While the dimage 5 was a great digicam, I got tired of the slow autofocus and horrible battery life. So I sold it on Ebay and picked myself up the Olympus C-730 online.

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Complete specs:

CCD Imager: 3.2 Megapixel Effective
3.3 Megapixel Gross

Lens: Olympus multivariator 2 aspherical glass 10x zoom lens 5.9-59 mm (38-380mm equivalent in 35mm photography)
Seamless Digital Zoom 30x (10x optical and 3x digital combined)

Aperture Range: F2.8-8 (W) / F3.5-8 (T); adjustable in 1/3 steps EV

Shutter Speeds: Program Auto/Aperture Priority/Shutter Speed Priority: 1/1,000 sec. – 1 sec.
Night Scene: 1/1,000 sec. – 4 sec.
Manual: 1/1,000 sec. – 16 sec.

ISO Manual: 100, 200, 400 (equivalent)

Recording Mode(s): Still image: EXIF TIFF (non-compressed), EXIF JPEG, DCF (design rule for Camera File system), QuickTime® Motion JPEG (Movie Mode), Sound: WAV format
Adjustable Resolutions 3,200 x 2,400 SHQ JPEG-OIE/HQ JPEG-OIE
2,048 x 1,360 (3:2) TIFF, SHQ/HQ JPEG
2,048 x 1,536 TIFF, SHQ/HQ JPEG
1,600 x 1,200 TIFF, SQ1 JPEG-High/Normal
1,280 x 960 TIFF, SQ1 JPEG-High/Normal
1,024 x 768 TIFF, SQ2 JPEG-High/Normal
640 x 480 TIFF, SQ2 JPEG-High/Normal
320 x 240 @15fps QuickTime Motion JPEG
160 x 120 @15fps QuickTime Motion JPEG

DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) Print Reservation (Single, Multiple, All, Number of copy), Date/Time, Cropping

Optical Image Enlargement: Yes

Image Adjustment Modes Sharpness: /- 5 in 1 steps;

Contrast: /- 5 in 1 steps; Saturation: /- 5 in 1 staps Exposure Compensation: /- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps

Image Effects Noise Reduction: available at shutter speeds of 1 second or longer

Panorama: Up to 10 frames stitchable automatically with CAMEDIA Master software when using Olympus brand xD-Picture card or SmartMedia

Sequence Normal: 1.2 frames per second burst up to 11 frames in HQ mode
Hi-Speed: 2.4 frames per second burst up to 3 frames in HQ mode

Viewfinder: 0.44" (1.1cm) electric viewfinder, 180,000 pixels with Diopter Adjustment

LCD: 1.5" (3.8cm) Color TFT LCD (114,000 pixels)

Focusing System: iESP AF (autofocus) TTL system (contrast detection), x Multi area spot AF, Full Time AF (Movie Mode),

Focusing Ranges: Super Macro Mode: Up to 1.6" (4cm) no optical zoom available
Macro Mode: 3.9" – 23.6" (0.1m - 0.6m) (W); 47.2" – 78" (1.2m îm) (T)

Standard AF: 23.6" – Infinity (0.6m – Infinity) (W), 78" – Infinity (2m – Infinity) (T)

Manual Focus: 3.9" – Infinity (0.1m - Infinity) (W); 47.2" – Infinity (1.2m –Infinity) (T)

Exposure Control: Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, Manual

Exposure compensation: /- 2EV in 1/3 steps

Auto Exposure Bracketing: Selectable from 1/3 EV, 2/3 EV and 1EV steps, 3 or 5 images

Metering System: Digital ESP Meter, Spot

White Balance System: iESP auto TTL
6 Pre-set manual (Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten and Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2 and Fluorescent 3) and Manual White Balance
White balance compensation: /- 7 in 1 steps

Flash: Built-in Pop Up Flash
Flash Modes: Auto Flash for low and backlight
“Red-eye” Reduction Flash
Fill-in Flash
Slow Shutter Synchronized Flash (1st curtain, 2nd curtain, 1st curtain w/red-eye reduction)
Flash Off
Flash Working Range Wide: 0.04” – 18.0’ (0.1m – 5.5m) @ ISO 100

Tele: 0.5” – 14.4’ (1.2m – 4.4m) @ISO 100

Flash Charging Time Less than 6 seconds (at normal temperature with new batteries)

Removable Media Card: 3V (3.3V) SmartMedia card (4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 MB)

xD Picture Card: (4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 MB)

Selftimer/Remote: 12-second delay Selftimer/2-second delay (Optional Remote control RM-1)

Setting Memorization: On, Default, 4 My Modes

Outer Connectors: USB connector (USB Auto-Connect), Audio/Video Out, DC input, 5 pin external Flash Terminal for optional Olympus FL-40 flash

Auto-connect USB Compatible with Windows 98 rev2/ME/2000 Pro/XP-MacOS 8.6-9.1/OSX (10.1)

Image Playback Still: Index display (4/9/16), 4x enlargement by 0.5x steps, Slide-show, Histogram, Scene rotation

