Customer Reviews

Olympus C-740 3MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

However, it does address some of the 730's sluggish autofocus mechanism issues for fewer blurred images.
That notwithstanding, the 700 was my favorite digital camera for a long time, that is, until the 720 came along. Then along came the 730, which maintained the 3+ megapixel resolution of the 720, while reinserting the 10X (true optical) zoom (the 720 has an 8X). Think of the 740 as a refreshing of the line while Olympus was waiting for the truly improved 750 to hit the streets.
In point of fact, zooming on any of the 700 series at 8X or at 10X without a tripod or image stabilization (not present on either the 700 thru the 740) is extremely challenging. Anyway, this camera is beautifully made and ergonomically engineered. The aspherical all glass lens system is excellent and the resulting 3 megapixel images are crystal clear at 8" x 10" and quite acceptable at 11" x 14". The zoom of course remains the trump card on the 740, 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. However, these have no sound, a drawback the 750 will address.
The 740 (a feature that began with the 730) is the second Olympus to utilize the new xD memory card format, the "xD-Picture Card". This is a new type of ultra-compact memory media developed jointly by Fuji and Olympus. The main features of the xD-Picture Card are its ultra-compact size (20.0 x 25.0 x 1.7mm), its lower power consumption (the xD Picture-Card users will benefit from the convenience and savings of longer battery life on a single charge) and its faster read/write speeds. Of course, a new card means a new card-reader will be needed, but these are inexpensive and aren't immediately needed, as the camera can be linked by the included USB cable to your PC without too much fuss. Overall, I think the 740 is a camera I'd take a pass on. If money is an issue, go with the 730 or even an earlier model (I still love my 700); if features are what you long for, pop for the 750.

Let me say right off the bat that I gave this camera 4 stars because the video does have not sound -- how wack is THAT??

Except for this, it's a really great camera. The zoom is INCREDIBLE for a digital camera, along with the 3.2 mp, producing crisp, detailed images. I know everybody hates to read manuals, but honestly, if you just take the time to read this one (the cd version), you will be to correct all of the complaints I've read about with this camera. So let me just sum it up below:

Pros
1. Incredible zoom. And by reading the manual, I was able to prevent the blurriness that normally occurs without a tripod -- at least a great deal of it.
2. XD card -- it's worth it having to start all over with new media. I've had my camera for one week, have taken over 200 pictures and 5 videos, and the batteries are still at full strength. That's because of the XD card. It also downloads to the computer super fast, and again, doesn't drain the batteries.
3. The scene modes -- read about them. They REALLY work.
4. The 2 modes for slow flash -- slow1 and slow2 -- they somehow prevent blurry pictures when zooming (I'm not sure how).
5. The mode scenes -- they do well with what they are supposed to do. Adjusting the flash helps, if you have any problems.
6. The ability to save 4 "my modes" custom settings.
7. The manual mode -- I haven't learned how to use it all yet, but I can tell this is where you can start to get perfect shots if you master this.
8. Shots in the dark -- I mean complete darkness -- UNBELIEVABLY good! Again, use the "night" mode and the slow flash.

Cons
1. The viewfinder -- it has an adjustment (diopter?), but it's still sometimes hard to see. However, just using the "automatic" mode or one the of scene modes will help compensate for this.
2. No sound with the videos. Okay, I'm not trying to use it as a camcorder or anything, but it would be helpful to be able to make quick movies with sound to email to family members.
3. The XD card -- I know I also listed this as a positive, and even though it is, it still [is bad] that I have 4 cf memory cards just sitting around now!
4. This is an odd place to put this, but the Olympus C750-- wait for that model. It will have all the features of this one, PLUS a hot-shoe flash, PLUS 4 mp, PLUS sound with the movies. I really think I'm going to return this one and wait for the 750.

All that being said -- if you can't wait or can't spring for the extra bucks for the 750, you CAN'T GO WRONG with the 740!

the ultra-zoom c-740 camera is a virtual twin of the c-750 with some notable differences. the biggest differences are a lower resolution (3MP vs 4MP), no hot shoe, no sound recording support, and no remote control support. finally, the c-740 has a body constructed from a mix of metal and plastic while the c-750 has an all metal body.

pros:
- 10x optical zoom - this is the main selling point of this camera (make sure you get a tripod or monopod to hold the camera steady at 10x, though).
- 3MP resolution.
- good image quality.
- allows a great deal of manual control, including the ability to fine-tune white balance.
- support for add-on lenses.
- customizable buttons and menus.
- ability to store four sets of individual settings.
- bright 1.5" LCD display (smaller size than competition, though).
- has an electronic view finder allows you to see what the CCD sees.
- adjustable AF area, plus manual and automatic focus modes.
- auto bracketing, sequence, AF sequence, and hi-sequence capture modes.
- allows contrast, saturation, and sharpness image adjustments.
- ability to save low resolution movies directly to the xD card.
- supports TIFF format.
- non-proprietary AA batteries used. this means replacement batteries are as close as the nearest convenience store (i recommend rechargeables though).
- compact for a 10x zoom camera: 4.2 x 2.6 x 2.8", 10.4oz.

