OT Olympus C-740

I've found a good buy on the above at US$299 plus shipping. The reviews and tests seem positive but how many bad reviews does one ever find? What interests me most is it's 10x optical zoom and 2.8 inch macro as opposed to my D-550's 3x and 8 inch and a lot more manual control. Battery life is close to what I'm getting now and it uses the same AA's. There is a slight increase from 3 to 3.18 mp. Since I'm happy with 3 mp results and have no need or ability to go larger than 8x10 I can't see a reason to go to 4.

One concern is the digital rather than optical view finder which is said to be a bit dim in low light. But won't the screen be ok in those conditions?

Any and all thoughts appreciated.

Bob

Bob,
Recently I purchased the C-750. The camera is excellent and I obtain very good pictures. I took over 60 on a trip this past week. Focusing with either the optical or digital screen is fine for me; one can adjust the brightness of the screen to suit. One reason that I bought the C-750 is that it has a hot shoe for an external flash. The intrinsic flash is OK, but I shall purchase an external flash in the near future. The camera takes AA batteries; it came with a set of rechargable batteries and with the charger. The 10x optical zoom is what really makes this camera, and Olympus sells a screw on ring which allows one to add filters.
Ken

Robert_F_Carruth wrote:

I've found a good buy on the above at US$299 plus shipping. The reviews and tests seem positive but how many bad reviews does one ever find? What interests me most is it's 10x optical zoom and 2.8 inch macro as opposed to my D-550's 3x and 8 inch and a lot more manual control. Battery life is close to what I'm getting now and it uses the same AA's. There is a slight increase from 3 to 3.18 mp. Since I'm happy with 3 mp results and have no need or ability to go larger than 8x10 I can't see a reason to go to 4.

One concern is the digital rather than optical view finder which is said to be a bit dim in low light. But won't the screen be ok in those conditions?

I have the C-750, like Ken. I had a 3MP camera, but replaced it in a year with the 4MP Olympus.

The screen is ok in dim light.

--
Ed Wurster
http://www.ewurster.com/blog/

Ken,

Thank you for the response. According to Olympus the 740 and 750 lens systems are optically identical (you get 4x digital instead of 3 but I don't use the digital zoom anyway) so that's a good comparison. All I get is a set of lithium batteries with it but I'm all set with charger, batteries and the same external power supply from the D-550. Now if the 740 just accepted Smart Media Cards... Oh, well, need a USB 2.0 card reader anyway.

Bob

I have a 750. Takes excellent pictures. I bought it from Broadway Photo for a very good price, but you have to be insistant that the cheapest shipping is ok, and they try to sell you other stuff besides. You can use a USB cord directly to the camera and it works like a card reader with no software required. Since you will be using rechargeable batteries, using the camera is a viable option. My card reader works faster, and they are available on sale. My 8 way reader cost $10 after rebates. Sometimes they are actually free after rebates! It uses xD cards which are more expensive than some, but they are available at discount - costco for less than $90 for 256 card. I have been told that the xD format is much faster than previous card formats. The viewfinder is a bit more difficult to use than an optical one, but you can get used to it and it is the tradeoff for the long zoom. If the price isn't too much more for you to handle, I would go for the 4 megapixels as it will give you more lattitude for cropping and image manipulation that sometimes tends to degrade images. I think that the 750 price will be dropping as there are new models on the market. I haven't seen them here in the US, but I've seen postings about them.

I was torn between getting a "pocketable" camera like my wife's Olympus c-50, a great little 5 mp camera, or going for the long zoom. Glad I went for the zoom as it has been very useful on trips. Sorry I didn't have it on a trip to Alaska on the inside passage as I would have had better shots of the wildlife. I used my old Olympus 490, which was a very good choice when the state of the art for consumer cameras was 3mp.

wrote in message

I've found a good buy on the above at US$299 plus shipping. The reviews

and tests seem positive but how many bad reviews does one ever find? What interests me most is it's 10x optical zoom and 2.8 inch macro as opposed to my D-550's 3x and 8 inch and a lot more manual control. Battery life is close to what I'm getting now and it uses the same AA's. There is a slight increase from 3 to 3.18 mp. Since I'm happy with 3 mp results and have no need or ability to go larger than 8x10 I can't see a reason to go to 4.

One concern is the digital rather than optical view finder which is said

to be a bit dim in low light. But won't the screen be ok in those conditions?

Any and all thoughts appreciated.

Bob

Ed,

Somehow I miised your reply earlier. Have hit that refresh button more often! Thanks for the info on the screen.

Bob