OLYMPUS Camedia C-725 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera

by Olympus

Product Details

• Item Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000245A18
• Item model number: 225490
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,925 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 26, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Discover what's possible with Ultra Zoom photography. The Olympus Camedia C-725 Ultra Zoom delivers 8x zoom power plus a wealth of photo features at a price to tempt even very cost-conscious users. It is therefore the ideal model for newcomers to the exciting world of Ultra Zoom photography. With this three million pixel camera in your hand, you can do much more than take regular party and holiday snaps.

So you can enjoy the new perspectives provided by 8x zoom power (equivalent to 40 - 320mm in a 35mm camera), this compact and lightweight model is very easy to use. With the Portrait, Sport and Night Scene programs you can quickly switch between the settings to suit the subject or situation. For example, by activating Night Scene mode, stunning pictures of a city after dusk are just a matter of pressing the button. These features plus a host of precision metering systems and the 3 million pixel resolution combine to ensure the results stand out with their sharpness and bright, lifelike colors - even when printed in A4 format. In addition, a QuickTime movie recording function allows you to capture short video sequences of your most memorable moments. And whatever the zoom power or distance to the subject, the electronic viewfinder always shows the exact scene to be captured for totally accurate framing.

The photos and movies are saved on the xD-Picture Card (a 16MB card is supplied with this camera), which offers very fast data transfer rates. Later, they can be effortlessly transferred to a computer thanks to the USB (AutoConnect) cable.

Main features

• 3.0 million pixels
• 8x optical zoom with ED lens (equiv. 40 - 320mm on 35mm camera), f2.8/3.4
• Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority and Full Manual modes
• Portrait, Sport and Night Scene modes
• Movie recording function
• Supplied with 16MB xD-Picture Card
• Electronic viewfinder with 110,000 pixels
• 1.5" LCD
• USB AutoConnect
• Camedia Master 4.2 software provided

What's in the box

• Camera
• Strap
• Lens cap
• CR-V3 Lithium batteries (2x)
• 16MB xD-Picture Card
• USB cable
• Video cable
• Software CD-ROM (utility software)
• Instruction manual
• Warranty card

Product Description

Olympus Camedia C-725 Ultra Zoom Battery. This is a 3 Volt, Lithium Battery . Dimensions: 1.10 x 2.00 x 0.50. 100% OEM compatible.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Olympus once again meets my needs with C-725, December 17, 2004

By 

Trojan LRey "trojanlrey" (rancho santa margarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OLYMPUS Camedia C-725 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera (Electronics)

I bought the C-700 4 years ago @ $499. Just bought the C-725 on sale at Office Max for $199. I traded up from 2 to 3 mp and am feel like I got a steal.

Originally was looking for a good price on the C-740. Stumbled on this deal and with the combination of 8x optical and 3x digital. Even the C-720 at $149 on sale would have met my needs. Both are identical in terms of features with one exception. C-725 uses the xD while C-720 uses SmartMedia (same as my old C-700). Would rather have stayed with the same media format but the C-720 was out of stock.

Here's why any of these are great. Better optics, manually controlled pop-up flash (avoids embarrasing situations when you might forget to turn off flash in a flash-free environment), 3 mp provides just the right level of detail that still allows me to manage my computer memory (most C-725 photos take up less than 600 kb while C-700 average about 450 kb), and the extra plus is the My Mode setting. Finally, I can turn off the camera and turn it back on and have it remember how I like my settings.

A word about pixels. The higher the megapixels the bigger the memory required. Not all 2 and 3 megapixel cameras are equal. Don't buy 4+ mp just because you think they're better. A high quality 3 mp like Olympus 700 series makes for more manageable file sizes. I have an inventory of over 4,000 photos that I can fill on a couple of DVDs. Don't know how many I would need if all of them were in memory-hogging 4+ mp size.

All of the Olympus products take great photos. I don't mind the small LCD. I do most of my editing on the computer anyway. Don't even bother using the USB cable. This causes you to use up battery life. Just invest in a modest card reader, swap and go.

