The Olympus C720UZ is awesome!

Aug 16, 2001
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Finally decided on a digicam and I got the Olympus C720UZ.
The 8x optical zoom is awesome.
Here are some test pics from the NHRA event in Phoenix. :D

The pics are formatted to 800x600.
:D
 
Aug 16, 2001
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It is interesting to read the reviews of this camera. Most users seems to be boneheads who doesn't RTFM. They complain about fuzzy pictures.
Granted it is a bit slower than other cameras but I thought it was common sense to let the AF work its magic before taking the picture.
The 8x optical zoom is awesome. There ara many manual settings to play with but I haven't got to that yet so these pictures were taken with a 'sport' setting and it looks damn good for point an shoot.

It takes SM but I don't see it as a disadvantage with the 128Mb limit. Just get more of them :D
 
Oct 9, 1999
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The C730 has 10X optical...
jennipha's has the C720.. and i must say the AF mode on focusing was a pain.. it takes beautiful pictures but it takes ages to focus.... Sometimes as much as 10 seconds.

i hated it i tell you. but i love the zoom and the quality of the images.

Edit:

Damn those are really good pictures.. I got to revisit that camera and read that manual .. ... the last time she just handed me the camera to take pictures with it. Granted it was indoors that could have caused some of the focusing problems but those outdoor pics look positively edible.
 

jw791

Senior member
Feb 27, 2003
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Nice Pix! I'm looking into that exact same model camera! Where did you get it?

PS - are you in Phx? That's where I live.
 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
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My mother picked up one of those cameras, last time she was down she brought it with her. I can say I was impressed with the zoom capabilities of that camera. Indoor and outdoor it was fine. Alot of times you zoom on other cameras and the background gets darker and the object in focus is blurred alittle. That was not the case with this one. It really changed my views of the extreme zoom.

KK
 

JOSEPHLB

Banned
Jun 20, 2001
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those are sweet pics..

I knew I was messing up when I got rid of my previous Olympus camera.. It was a lower end model, but the quality was amazing.. I'm not so pleased with the Canon Powershot A20.. an Olympus brand camera may be in my future again soon..

 
Aug 16, 2001
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I was trying to get a good deal on the camera but I only found shady on-line companies selling refurbs so I said fsck it and got at the local BB B&M. No hot deal but I wanted it ASAP after months of research.

I've noticed that the AF can be tricky indoors with low light and the C720 do not have manual focus. Some sites say it has but that is not the case. The C700 and C730 has that but I am fine anyway. Another trick is to use another mode for the AF. Set it so spot mode and it will focus to objects in the center. Also, dont just press the button all the way down at once. You need to let it focus first and it takes around 1 sec to do that. I've never seen the 10 sec AF time other people reports. The electronic view finder is not very good IMO, I would prefer an optical for action shots since the picture disappears when the picture is taken. The LCD is actually easier to use and it works OK even in daylight.

It takes some practice to take great pictures but I love the camera. Many of the pictures was taken with around 70% zoom and they came out good. The other trick to get great pictures with long zoom is to use a fast shutter speed and be steady and careful. I used the sport action mode (or whatever they call it) and the shutter speed was automatically set to between 1/640 and 1/800. Om non moving objects a longer shutter time is used (Portrait/Landscape setting), usually between 1/50 and 1/200. The pictures with 1/50 is so dayum sharp it's unreal.

Thanks for the link to C740/C750. It's typical LOL, you research for months and then you buy a camera and 2 weeks later new models comes out. LOL!

Anyhow. I higly recommend the camera and the zoom is so great. :D Those pictures would not have been as good without it.
 

Tom

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Very nice pics !

Did you have any problems dealing with fast moving objects versus shutter lag ? If you did you overcame it very well in the pictures you posted.
 
Aug 16, 2001
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Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
Very nice pics !

Did you have any problems dealing with fast moving objects versus shutter lag ? If you did you overcame it very well in the pictures you posted.

Thank you.
Shutter lag and fast moving objects is difficult but the pics came out good. Remember to use a fast shutter speed, move the camera with the object even after you press the button (this is where I'd like to have an obtical viewfinder) and last but not least, focus before taking the picture. Keep the button pressed halfway.
I prefocused the camera at the point I wanted to take the picture and then followed the cars to that point and shot the picture. Let me tell you those Top Fuel cars are FAST and many times I missed the car.
 

LiQiCE

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I own a C-700UZ (2.1MP, 10X Optical) ... And I agree the Olympus takes some great shots, even while zoomed ... Although outdoor pictures tend to be a lot better than indoor pictures (I don't think the flash is really rated to take pictures with the 10x optical zoom). I've found the Auto mode to take pictures worse than using the 'halfway' mode where your Exposure, Apeture, etc is still automatically selected but you have control over some of the other options like White Balance etc ... (you can still set them all to auto if you want). Thats the "P" mode on the C-700UZ. I only wish that Olympus would add image stability back into their camers, the C2100UZ had it, why can't the newer ones have it?
 

flavio

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: The_good_guy
The C730 has 10X optical...
jennipha's has the C720.. and i must say the AF mode on focusing was a pain.. it takes beautiful pictures but it takes ages to focus.... Sometimes as much as 10 seconds.

i hated it i tell you. but i love the zoom and the quality of the images.

Edit:

Damn those are really good pictures.. I got to revisit that camera and read that manual .. ... the last time she just handed me the camera to take pictures with it. Granted it was indoors that could have caused some of the focusing problems but those outdoor pics look positively edible.

My focus seems to be pretty snappy and quick. Even seemed to do a decent job on surfing pics like this which were pretty tricky. Pretty much at full zoom and I had no idea which wave the surfers were going to try to catch....and of course lots of movement.

This pic is at full zoom too, and if you hit the "next" arrow and check out the next two pics in the series you can see how far away I was when I zoom out.

I might have been interested in one of the other Olympus models but I got this one for $250 and just couldn't turn a deal like that down.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,396
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how fast is the lens?

wow, at telephoto its pretty slow. i guess its a lot longer than most zooms though.
 

flavio

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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They work now, but their crappy servers were slow all day.

I'll have a real host in the next month. :eek:
 
Aug 16, 2001
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Awesome pics flavio.
$250 for a C700 is a smoking deal. I was looking at that model but figured I should go for one step up if I was going to pay full price anyway.

Where did you get it for $250? Was it one of the refurb deals on eBay or what?
 

flavio

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Awesome pics flavio.
$250 for a C700 is a smoking deal. I was looking at that model but figured I should go for one step up if I was going to pay full price anyway.

Where did you get it for $250? Was it one of the refurb deals on eBay or what?

Brand new from Staples...it pays to frequent the Hot Deals forum :D