Cse printers.
All in all, the Olympus C-700 is a great digital camera -- which I use to supplment (but not replace) my 35 mm Nikon SLR, Canon underwater, and Olympus point-and-shoot cameras.
If you're looking for a telephoto digital camera, you won't find a longer, more usable range -- in such a small size -- anywhere else! And if you want to shoot indoors or in low light -- you'll be truly amazed by the (previously unobtainable) shots you'll now be able to take. This digital camera has easily expanded my photographic horizons -- in ways I never anticipated. For the above situations (and a whole bunch more) -- the Olympus C-700 is now my camera of choice!
51 I'm impressed!
Wow! This camera is easy to operate and gives good clear photos. I took many others' advice and use a tripod for those zoomed in shots. Everyone is amazed at the zoom capability and picture quality of this little light-weight.
I can't wait to take it to Alaska this summer and zoom in on those black bears and eagles. I'm sure to get some great photos.
The upload with the included USB cable is quick and easy. Just plug it into the camera and then the computer and it does the work without having to install any software at all.
If you are looking for an easy digital that will give you some real zoom, this just may be the camera for you.
52 Excellent travel digicam
I have both the Olympus E-10 and the C-700. They are complimentary, with each having its strong points..... but I prefer the C-700 for trips because of its small size, light weight, AA power, 10x zoom, and fast responses. Playback is impressively fast (esp compared to the E-10). It has impressive point and shoot qualities, which is what you do on trips. recommend that you get a couple of 128mB SM cards, as well as a couple sets of fully charged AA's before you leave for the day's outing. Image quality is excellent for outdoor shots as long as you stay below 8 x 10... but then this is not the unit to take for commercial quality shots. One drawback: ALL of your settings are lost if you take out the batteries for over an hour.... a real pain. Something you do not see in other branded models. .All in all I think it is a great camera for us ordinary folks.
53 Love this Camera
I looked at quite a few.... I love the ease of this camera, the easy to read menus, and especially the 10X zoom.
I like to take pictures of flowers and still lifes and this camera does everything I want it to..... Love it. I am having so much fun.
54 Experienced or newbie, this camera rocks
I got this camera 2/2/2002 and have had a great 6 weeks with it. It compares very favorably in features to cameras selling for much more. It does suck down the batteries pretty quickly, so I got 8 RayoVac NiMH AA batteries and a 1 hour charger at [local retailer] for about $... extra, and now I never run out of fresh juice. It has incredible optical zoom which does not degrade the pixels. Sure you can get a 3 megapixel camera, but digitally zoom it to see something, and you may be using less than 2 megapixels. Not the C-700. Fits the hand well, has good but not great software. Would have been better with Windows XP compatibility included, but it works if you select the camera as a removable drive. Great ability to stitch pictures together to make an awesome panorama picture. The buttons on the back do different things depending on the selected feature on the dial on top, so be careful, you can easily format the SmartMedia card and erase all your photos, like I did once. There ought to be a "do you really want to lose your photo's?" question, but I can't fault the camera for my stupidity. The colors are excellent, the price great.
55 Excellent unit--especially if you need to use a lot of zoom.
I'm the unofficial photographer for my kid's high school tennis team. I go to all the matches I can and take a zillion photos that I then upload to the net for use by the school and the kids on the team and their parents. I need a versatile unit that works well in all lighting conditions, which is good for action photography and has very good dtorage capacity.
This camera more than fits the bill.
Picture resolution is exceptional even on zoom action shots on the court. It works well with a variety of lighting conditions, a feature I especially like as a lot of my work is in the very late afternoon/early evening time when the court lights come on but some sunlight is still available but changing minute by minute. Changing settings is quick and easy. The only major flaw I can detect for the whole unit is the fluorescent lighting setting is lousy-stay with the standard incandescent setting for better results.
The camera has good storage capacity. It quickly shifts between photos in "view" mode, a feature I like as it allows me to ditch less desirable shots on the fly so as to maximize card storage capacity.
The unit also does excellent close up work. On a recent vacation to Nova Scotia I took a lot of wildflower pictures and they turned out fantastic.
The USB connection is easy to set up and use. There is a Camedia CD for working with your pictures on a pc but it is very basic and offers somewhat limited utility-I use a different photo-shop type program.
A lot of people gripe about the lens cap on the Olympus products. While it's true they were a disaster in previous times, it has improved greatly. Just weave the strap onto one of the side strap bars and all will be well.
I personally find the viewfinder a bit awkward to use and usually just use the LCD on the back to view and set up the pics. On the other hand, my wife loves the viewfinder and that's all she ever uses. I think this is a matter of taste rather than any particular engineering issue.
On the whole, an excellent value for the price on a slew of fronts. I don't see how you could be disappointed with this camera.
56 Does almost exactly what I bought it for
This was our first foray into a digital camera. I am an experienced amature photographer with 35mm slr's, but my wife always had problems with even a simple point-and-shoot film camera. The short story is that we are both very pleased with this camera.