Movie: Normal Playback, Reverse Playback, Frame by Frame

Operating Environment Operation: 32 F ��F (0C – 40C) 30-90% Humidity

Storage: -4 F – 140F (-20C – 60C) 10-90% Humidity

Power Supply Main Power Source:
2 x LB-01 (CR-3V) Lithium batteries
4 x AA Ni-MH rechargeable batteries
4 x AA Lithium batteries
4 x AA Alkaline batteries
(Manganese batteries cannot be used)

AC Power: C-7AU AC adapter (optional)

Date/Time Calendar: Simultaneous recording into image date
Calendar Automatic up to the year 2099

Size: 4.2" W x 3.0" H x 3.1" D (107.5m W x 76mm H x 77.5mm D)

Weight: 11.1 Oz./310 g without batteries and xD Picture Card

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First impressions

The C-730uz is currently the smallest digicam with a 10x optical zoom. The front of the camera has the lens, the self timer light and a small handgrip with a clearish-blue plastic insert. On the left side, there's a PC sync connector for an external flash, and a door that hides the USB (for connection to your PC), DC (for the optional AC adapter), A/V outputs (to display pics on your TV), and a small speaker. On the right side a door opens to reveal the Smartmedia/xD-picture card slot. On top, there's a dial for the 6 scene modes (more on the later) and settings, the shutter button, zoom rocker switch, and pop-up flash. On the bottom there's the batty compartment and the tripod socket.

Overall I'd say that the C-730uz is a pretty nice looking camera.

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PC/software installation

Installation of the Camedia Master 4.0 software was noneventful. To transfer pics to you PC, you simply plug it in to your USB port and Windows will recognize it as an extra disk drive. For Windows 98/98se users, you'll need to install the included USB driver.

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features

The C-730uz's obvious attraction is the big 10x optical zoom lens, which allows you to get really close to stuff. Combined with the 3x digital zoom, it's a total of 30x(!) zoom (although I never recommend using the digital zoom, as it decreases image quality when you use it).

The camera also has resolutions ranging from 640x480 to 2048x1536, as well as a 3,200x2,400 mode for doing BIG prints.

TruePic technology means you can use the lower resolutions without worrying about imaging quality (Basically, it uses all the 3.2 megapixels at all the available resolutions).

The 730 also has one auto mode and six "scene modes":

Portrait: Puts the subject in focus and blurs the backround.

Sport: Use when subject is in motion.

Landscape-portrait: similar to portrait, but puts the backround in focus too.

Landscape-scene: Suitable for nature photography, this mode produces blues and greens very vividly.

Night-scene: Suitable for shooting in the evening or at night.

Selt-portrait: Allows you to take a picture of yourself. Zooming is not possible in this mode.

Another big feature is all the manual overrides you could possibly want, such as: manual focus, aperature and shutter speed, white balance, plus 4 "my modes" the you can customize to whatever you want.

I must say, however, that dispite all the manual control, this digicam is easy enough for novices to use.

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Image quality

Quality of indoor and outdoor images is good to excellent.
However, image noise (random colored pixels where there should be a smooth tone) for indoor shots is rather high unless you run the "pixel mapping" utility in the camera and turn on the noise reduction, somethings the printed manual doesn't mention. Purple fringing (the purple outline on dark things when they meet light things; e.g trees and sky) is evident at full zoom, but that's to be expected on long zoom digicams.

Quality when using the Quicktime movie feature is pretty good, but it can't replace a true camcorder.

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Performance

Autofocus: the AF speed ranges from quick to rather slow (in low light), but is almost always accurate.

Flash: the built-in pop-up flash is very strong, Olympus always excels in this area.

Shutter lag: Time for the shutter to actually fire when you press the button ranges from pretty bad (more than a second for a full press without stopping halfway to let the autofocus do its job), to darn good (less than a half-second when prefocusing and when using a higher shutter speed).

Zoom: the 10x optical zoom (38-380mm equiv.) should almost certainly be enough for just about any normal shooting condition. Note: the lens is not stabilzed, so unless you have a really steady hand, best use a tripod for anything over 6x.

Battery life: I have taken many shots so far and have yet to run out of the included CR-V3's.

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Pros

Overall great image quality.

Small.

External PC sync connector.

Solidly built.

TruePic

All the creativity and exposure options you could possible want, yet easy enough that anyone can use it.

10x optical zoom!

Great battery life.

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Cons

High image noise in indoor shots out-of-box (this can be easily corrected).

Printed manual leaves out a lot of info. You have to go on the reference manual found on the CD for the advanced stuff.

Slow shutter lag using full autofocus without stopping halfway first.

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Memory interface

The C-730uz can except 2 types of memory cards, Smartmedia and the new xD-picture card. The camera is dual-slotted but can only use one type at a time. Smartmedia is cheap, but xD is much faster and is going to be available in higher capacities.

The camera ships with a 16 MB xD card, but do yourself a favor and get a 128 MB card.

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Sam's Summary

With good enough resolution to do prints up to 11x14, and nice goodies such as a huge zoom, lots of manual controlls and ease of use, the C-730uz is perfect for just about anyone looking for a long zoom digicam. At $599 MSRP, its a great value, but at the sub-$500 some e-tailors are charging, it's an outstanding one.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 462.95
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts