The
Olympus C-720 Ultra Zoom takes the place of last year's C-700UZ,
offering an increased resolution — up from 2 megapixel to 3 megapixel
— and a reduction in the zoom's power, from 10X on the C-700UZ to
8X with the C-720.
Like a number of other recent Olympus cameras, the design of the C-720UZ
remains virtually unchanged from the C-700UZ, but the CCD is switched
to a newer one, and some functions and features are added or removed.
The
C-720UZ is equipped with an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF), in addition to
its 1.5 inch LCD screen.
The EVF provides 114,000 pixels, along with a diopter correction built
into the right side of its housing. Both the EVF and the LCD screen are
apparently exactly the same as those that were used with the C-700UZ.
As such, the image produced by the EVF has not seen any improvement. Even
though EVFs are practical in some ways — as with the LCD screen
the overlay provides readily visible information and the menus can be
seen in the viewfinder — the image of an electronic viewfinder is
not very sharp.
The
top right of the C-720UZ has 4 controls: a two-stage
shutter release; the zoom control around it; a small button to the left
of the Mode Dial which serves to release the pop-up flash; and the Mode
Dial itself that provides 8 positions. One difference with the C-700US
can be observed: the Program Mode [P], has now been combined with the
A/S/M modes, and the freed-up space is occupied by Olympus' recently introduced
"My Mode".
Auto:
a fully automatic picture-taking mode.
Landscape-Portrait:
uses a small aperture to maximize the depth of field, allowing both
the foreground and background to be in focus.
Sports:
the camera automatically sets optimal shooting conditions, including
increasing the sensitivity of the CCD as necessary.
Portrait:
uses a large aperture to blur the background behind the subject.
[P]
Program:
the camera controls aperture and shutter, but the user has
access to all other settings.
[A]
Aperture
Priority: user sets the aperture and the camera sets the
shutter speed.
[S]
Shutter
Priority: user sets the shutter speed and the camera matches
it to an aperture.
[M]
Manual
Mode: full control over all aspects of the camera.
My
Mode: favourite settings can be saved, including a program mode,
and numerous other settings can be customized.
Movie
Mode: movies (without sound) can be recorded at either a 320
x 240 pixel frame size or a 160 x 120 pixel frame size. Focus and
exposure are locked on the first frame, and the digital zoom can
be used.
Playback:
plays back either stills or movies. The zoom button can be used
to magnify an image displayed on the screen (3X), or show thumbnails
of the images on the screen.
The other external controls of the C-720UZ face the user, and most offer
multiple functions, in the Recording modes, and additional functions in
Playback.
Drive controls
the shooting mode: Single Shot, Sequential Shooting, Sequential Shooting
with Autofocus, Self-timer, Auto Bracketing. In Playback, the button serves
for single image delete.
The centre button controls Spot Metering, Macro Mode, Macro Mode with
Spot Metering. In Playback this button serves to tag images for printing.
And the third button on the right, is used to select Flash Modes (when
the flash is open): Auto, Redeye Reduction, Forced Flash, Night Scene,
and Night Scene with Red-eye Reduction — which replaces the Slow
Synchronization of the C-700UZ. In Playback, this button is used to
"lock" images, preventing their deletion.
Below
these 3 buttons are the Power Switch (Red), and the AEL/Custom button.
The AEL (Auto Exposure Lock) button can be set to be a fast access —
in other words "customized — in the camera Setup menu. It can
be set as a fast access to display shooting info; set the ISO; change
Program Mode (P/A/S/M); turn on or off the digital zoom; change resolution
settings, set the white balance. In Playback, this button can also rotate
an image being shown.
Three
more controls are located on the lower right of the LCD screen. One
is composed of 4 sections that encircle the OK/Menu button, and serves
primarily for navigation. As a secondary function, the right and left
controls are used to increase or decrease the exposure (exposure compensation
over ±2EV in 0.3 EV increments); while all four buttons are used
to change aperture (right and left) and shutter speeds (up and down)
in the Manual mode, and the up and down controls to change either apertures,
or shutter speeds, in the Priority modes.
Finally,
the lowest button on the C-720UZ's back is the Monitorbutton,
used to turn on or off the 1.5 inch LCD screen.
Like its predecessor, the
C-720UZ provides numerous features. It is versatile and complete with
all the program and priority modes that will make an advanced user happy,
and yet be simple enough to be used by those who simply want to take pictures
without having to worry about the details.
button,
used to turn on or off the 1.5 inch LCD screen.