My wife has really learned how to take decent pictures because of the instant feedback of a digital camera. Some of her still-life's are quite good.
I have been enjoying the 10x optical zoom--a range I never had on an SLR. One caveat for inexperienced or impatient photographers--you had better really practice holding the camera still if you plan to use higher zoom ratios anywhere but outdoors in bright light. If you really need the higher zoom in lower light, pick situations where the flash will be effective. Yes, there are some much higher priced digital cameras with a 10x zoom and built in image-stabilization, but as I said, they are much higher priced.
Pictures are "sharp as a cat's whisker" -- and I have a closeup of our cat's face that proves that. color is good.
My biggest complaint is the viewfinder. It uses an LCD like the preview screen, which is fine in low light, but can totally wash out when you're outdoors in bright light. One use we had planned for the camera is pictures while snow-skiing, but the viewfinder makes this very difficult because of the wash-out effect in bright light.
If you buy this camera, invest a few dollars in a couple of sets of rechargable batteries and a recharger.
57 The C-700 is a really powerful camera
What's really great about this camera is the control that it gives you. Change the depth of field, blur the image or make it crystal clear. You can set the f stop & shutter speed to whatever you wnat & see just what the picture looks like in the viewfinder. It's one of the few through the lens systems. That, and the fact that it's really small and light weight for a camera with such a long lens( the 10x zoom).
I take the camera with me on my mountain bike all over the Bay Area. It's taken quite a beating, bouncing over rocky mountain trails and so far, I've taken thousands of photos with no complaints. The through the lens viewing lets you see just what you're taking when you do close-ups. I just wish the resolution of the viewfinder was better.
58 Stay away from any Olympus promotions!
Stay away from any Olympus promotions! I bought my daughter a camera for Christmas and put the rebate in the mail right after the holidays. I am still waiting, waiting, and waiting for my FREE 64 MB memory card!
59 10x zoom sharp only in bright light or with tripod
I bought this camera because of the 10x optical zoom, which you just don't find on consumer-quality digital cameras. Alas, now I know why. It's almost impossible to hold the camera still enuf to get a clear picture at maximum zoom unless it's in bright sunlight (quick exposure) or you're using a tripod--quick 10x zoom shots in less than perfect light are almost always a little blurred. No image stabilization like in the nicer video cameras. If I had it to do over again, I would have bought the highest megapixels I could (now there are some that are 4+ megapixels) and a 3x optical zoom. That way, I'd have the sharpest pix, and a reasonable chance of getting a sharp zoomed in shot, even tho it wouldn't be as close as the 10x.
60 Best Value in consumer digital camera
This is my first digital camera after using several SLR's for many years. While the resolution of my SLR pictures is better, I have no complaints about this camera. There are many reviews complaining about the delay between the time the shutter release is pressed and the time the camera takes the picture. These people need to learn how to use their camera. Turn on full time auto-focus and the delay is eliminated.
I used the camera at the Salt Lake Olympic games and it performed admirably for action shots, even freezing a luge slider going by at about 70 mph only ten feet away without panning. I also got good shots of ski jumpers at full zoom without a tripod.
The viewfinder is a little annoying in low light, but it is a minor drawback. The 10x optical zoom is fantastic. I would highly recommend this camera for its small size, big zoom and many features often found on pro-sumer models.
Other things you will need: larger smartmedia card, rechargable batteries and a case. Plan on playing with the camera to learn how to use it, the manual won't give you much beyond very basic operations.
61 Excellent Wide Angle Performance
My work group tested many digital cameras over the last few years. We looked at resolution, image distortion, color saturation and accuracy and evaluated zoom lenses at the extremes of their zoom range. In general, the Olympus cameras performed better than the others tested, including Canon, Nikon and Kodak. Manufacturers can advertise how many megapixels their cameras have, but the real test is to take a resolution test image, then enlarge it to 800% and print it on a high quality printer. Our results showed that Olympus cameras performed very well "per pixel". Also, the Olympus cameras gave excellent results at the widest angle of zoom, an area where many consumer cameras fall short. Apparently, the optics used are superior, resulting in lower barrel distortion.
The C-700 is an excellent choice for people willing to spend a more than the minimum.
62 The only low cost, small digicam with 10x and A/S/M
To enjoy this camera, take the time to learn to use its many features. Almost all camera settings can be displayed in the viewfinder in A/S/M mode. Great for learning how to use the camera. User preferences can be set in A/S/M mode and retained when the camera is turned off.
Shutter response is fast after autofocus is locked in. Prefocus the camera for action shots. Manual and continuous auto focus are also available. I found the manual focus to be an easy one-hand operation, unlike another reviewer. Sharp, hand held 10x pictures can be taken by most people at shutter speeds of 1/100 sec and higher. Experiment to find your limits. I have not experienced significant chromatic aberrations or moirŽ effects noted by another reviewer.
