It is likely that the most attractive features of the C-730UZ will be
the long reach of its 10X optical zoom, and its new memory format.
The appeal of the xD memory format is due to the fact that the format
is expected to have impressive capacities. As an example, a 128MB card
will be available at the end of the year, barely 3 months after the
introduction of xD. The C-730UZ is already rated as compatible with
that card capacity, implying that it has already been tested with it.
Aperture: f 3.2, shutter speed 1/13 sec.
Aperture: f4.5, shutter speed 1/650 sec.
When
the 128MB card arrives on the market, it will immediately rival the maximum
capacity of SmartMedia which has been stagnating for 2 years. It is highly
probable that eventually the xD format will replace SmartMedia.
In the meantime,
the C-730UZ's dual memory compatibility means that users can still take
advantage of the commonly available SmartMedia cards, and will have an
upgrade path past the 128MB mark when even larger capacity xD cards become
available in 2003.
Doubtlessly,
the other attractive feature of the C-730UZ is its powerful 10X zoom lens.
The advantages of a powerful zoom are obvious, and valuable for either
personal or business use. There are times when moving closer to the subject
is either impractical, or even impossible — as is the case in the
photos below — without a powerful telephoto lens.
Lens
in wide angle, equivalent to a 38mm
[Aperture f3.2, shutter speed 1/800]
Max.
10X telephoto, equivalent to a 380mm
[Aperture f3.5, shutter speed 1/500]
Without a stabilizer though, maintaining a sufficiently high shutter speed
to avoid camera movement — however slight, it gets amplified by
the magnification of the zoom — becomes absolutely critical.
When the camera is hand held, the maximum 10X zoom of the C-730UZ is most
reliable in bright and sunny conditions, when a high shutter speed can
be maintained.
But when the light drops, and even though the C-730UZ helpfully suggests
the use of the flash to compensate, for anything distant, or a dark subject,
a tripod to stabilize the camera is required to guarantee a sharp image.
The C-730UZ is very tempting to use for nature or wildlife photography.
But, for that purpose, and although the electronic viewfinder has better
definition than many others — it provides 180,000 pixels —
it remains difficult to know with any kind of certainty if the autofocus
has correctly settled on the object of the photo. Even with its greater
amount of pixels, there is simply not enough detail visible unless the
subject is very dominant in the frame.
Still, in most cases the camera is trustworthy, the autofocus makes few
mistakes, and most photos turn out as expected or better; which speaks
well of the autofocus and the metering.
Aperture: f 2.8, shutter speed 1/200 sec.
Aperture: f 3.4, shutter speed 1/250 sec.
Besides
its 10X lens, the C-730UZ offers other attractive features, not the least
of which is its wide variety of image formats that include a non-lossy
TIFF format available at all image sizes, and an SHQ (JPEG) mode that
applies a generally unobtrusive compression.
In use, the C-730UZ is fast in responding to some things, and less so
for others. The menu and some of the buttons do not respond particularly
fast, and the lens takes a full 3 seconds to transit from one end of the
focal range to the other.
On the
other hand, the C-730UZ has very little shutter lag and focuses quite
quickly in most situations. Moreover, it saves photos fast, including
in TIFF format, which is able to store a 2048 x 1536 pixel photo in approximately
18 seconds, irrespective of the card in use.
Equipped with a variety of shooting modes, and the possibility of tweaking
the image for colour, saturation, and contrast, the C-730UZ is a very
versatile camera.
Aperture: f3.5, shutter speed 1/125 sec.
The C-730UZ has an
excellent image quality, and even at the greatest magnification, its lens
exhibits only a relatively light chromatic aberration, and very little
distortion.
All in all, its features should satisfy the needs of a wide variety of
photographers.