cons:
- purple fringing noticeable.
- noise levels higher than expected.
- some barrel distortion at wide-angle.
- hair-trigger power button.
- electronic viewfinder difficult to view in low light.
- slowest shutter speeds only available in full manual mode.
- does not support RAW format.
- so-so battery life.
- no AF assist lamp, making autofocus difficult in low ambient light.
- no accessory shoe.
- no sound on video.
- the supplied 16MB xD card is inadequate. be prepared to shell out a few more bucks for more memory.
- add even more to buy more rechargeable batteries; you may also want to invest in a faster charger, the included charger is SLOW.

the c-740, like the c-750, is very easy to use and can be used as a point and shoot or as a full manual camera. the noisier than expected images at higher ISO settings, the lack of an AF assist light, and the lack of an accessory shoe are areas for improvement. all in all, a solid camera at a good price. if you have the $$ to spend, i would recommend trading up to the c-750 and get the extra 1MP resolution and hot shoe.

i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.

I purchased this camera about 3 weeks ago before a 10 day trip to Germany. I was looking for something with a lot of optical zoom, and 10x was plenty. Shooting a lot of sites like castles and such, the zoom really came through. However, a 10x zoom is pretty powerful and no matter the camera you will need a lot of light and a very steady hand to take advantage of the full zoom. I usually shot around 5x - 8x to avoid blurry, shakey pictures. The zoom was awesome on a couple of occasions when a smaller zoom would have made worthless pictures.

On one day I was trying to shoot the Neuschwanstein Castle (Disney's model castle in Bavaria) and it was very foggy. My 2x Canon just could not get close enough to get any detail through the fog. The Olympus took some spectacular pictures. Some were very cool with the fog, and I was excited at how well they turned out when I got them up on my computer monitor.

This camera is easy to use with the "Auto" mode, but you can also customize a lot of stuff if you are a really photo pro. 3.2 megapixels is plenty enough for me. In fact, I would rather have this camera with the huge zoom than another camera with more pixels.

If you want to take photos with the foreground in focus and the background nicely blurred, this is your camera. Just set the camera on portrait mode, crank up the optical zoom to the full 10X, move in fairly close to your subject and fire away. So far I've taken several rather stunning (if I may say so myself!) pictures around the yard this way. I have a couple of older 3X optical zoom cameras and can't get nearly as much background blurring on them.

The optical zoom operates quickly and smoothly. The photos upload fast to my eMac (using iPhoto there's no extra software to install). There isn't much lag time when taking a photo until you can take the next one (unless you're using TIFF mode). The lens cap can be put on with the lens extended (if you don't want to switch modes before uploading to your computer) and also if you turn the camera on with the lens cap on you won't get a horrible grinding noise of the lens trying to burst through the cap. Also, in play mode the lens doesn't extend. The framing through the viewfinder is accurate (unlike my other two digital cameras). The colors seem very nice and accurate (I don't feel like I need to run iPhoto's enhance feature on the photos).

Overall the body of the camera feels a bit on the cheap side (I think I read that the new 750 is all metal?). The battery compartment cover seems flimsy. It's easy to get only halfway between settings on the mode dial. The little rubber navigation arrow keys are a bit small for my thumb. Some of my photos have come out blurry (or the wrong thing was in focus) so I think it takes a bit of practice to consistently hit your mark focus-wise. Maybe good to get an extended warranty on this camera.

Overall, the more I use this camera the more I like it. The 10X optical zoom is wonderful. The new XD-type card seems to work great.

Like most people, I've been researching months for a digital camera, trying to find the best one. I was mainly looking for a nice compact one that most people liked. I saw this one in a store, and had a hard time trying to decide between this one and the Nikon CoolPix 4300. The one thing that finally made up my mind (with the help of the salesperson's personal recommendation) is the 10x optical zoom. I read the one-star review someone else posted on this camera. I just got this camera 2 days ago, and I haven't had any problems with it yet. For me, everything works fine and even better. The high quality pictures come out remarkably clear. The only thing I haven't used yet is the manual modes, and I probably won't use those because I just simply don't know what all of it means. The only thing missing that would be nice to have is a remote control for the self-timer, but you can manage without it. I must say that the zoom on this camera is just a few steps beyond incredible. I love being able to get as close to subjects and not having the picture be blurry at all. Of course though, you have to be careful and hold the camera as steady as possible so that it won't come out blurry. All in all, a flaw is just not at all possible with this camera. Basically, everything works just as expected, even better. To me, it's well worth the money to have that 10x optical zoom.