Use the flash or a tripod or other support when low light requires shutter speeds slower than your hand held limit. Takes great flash pictures in Auto mode, but do not use the Auto mode in low light conditions without the flash. The result will be grainy, blurred pictures. Do not use ISO 800 in low light conditions unless you can accept some graininess. Autofocus will fail in complete darkness, but works under most practical conditions. Manual focus is available for really tough lighting conditions. The viewfinder and LCD brightness can be increased for low light conditions.
If you want a small, 10x zoom camera with A/S/M this is your only choice. You won't be disappointed unless you expect it to do something it is not designed to do. If you take a lot of low light pictures without flash and can accept a larger, more expensive camera (I couldn't), a better choice might be a 10X camera with all the features of the C-700 plus more mega pixels, image stabilization, optical viewfinder, remote shutter control, IR focus assist and a hot shoe for an external flash.
63 Buyers: BE AWARE!
This is my third Olympus Digital Camera, and I bought it based on my successful experience with the previous ones.
Despite of many requests to the Manufacturer (unanswered), I still cannot take a simple reasonable quality photo with the C-700. It is almost impossible to resolve the focus issue, regardless of how much light you have.
In few cases where I used macro under sunlight, the results were quite exceptional. However, most of the photos taken outside (cloudy days) or inside (with a flash) came out blurred and disappointing.
Even when you focus on a bright spot before flashing, there is no assurance your photo will come out Ok!. For the cases where I was successful, the flash literally wiped out the central subject and kept others (no more than 8 feet behind) pretty much in darkness.
If you browse user reviews in Amazon.com you will find that I am not alone. A store clerk suggested me to buy a memory card different than the one supplied by Olympus with the camera.
Although I have not tried that route yet, I doubt this will solve the problem.
A WASTED INVESTMENT, UNFORTUNATELY.
64 Great camera with workable flaws
Pros have been mentioned in several posts so I'll be brief:
1. Great zoom but tripod required for substantial zooming.
2. Decent resolution of 1600x1200.
3. Easy-to-use controls
4. Excellent ergonomics
5. Lightweight
Cons (with some workarounds):
1. Instruction manual provides no info on how to attach lens cap to camera. I ended up using the external flash outlet to tether it because I don't have any need for it. I used a thin dark thread that goes around the outlet (with the outlet cover securing the thin thread). The thin thread, in turn, is then tied to the strap. The reason I did this was because the strap itself is fairly thick and doesn't sit in the outlet very well. This allows plenty of room for the lens cover to be put on while the lens is completely out.
2. Pictures were blurry. However, I discovered that going from HQ (High Quality) to SHQ (Super High Quality) did less lossy JPEG compression and the pictures were noticeably sharper. The downside is that each picture is twice as big.
3. The time that you shoot the image and the picture is taken is quite long. The way around this one is to press the shutter half-way beforehand so that the lens is focused. When the moment to shoot the picture arises, simply press the shutter all the way in and the picture will be shot almost immediately.
4. Very bright objects against very dark objects result in dark blue outlines on the dark object. For most cases, this is not very noticeable.
5. Night pictures have very high noise. In some cases, the noise is outright distracting. This is probably the worst thing about the c700. My solution is to load the picture in Photoshop. I, then, use "Select Color Range" to select all the dark parts of the picture and apply a "Guassian Blur." While this doesn't cover up the noise completely, it helps.
65 ok --when it worked (for only 6 months)
This camera suddenly stopped working after less than 6 months of light use. Olympus said it would take 10-14 days to get it back. They received it 6 weeks ago, and I'm still waiting. Getting through to customer service, or getting an email back is a nightmare. Buy a camera that is more reliable!
66 Good and Bad
This is my first foray into digital cameras, after decades of 35mm shooting - both snapshot and 'enthusiast'. My first impressions were great - it's a super-lightweight camera, and the zoom is awesome. The 'USB storage class' device is fantastic - plug into your computer, and bingo - a new hard-drive shows up and you can copy pictures - easy (zero software installation)! And the macro feature is awesome.
But the negatives cropped up after a month or so. I took a bunch of pictures at a Christmas gathering using the flash. To my horror (since I didn't take any backup pics on my 35mm camera), many of the pictures were blurred. Since the flash 'freezes' the motion, this could not be a movement problem; much research into this revealed that most digital cameras use a 'contrast' method to focus, and in low-light, they can't get a good focus (compared to snapshot 35mm cameras, which use infra-red). The camera has to focus before the flash fires, so there has to be enough light WITHOUT the flash to get a good focus. So beware in low-light conditions. Second problem is that this camera has an 'Electronic Viewfinder' - what you see in the viewfinder is a 'mini-lcd' screen. This has a lot of advantages, but - in low light (eg outdoors, where you plan to take advantage of the up-to-16 second exposure), you cannot see the image at all in order to 'frame' it. An optical viewfinder does not have this drawback. That's it so far for the negatives. Since I like taking low-light shots these limitations are significant.
