Olympus CAMEDIA C-720 Ultra Zoom

At work, I produce reports that include photo images, these reports are increasingly being distributed in e-format therefore I needed to progress to digital photography. But with little time or expertise, I contacted my IT department and they researched (I think!) sourced and purchased. The final bill for the basic camera was £260 ex VAT. This is my first digital camera, but not my first use of one. Having previously taken shots from other peoples digital camera’s and have short term-borrowed others, but these have all been, I suspect, from the budget or home end of the market. This camera ... more

This is my first digital camera. I had used my dad's before so i had a vague idea on how to use it, so i haven't read the manual yet. I have also lost the manual but i can remember it being about half A5 paper size, it was quite thick and the instructions were in about 5 different languages. The camera came in a cube shape box with pictures of the camera on the sides at different angles. On the front of the camera it says: CAMEDIA, DIGITAL CAMERA C-700 Ultra Zoom. OLYMPUS OPTICAL ZOOM 10X To switch the camera on there is a small wheel where you choose the setting you want and turn it to the ... more

Like the title says, it's hard to put this camera into a niche. The lens makes it too bulky to be a general take everywhere point and click travel camera, but the aperature and width are too small to make it a professional SLR replacement. I bought the camera for the small and short focal length as I take lots of technical close-up work. It's great for that as portability and setting up time is not an issue. Where it falls down is on the move. For backpacking one of the smaller point and zoom cameras will do the general sightseeing shots just as well but can be carried in a pocket. The C720 ... more

This is my first digital camera. This camera looks and feels a bit like a 35mm SLR. There are plenty of features and the general picture quality is better than expected. The standard imaging software is fairly comprehensive and easy to use, even for a first timer. Auto focusing is a little slow and performance in low light conditions is a little disappointing. The standard 16MB memory card is insufficient, buy a 128MB card instead. Most shops will do some sort of deal. If you want to make the step up from a budget digital camera, or you can afford the £450+ price tag, this is an excellent ... more

Like the SLR cameras the olympus digital camera range seems to be well built - have lots of features and is easy to use. Although larger than the compacts its' size makes it easy to hold and use. Picture quality is very good and the large optical zoom (8*) and digital zoom(3*) makes for easy close ups. Battery life seems to be good as well. I've had it for a couple of months and the original batteries are still going - used most weekends on and off. The manual is not particulary easy or friendly but it is usable. The ability to override the auto settings makes it very useful as well. This ... more