Once upon a time, I worked as a photographer and shot with everything from Hasselblads to view cameras (the cameras where you see someone hiding underneath a black cloth). I've used various cheap digital cameras for point and shoot purposes, but I never really made the plunge into buying a "real" digital camera. The gripes I had, had to do with the total automation of the cameras available. You basically couldn't change any of the settings to be creative. I wanted to buy a camera that would allow me freedom to choose between manual and automatic settings, give clear/sharp pictures, offer lots of features, and wouldn't send me to the poor house. I shopped around for a few weeks and finally came upon the Olympus C740 digital camera. Here are my impressions.

First of all, I was surprised at how small digital cameras have become. The C740 is a nice compact size with all the buttons and controls logically placed on the top and back of the body. As is usual with me, I tried operating the camera without going to deeply into the manual to assess how user friendly the camera was. After a scant ten minutes in reading the quick start-up guide, I was off and running and taking my very first quality digital pictures. The menu/feature system of this camera are well laid out and very comprehensive. You can go on automatic and choose preselected parameters for shooting, or you can change the settings to suit your needs. For instance, compensation for exposure is as easy as pressing the cursor buttons on the back. You can adjust the function of the flash at the touch of a button. A great feature is the 'fill in flash'. The flash will go off whenever you press the shoot button. This is very useful when taking pictures of people outdoors as the flash fills in the harsh shadows with soft light. Great.

One reason I choose the Olympus C740 is because of the 10x zoom lens. The range is approximately 38mm to 380mm. Quite a range and very useful. The images came out nice and sharp at all zoom settings. Of couse, when using the long setting, you will experience some camera shake. This was not a big problem since you can manually up the shutter speed and ISO to freeze the jitters. You can always resort to using a tripod or just leaning against a solid object for stabibility. On the flip side, the camera sports a macro mode, which allows you to get very good close-ups. I was able to take some very nice pictures of flowers in the backyard and even some very fine spider webs glistening in the sun. Sharpness was outstanding.

If there is one weak point to this camera, and this seems to be a common problem with most digital cameras, is its performance in low light situations. What this means is that the camera will not be able to automatically focus in places like school auditoriums, darkly lit restaurants, or dimly lit rooms. The only way around this is to use the manual focus and to preset the distance and go on from there. If you need to take quick and dirty shots of graduations, etc, you'd be better off with a cheap little point and shoot camera.

The view finder is crammed full of information that can be changed at will.(You can also view the picture scene and info on the LCD on the back of the camera.)A very nice feature of this camera is the ability to see your shots immediately after you take them. If you don't like your exposure, composition, etc, you can delete them right away. I tried shooting in macro mode, telephoto and wide angle, and all the images were sharp and saturated. The camera gives you the option to choose what resolution (sharpness) the camera shoots in. The camera can shoot in quick sequences, bracketed exposure settings, and panarama mode (only if you use genuine Olympus xd cards.)

The C740 is not a current model and has been replaced by newer versions. However, the technology found in this camera can still hold its own. Its versatility in doubling as a good 'point and shoot' and being totally configurable gets high marks. The camera is 3.2 megapixles and is more than sufficient for prints to 8x10 or 11x14. Since this is an older model, this camera can usually be found at a good discount. The editing software that comes with this camera is good, albeit, spartan, but it edits and performs well. My only complaint is not with the camera but with the documentation. While succent and to the point, it is almost on the verge of being uninformative. This camera is packed full of features but the printed documentation barely scratches the surface of what it can do. With this said, a detailed manual is on the installation CD which can be viewed on your computer. Gee, what ever happened to 'printed' manuals? Sigh...

Great pictures, super auto mode, sharp lens, user friendly, complete manual over-ride, light, compact, and fun to use. This puts the C740 in some very good, if not more expensive company. This is my first digital camera and I am very pleased with it.

I've not taken a bad picture with this camera yet that wasn't a user error. I love the crisp, clear pictures I get with both macro settings and in shooting long distances. I've uploaded a couple of macro shots to show what an amateur can do with this camera. For the price, you can't go wrong. (I actually traded *down* from a 6 MP Sony to this and like this one MUCH better.)

I went to a 4th of July celebration where I took 319 pictures. Only 5 of them were bad pictures (probably user mistake). I have taken some awesome fireworks picture. The 10X optical zoom really helps get in close on subjects. The only MINOR complaints that I have are:

1) It's not a fast click between pictures with AutoFocus.
2) Camera settings are reset each time by default.
3) When changing the quality to Super High Quality, the picture gets darker.

All in all, I am very happy with this purchase.

My husband and I purchased this camera and used it at a science-fiction convention recently. The multiple modes were difficult to figure out on the fly. We also had many pictures that were blurry. We figured out that the blurs were caused by pressing the button to take the picture. So, we purchased a monopod, and set the camera to take three pictures at once. After that, the pictures turned out FANTASTIC! From our seats toward the back, we were able to zoom in on the action up front. My advice would be to take several practice photos before you use it for "real".