Note that many higher-end cameras have the electronic viewfinder, and many digital cameras use 'contrast' focus only. I would personally recommend finding one with good optical viewfinder, and one that has an 'auxiliary infrared focus' device. Maybe hard to find.
67 Perfect!
I am no techno-geek... I knew almost nothing about digital cameras before I got this. I love it. It does take a little getting used to and time to figure out how to do certain things. But I have taken great pictures and have been able to print them with great success. I highly recommend this camera!
68 overall acclaim
Being a person long on photograpy and short on computers I was immediately impressed with the easy start up and quick usabilty of the C=700. If you take the time to read the instructions carefully they leave very little to question, and those questions are answered as you progress.
The camera is light and handy, and while the buttons look small when you use them they are just fine. Being a nature photographer I was immediately drawn to the 10X zoom, WOW is that impressive.Using the zoom at full strength will require a tripod for stabilization, but that is impressive as is the Macro feature at the other end of the spectrum.'
I can easily see where I'm going to have tons of fun with this baby.
69 Not bad Not the best I have seen
I bought this camera becouse of it's 10X zoom and becouse I liked the price range. I Loved the camera when I bought it but I found out the picture quality takes a back seat in low light. images are blury and grainy.
Over All I would say buy it.
70 Oly C-700 UZ
This is not the "point & shoot" camera for everyone. There is a serious amount of lens on this light little camera! -I'm a rather shaky person (too many electrocutions) so it was nearly impossible to get an auto focused picture until I put it on a tripod. -I am impressed with the quality of my pictures now.
The software in the package isn't very impressive, but it does have a nice quick crop tool that keeps your camera settings in the picture file. -A handy bit of info when you're trying to master the manual settings and have a few good quality "accidental" (I mean Auto) photos on your hard drive.
A higher resolution would have been nice for landscapes etc. -The power of the optics makes up for the lower resolution on smaller subject matter though. (Who needs pixels if you have zoom)
If you've worked with lower resolution digital cameras you'll find yourself running out of disk space in a hurry. -Get a 128 MB card for it.
71 outstanding
for the price and the picture quality outstanding,if you are shaky get a tripod for distance to keep'm sharp.Plenty of features and real easy to use
72 A Great All-Around Digital Camera
I've had the C700 for sixty days, after having nearly returned it upon reading C-NET's reviews complaining of poor quality pictures. Make no mistake, there's nothing wrong with the quality of pictures from this unit, but this is a camera that is so feature-rich that you're not going to appreciate it until you really learn how to use it, which they evidently didn't.
I take many pictures at night inside Irish Pubs and am impressed with the rich colors that the camera captures with no flash at all. It automatically will change the film speed from 100 to 800, change aperture and shutter speeds to garner truly warm and detailed shots. Hold the camera steady or use a tripod. If you're subjects are moving around indoors, use the flash.
If pictures appear "soft" in focus, simply click on the "sharpen" feature of any photo management software product (including the one that comes with the camera) and you'll be pleased with the results.
The main benefits are:
Great auto settings; terrific zoom in a very compact and good-looking camera, easy-to-learn menu functions, great digital viewfinder; absolutely simple download-to-pc procedure, and best of all, complete ability to manually control the camera settings.
Drawbacks include:
Slow shutter response...you're not going to get a snapshot the instant you hit the button...it's going to focus first. That makes action shots tough, but check out the neat bracketing feature for sports action and general use.
Dismal manual...even the 200 page on-line manual fails to explain anything in detail, you need to buy a digital photography book.
No zoom on video mode...no one has mentioned this, but I was surprised that the zoom wouldn't work while taking a QuickTime video.
Lens-cap strap: get a new, longer one from the start.
This camera is perfect for anyone who doesn't make a living taking pictures but wants as many of the features of a multi-thousand dollar camera as they can get for a reasonable price.
Get the card reader accessories, 64-128 Mb media cards, case and power supply--you'll want the power supply while you're learning how to use the camera.
73 Very, very good with few flaws
The C-700 has excellent picture quality, except there can be color distortion with bright objects. Color reproduction aside from that is great, good low light. One other note is when you turn the camera on, make sure the lens cap is off as the cord attaching it to the camera is a tad short. Otherwise the lens mechanism can become loose (as happened with mine), I suppose the motor could burn out.
74 Olympus C-700
I am an amateur photographer who was very skeptical of the benefit of using a digital camera. I typically am shooting landscapes and nature with a professional quality medium format camera. I did a lot of research before I bought my C-700. It complements my traditional photography equipment perfectly. I've even used it in cold wet conditions in Alaska without fail. In the past I only took "serious" pictures. Now, even if I'm just sightseeing I can take dozens and dozens of pictures. You won't realize how many pictures you've missed in the past until you starting zooming in on all the things around you. In Alaska, I was on a cruise ship taking pictures of whales, eagles, otters, sea planes and distant mountain vistas. Most of which the people around me could not even dream of shooting with the typical 35-100mm or 3x zooms. I also recommend an immediate upgrade to 128mb or more smartmedia card and a battery charger.