Here's the secret to really good photos using Olympus. In P mode, Select Spot metering, reduce exposure to -0.7, set Contrast to high, turn on digital zoom, and always take an extra shot or two (they're digital - just delete the bad ones). Then keep this in My Mode.

I travel all over the country. I love taking photos from the plane, on the side of the road, while at a stop light, anywhere. I usually fill a card then delete about a third to half when I get home.

Using spot metering, I can almost always get the right compensation for whatever light is available. Take advantage of digital's ability to lock a setting by focusing on an object, pressing halfway down on the shutter, then reframing. That's it. Spot metering takes care of the rest.

By using high contrast, my photos are much more vivid. And despite what you hear about digital zoom being a glorified cropping tool, with optics as good as Olympus, you'll be able to freeze a fastball from the upper sections with clarity that will blow you away. Spot metering also allows you to capture more natural colors when photographing you child on stage at the school play without the need for the flash.

If this is all too difficult to remember, you can always just set the camera on Auto mode and still take fabulous photos.

Although not as compact as the cutesy cameras coming out now, it's small enough not to take too much space in my briefcase. And I can always buy an extra 4 pack of AA batteries to make sure I am ready for more photos.

Here's a tip: Don't throw out the batteries when you get a low power warning. Keep them in your junk drawer at home. They're still plenty of power left for Gameboys, kitchen clocks, toys, etc. Digital products just require max available power so buy good batteries. The store branded 10 / $1 alkalines just won't do.

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars great price, lousy pictures, December 30, 2004

By 

Eileen "bigdogmama" (florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OLYMPUS Camedia C-725 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera (Electronics)

I gave this camera as a gift to my brother, and have regretted it ever since. We can't take a decent portrait shot of anyone with the flash on-the facial features are faded and whited out, even with the exposure control and flash toned down. Shots outdoors in broad daylight are similarly washed out in auto mode. As a matter of fact, everything is washed out in auto mode unless you're outdoors on a cloudy day. We now find that on some camera review websites, there are lots of people having the same problems with the c725 or its earlier version, the c720.

We've sent the camera back to Olympus twice under warranty with samples of the pictures, only to get it back saying that everything is working fine. NOT. I have several digital cameras from a tiny 2-megapixel Olympus (which works great) to a Canon SLR Digital, so we're not rank neophytes. We take great pictures with all our other digital cameras without this much aggravation. With the Olympus c725, if you tweak everything with every shot you take, and take many shots of the same subject, adjusting the settings up and down each time, you may get a few great pix. But we don't all have that kind of time for each picture; We want the auto mode to just plain work, a lot of the time, and flash pictures to be viewable, not overexposed. This camera is dropping in price for a reason. I would bet that many customers are returning it, just like we did. What a disappointment. And a lot of missed scenery, vacation, and family shots that no one will ever see because this camera just wasn't up to the simplest point-and-shoot tasks.

Skip this camera, ignore the review hype from the shills who probably work for Olympus, and listen to the reviewers who've had problems. We're telling the truth.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good pictures, lousy flash, May 4, 2005

By 

D. Rossi "RnD Photo" (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: OLYMPUS Camedia C-725 Ultra Zoom Digital Camera (Electronics)

I bought this camera at a local department store because of the 8x zoom. Two of the last three digital cameras I have had were Olympus and I loved the photo quality I got from them. This Olympus does really good still life pictures in good light. I was not too impressed with the people pictures it took. However if you use the flash on the camera the pictures turn out extremely over exposed, or bleached out. The flash is too bright,a complaint I have never had with any of my other Olympus cameras. On my other Olympus' the flash did well, it lit up everything I needed but the photos never were overexposed. It probably is possible to do some manual adjustment to compansate for this, but I want it easier than that, I have a SLR camera that is full manual for that kind of photography.

I do want to clarify that if I was going to use this camera solely for landscape and macro pictures, it does a grand job. I have a photo of a flower that I thought only my SLR camera could have ever gotten. However, using the flash just plain sucks and portrait photos are mediocre.