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

The camera does very well. Not only are the distance shots great with the 10x magnification, but close ups are also superb, especially with the Super-Macro mode; some of my best pictures have been close ups of flowers. It has all the manual features, which I also wanted for more creative control.

It is worth noting that at full zoom, you can get blurry shots, but this is typical of any unstabilized zoom lens. To correct it, just steady the camera with both hands or use a tripod. I haven't found it to be a big problem, but it is worth noting so that when you get some blurry shots, you were warned.

I like the electronic viewfinder. Most cameras have the LCD and an optical viewfinder. This has the LCD and an EVF, which is a mini-LCD in place of the viewfinder. The result is that you get a smaller LCD (and thus less battery consumption), but you can change all the options via menus WHILE looking through the viewfinder. Lots of cameras require you to take the camera away from your face, turn on the LCD, change settings, and go back to composing the shot. Some people may not like it, but I personally like the option. Olympus even did the ergonomics right with the menu navigation buttons!

Pros:
- 10x glass, optical, ED (Extra-low dispersion, which reduces chromatic aberration) lens
- Great great macro
- Intuitive menus
- Electronic Viewfinder (EVF)
- Excellent photo quality
- Solid-feel
- Small
- Takes AA batteries, so you can buy them anywhere in a pinch. VERY GOOD IDEA!

Cons:
- EVF, due to extra battery consumption... unfortunate tradeoff for not having optical viewfinder
- Mostly plastic body, I believe... just don't drop it!
- Manual-focus is iffy, but I've used the Canon manual-focus system and it's no better. I'm waiting for [$$] digicams like this to get focus rings!
- Small capacity xD memory included and xD is new, which means expensive! But it *is* physically small
- Non-rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries replace em with NiMH rechargeables!

All in all, it's a great camera with great picture quality. 3.2 megapixel is good for crystal-clear 4x6's and sharp 8x10's. I highly recommend. The next model up, the C-750, has sound recording with movies (which I think is a novelty and unnecessary), a hot shoe for optical flashes, and 4 megapixels. But it's a bunch more money for not much extra. You don't need 4 megapixels unless you're doing big 11x16 blow ups. This is not a simple point-and-shoot camera; I'd recommend the Digital Stylus line or the Canon S45 and similar for a more simple, smaller package. If you want a great zoom, lots of creative control, and great photos, this is for you.

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!