75 Still my #1.
Several cameras later, the 700 remains the one I grab when going on a trip or when I want a good, multipurpose camera in the car. It has only taken a back seat to the Olympus 2100 for sporting events, and in this case only because the built-in lens stabilization feature of the 2100 makes a lot of difference when the 10x optical zoom is fully extended. I've appended my original review of the 700 below. ****************************************************************
This is the camera that will put most others out of work. It is beautifully made and ergonomically engineered. The lens system is excellent and the resulting 2.1 megapixel images are crystal clear at 5" x 7", and nearly so at 8" x 10". . The zoom is of course the trump card on the 700, 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. The camera as shipped does require some upgrading, but these things can be added later. I would suggest the first purchase be a much larger memory card than the 8 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. A case and a battery recharger system should complete the package and make for a really great digital powerhouse.
76 Good Camera
I am not totally sure what to think except some things stick out right away that I do NOT like about the camera.
Negative
1. The shutter is VERY, VERY, slow.
2. The supplied 8MB media card is too little. The saving grace is the Free 64 MB mail-in.
3. 50% of the pictures I take are blurry.
4. No power cable. That is an extra(...).
5. ASM - you have to go to the menu to switch between A and S
Positive
1. 10X optical (never use digital, your software can do that)
2. Fairly easy to use
3. Good manual settings
I have an old Sony Mavica FD7 and Never get blurry pictures even at 10X zoom. All my picture were easy to take and now my kids use it w/o any difficulty at all. I don't see that the c-700 uses very good fixed settings on the dial (portrait, etc.)
I am still seeing if I can get more out of this camera but need alot of convincing weather to keep it or return it.
77 Versatile, lightweight and entertaining
A dedicated Canon SLR man for 15yrs I looked high and low for a digital camera that I felt could complement my needs. I was struck by the features of the C 700 UZ and have had the camera 1 week now. This is a fun camera.
The zoom is obviously great, 38 x 10 optical with 2.7 digital on top! (You will need a tripod for the top end). No camera-shake correction on this model unlike its higher end brother, worth the extra (money) for it? Nah. I did find the digital zone "seamless" as it said. Higher resolution gave very pleasing results for the zoom.
Once familiar with the thumb wheel and navigation buttons, (very simple and nicely set out) moving around the camera functions is a breeze and you will soon be impressing friends with the depth of menu availability on the camera. A few features I did like were the ability to rotate pictures on the camera instead of using software, the ability to assign a "quick function" to several buttons which can be a function of your choosing, i.e. ISO selection or resolution change. You can also add features to photos straight from the camera, like, sepia or black and white and the digital viewfinder. The preview screen on the back of the camera is very impressive. Very clear and crisp.
One nice little feature is that you are able to record up to 4 seconds of sound with each photograph. This can be very amusing on playback via the TV connection cable. Simply connect the camera to your Aux input on the TV and set the camera to playback and presto, all the functions of the camera available on a nice large screen, as well as sitting back and watching a slide show of your pictures or a video you just shot. Fun feature.
The video side of the camera was one of the stronger points I liked. There are 2 choices of resolutionon the camera and you can record up to 60 seconds in one go and up to 30 min total, on a 128MB card! The films are recorded in QuickTime format. The camera gives the user the chance to edit the film on the camera too. This is useful to save space on the smaller memory cards.
USB connection makes picture and film copying to PC a breeze. I run Windows ME and had no problems at all. Included in the package is the infamous Camedia software. Good for beginners, but worth investing in a higher end title to get the true benefits of digital photography if you are a photo nut like me.
On the down side? Well, auto color balance was poor in low, artificial light conditions. Needed to manually set white balance and there was some minor color flare in bright sky photos with detailed foreground, like trees or railings. You have to zoom in a lot to see this though.
A few essentials, as I think others mention, camera comes with an 8MB card, 64MB is nice, 128MB recommended, (a 64MB card is free from Olympus, at the time of writing, with mail-in and purchase of this camera), prices have plummeted, search online for some amazing prices for both camera and memory, rechargeable batteries or mains adaptor, a filter to protect that lovely lens from nasty scratches and a carry case make this a very enviable package.
Photo capacity is an amazing 1330 photos on standard res, 257 on HQ, 114 on SHQ with 128MB card.
Worth every penny. I really enjoy this camera.
78 Diane Fandialan
Excellent zooming capabilities for close-up shots from a distance. More zoom than most of the high-end digitals. Very versatile camera.
Great picture quality and resolution in spite of the 2.1 megapixel rating. Photo editing software can further enhance resolution if desired.
Very easy to operate and change batteries. When battery charge is low, zoom is slow. I own 2 Olympus digitals and look forward to adding another to my arsenal of cameras.
79 Wow what a camera! The zoom is fantastic.
This camera is the one to get and is worth paying extra over the C2040 and is worth getting over the C3040. Here is why. The 10X zoom is magnificent (It is equivalent to a 38mm to 380mm on a 35 mm camera and it only weighs 11 oz. Incredible.). You cannot imagine the difference between your standard 3x zoom until you see how close a 10X zoom gets. Digital zooms are completely worthless (you can do the same thing as a digital zoom on your computer). Also, this camera has a LCD viewfinder that looks straight through the lens (very similar to a camcorder). This is amazing as what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG). There is no parallax and it saves batteries by not having to use the back LCD to frame your photo. Once you try it you won't want to go back to anything else.
Even what some people consider negatives are actually positives. First, it is only 2.1 mega pixel. This is actually a good thing unless you are a professional photographer taking 11x17 or getting your photos published in a magazine. Not only is a 2.1 mega pixel cheaper but it saves space on your memory card so you can take more pictures. With the current memory, bandwidth, and storage limitations, 2.1 is about all you will need. I bet most of the people with the higher resolutions end up shrinking their photos once they get them on the computer. Two, no image stabilization. It is true at 10X zoom it is fairly easy to get some blurring (especially in low light). Get a tri-pod. It is lighter, cheaper and far less complex than image stabilization (Also, it will be handy for those night shoots when you don't use a flash). It is tricky to use the manual focusing. You use the menu arrow buttons instead of rotating the lens. However, judging how the lens works it would have added significant bulk to the C700. This is the smallest 10X zoom. If you have seen any of the others, (such as Sony) you can really appreciate how small and light this camera is.
When I was shopping for a camera it came down to the C2040 and the C700 UZ. The C2040 has a lower F-stop (1.8 instead of 2.8. This is a good thing as it lets in more light for the same shutter speed. So for low light situations you can have a higher shutter speed which lessons the likelihood of blurring). I wasn't sure how big of a difference this made. And in most conditions I don't think it makes that big of a difference. The C2040 only has a 3X zoom and optical viewfinder. Both of which I think were significant shortcomings. Also, you can record sound onto your photos in the C700 something you can't do in the C2040.
In the end, I paid the extra (cost) and bought the C700. I totally made the right choice. The pictures are great. Also, as you get better you won't outgrow this camera. It has all sorts of manual features that will have you fiddling for hours if you so desire but it is also completely point-and-shoot automatic if that is what you want. But in the end it all comes down to the zoom and LCD. I can't say enough good things about the 10X zoom and LCD viewfinder. Buy this camera and you will see the difference!
80 Best Digital, tho not Perfect
++++ 10x zoom and light weight were real sellers. Great for hiking, animals, portraits, macro. Amazing to take pics, download, crop or lighten if needed, and pop out prints size desired in minutes. Save $ and aggrevation on film developing. Don't need to feel restricted about picture-taking--easy to delete.
---- Slow! If you wanted to take a pic of your dog running, you'll get a pic of his butt! Between time clicked and shutter goes off, dog has turned away. $ saved on developing will be spent on better paper and ink cartridges. You'll need 2 sets rechargeable batteries and 2 memory cards. Each frame you save needs named, ie: rose1, rose2. Had a lot of trouble getting computer to recognize and had to call tech line; was told a way that wasn't in manual. But I'm way past that now. Several instructions in manual were incomplete.
I'm a pretty heavy 35mm/telephoto photographer and this is my 1st digital. I do love it, but I still need 35mm for good action shots.
81 Solid camera, subpar instructions...
Extremely happy with the C700, as it is easy to use, produces terrific imaages and boasts a 10x zoom. So why not 5 stars? As with other Olympic cameras I've purchased, the instructions are lacking at best. Had trouble getting my computer to recodnize the camer through the Camedia software, but alas, the manual offers little in the way of troubleshooting. I still recommend it, only purchase a SmartMedia reader for easy image download.
82 Brand New User
My boss recently presented me with one of these beauties so that I can take photos of our stock (trees and shrubs) for display on the net. As a first time digital camera user I was really looking forward to getting to grips with the technology. This camera is a lot of fun to use. Doing mainly close-up shots of flowers at this time of year (spring) I am already really pleased with the results. Good picture quality and easy to understand even for a novice like me. The Camedia software is easy to load and use on my pc although some of the help items (referred to frequently at this stage) are a little brief. Hungry on the batteries (I guess all digitals are?) but fine with rechargables and a spare set waiting in the wings. Using a 32mb card I can store around 62-75 shots, after that I can't wait to get back to the office to download and play with the results. The thing that appeals to me most about this technology is the ability to check the results instantaneously and re-shoot. Light and easy to carry in it's soft case. I purchased a USB card reader so that I don't have to connect the camera direct to the pc and have found this a saving on batteries and not having to connect the camera by USB cable (supplied) is convenient also as the reader is set up on my desk all the time. So far I've taken approx. 200 images, only another 1300+ to go.
83 Awesome camera
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.
84 Olympus has a winner
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!
85 Love it
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.
86 Easy, Versatile, Fun
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!
87 C-700 Ultra Zoom
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.
88 Nice Camera, but the same problem as every other digital...
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.
89 Nice features, terrible pictures
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.
90 Camera gives control of a good SLR
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.
91 I just love this camera!
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....
92 Excellent Camera
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.
93 Happy I bought it!
This is my first digital camera. I did a lot of research before deciding on the c-700. I have absolutly no complaints. Its easy to operate and downloading the pictures went flawlessly too.... I dont think you can find more camera for the money!
94 engineering marvel with total ease of use
I looked at a lot of digital cameras before I finally bought this one. It seems a little pricey, but this little gem is an engineering marvel, and very well thought out to maximize the ease of use for all that power. It can be used as a PhD Camera (Push here Dummy), or full on, do all your own settings or anywhere in between. Customizable button. Fantastic zoom capability - so much you have to be careful of camera shake a full zoom. I find the zoom really allows flexibility of shots, I always find I want to zoom in on a face, on wildlife or a special scene, and this camera can do it like no other - 38 to over 1000 zoom equivalent 35 mm. Add black and white, sepia, or whiteboard capability. Add 100 to 800 ASO settings, manual or automatic. I found almost instantaneous download through my USB port. I bought the card reader, but don't really need it. I bought the 128 meg card, and its well worth buying more card space, 8 meg is not enough. All digitals tend to eat batteries, but Olympus cameras are among the most miserly of the current digitals. This camera uses batteries, but at an acceptable rate. It can use 2 lithium packs or 4 AA's - recharagble or alkaline - so you can always find power in a pinch. Automatic white adjust for true colors whether you are outdoors, indoors with tungsten or flourescent lighting. Professional quality 4 x 6 prints, very acceptable 8 x 10. How big do you need? All for 10 trim ounces of weight! Take it anywhere. What are you waiting for? If you have the $ you will have a blast with this camera. The only drawbacks I found are the blue halo on bright white edges - but I think all current digitals have that - and this darn camera is smarter than I am.
95 Cute but flawed
Background: - my first digital camera; - used for two weeks before returning to the store; - pictures taken: ~400 in all kinds of environments; - for me, image quality is *extremely* important.
Overall Ratings (out of five): Image Quality: 2 (yes, that is a "two") Features: 5 Ease of use: 4 Build quality: 4
Because you can read about all the great things this camera can do elsewhere, I will concentrate on the things it does poorly. There are two major flaws in the images this camera produces: - chromatic aberrations (purple fringing due to the interaction of lens and the CCD); - moire. The purple fringes are easily fixed in photoshop and occur to a with most digital cameras, even though to a lesser extent. The moire, however, is far more difficult to correct. In my two weeks of shooting, about 50% of shots with buildings/fences (and other objects with closely spaced high contract lines) showed some kind of moire patterns. Note that the moire does not occur when shooting natural objects (landscapes, people, etc.), because there are very few repeating patterns in nature. Other than these two flaws, the picture is good for the camera in this price range: the colors especially. Low light capability is not that great, however (a lot of noise and "hot" pixels). So this is how the "image qauality" rating came in at a 2. And because image quality is most important to me, I could not give this camera anything more than 3 stars.
If you decide to get the camera, make sure you can return it without a restocking fee...
96 A digital camera to keep
Last year I went through a variety of digital cameras and never found a keeper. This model is different. We've had it a month and will definitely keep it. It is very easy to use, although the flash modes are not terribly intuitive. The colors are very vibrant. And, it is fast between exposures which was a huge drawback in the past with very small children. The size is very portable yet easy to hold. Give it a try!
97 Absolutely Amazing
This camera is absolutely amazing. The pictures are unbelievable, and it is extremely easy to use. I bought it for several reasons and it has lived up to all of them. First was the picture quality. Olympus was rated very highly in Consumer Reports, and the 2 mega pixel reportedly had the best picture quality, even over the 3 mpxl. This is spot on, and I've produced very high quality pictures with a HP Photosmart printer. The second was the zoom capabilities. For the money, it is by far the most powerful, and the quality of the picures with this is superb. I have taken nature and scenery shots using this feature and the results have been outstanding. Finally, I purchased this for the flexibility it provides. I am an amateur who enjoys playing with my AE1 SLR. This camera gives me the same flexibilty - manually selecting a desired shutter speed, aperture, or simply reverting to Auto mode where you don't have to think. All in all, a great camera.
Obviously you will need add'l memory, and I purchased a 128mb Viking with it. With a 250-300 picture capacity, it's more than I'll ever need. For those not familiar with digital cameras (as I wasn't), transferring the pictures to your hard drive is simply accomplished by plugging in a USB cable from the camera to your computer, opening up the E drive, and dragging your pictures to the C drive. The photo software included is as good as any I have used.
All in all, I would stongly recommend this.
98 For the size - it's amazing.
I got this camera so that I could zoom in closer than with the 3x zoom model I've had for a couple years. I mostly take pictures outdoors while travelling and indoors without the flash. I looked at the 2100 and the Sony Mavica line, and everything with a 10x zoom was well over a pound and quite large. This camera is only 11 oz and feels nice and balanced in the hand. But, as you'll see in the other reviews, it does not have image stabilization, so you have to be very careful with your higher-zoom shots or they will be fuzzy. The camera does allow manual almost-everything, so it's possible to compensate for most conditions, but the controls do take some getting used to. For me, it's just about the ideal camera (for now - ask me again in two years!!!) to take along and have that extra zooming capability without sacrificing my neck muscles.
A few slight complaints that kept it from getting 5 stars: (1) The zoom function is quite noisy, so not so good for unobtrusive shots in conferences, etc. (2) Wish it came with a case. (3) The "manual focus" I was hopeful about doesn't really let you turn the focus ring on the lens, but rather a dopey dial mounted RIGHT next to the eyepiece, so you have to be a contortionist to use it. Not something I would use everyday since the auto-focus seems pretty good, but a dumb design "feature."
99 Highest-rated 2.1 megapixel camera
After having done an exhausting research which included reviews of many different cameras from about 10 digicam review websites both here and in Europe, and having had years experience with other digital cameras, I have chosed to purchase this camera based both on the ratings and the features it had.
The C-700 is truly an engineering marvel with absolutely astounding picture quality which exceeds other more expensive cameras and even cameras with a higher pixel count (!!!). The camera has good optics and is still the world's smallest 10x optical zoom digital camera. With the optional Olympus lens "tube" (screws in over the camera lens) you can use the Olympus wide-angle lens as I do, with the final 35mm camera equivalent being 30.4mm (38mm without the wide-angle lens).
Some of the minuses are: unlike the 2100 model it does not have the physical image stabilization so if you go at the maximum zoom you have to be careful to hold the camera extremely steady. Majority of other cameras also lack this feature, however, so it's not really that big of a minus. The camera does not have a way of turning off the internal LCD, even if only the large LCD on the back is being used, the lifespan of my 1600mAh NiMH batteries inside the new C-700 still far exceeds all of the other digital cameras I have used before, especially compared to the power-hungry Nikon digicams, so this is more of a gripe in principle than anything else. The C-700 CCD chip, LIKE ALL OTHER CURRENT digicams, creates a blue-ish halo around high-contrast edges (example: a tree or a roofline against a bright sky).
The pluses are plentiful. In the manual mode, you have almost complete control over the camera, plus (and this is very important) the camera has a MANUAL WHITE BALLANCE setting, as well as the standard auto and misc. presets. This is extremely helpful if you take photos in tricky lighting (studio lighting, etc.) I also really like the fact that you can record a 5 second audio clip with each photo, even after the fact after you review the images, just to keep yourself from forgetting what the photo object is (part number, name of the person, street address, etc.) The camera is very well balanced and feels comfortable when shooting.
I would recommend you getting an Olympus brand SmartMedia card if you plan to do any panorama shots, which greatly increases the efficiency of making them due to Olympus card's built-in ROM program. The software that comes with the camera is unusually well done, unlike most of the other packages I have seen with other makes and models. Panoramas get directly exported to Quicktime 360" web-ready panoramas, it's a joy to do this task. No need to get your hands dirty with funky 3rd party software and extra steps. Simply shoot with an Olympus card, 'stitch' the photos (automatically) using the Olympus software that comes with the camera and SAVE-AS 360 file. Then you upload it to the web, link to it and you have a rotating 360 shot! The software even knows what type of zoom you used for each photo, as that is embedded within each JPG file, along with complete exposure information, while still remaining fully compatible with PhotoShop, etc.
This is also the first camera I have ever seen that follows the standard external storage protocol which allows you to unload the camera to any computer (Win ME, Win 2000, Mac, etc.) WITHOUT installing any software or any drivers. The camera simply shows up as yet another drive when plugged in to a USB port, without rebooting.
Olympus really did a great job on this camera and priced it extremely aggressively considering the features, in order to further increase their digital camera lead in the marketplace. This camera produces up to 8x10 photo quality inkjet prints and about 4x6" (excellent quality) in 300 dpi for magazines, etc. (a lot of my photos get published in misc. travel magazines). If you need to do magazine work with photos bigger that the 4x6", check out the 4+ megapixel Olympus E-10 (price), though I cannot comment on it as I have not yet used it first hand.
100 Awesome!
This is my first digital camera and I've only had it less than a week, but I'm very impressed. Even at the lowest resolution, picture quality is very good...more than enough for computer/TV viewing. The zoom is what is most impressive. Just playing with the 27x digital zoom, I was able to get close to things almost a half mile away! While in digital, the quality drops dramatically but it is better than I expected. Just increase the resolution and film speed and it works great. Complaints? Small Smart Media card (8 mgs) and no rechargible batteries included.
