Olympus C750 Review Reviewed by Johnny Koh on 30th June 2003 Features 4 million pixels for image processing 10x Ultra Zoom, equivalent to 38-380mm and 1-3x digital Tele, seamless Bright zoom lens F2.8-3.5 Electronic View Finder (0.44", 180.000 pixels), displaying full photographic info xD-Picture Card compatible Program (P)/ Aperture Priority(A)/ Shutter Priority (S) Histogram in shooting mode S-macro (from as close as 4cm) QuickTime motion JPEG Audio/Video interface USB AutoConnect Image Quality Test Contrast and Grain Test The camera was supported on a tripod and shots taken at different apertures(f3.7, f5.0 and f8) and ISO values (50, 100, 200 and 400) for this test. The selected portion 80x80 from the above shot is blown up to 200% as shown below: ISO f3.7 f5.0 f8.0 50 100 200 400 From the above result, it shows that shots taken with smaller aperture (f8) have lesser contrast and higher ISO like 200 and 400 shots show obvious grain. This camera has a setting of iso 50 (not found in most consumer digital cameras) which offers a detailed image with less grain. The Olympus C750 produces fairly sharp, high resolution (for a 4 megapixel) and well colour balanced images. The big zoom will get you into places you wouldn't otherwise be able to reach and assuming you have fairly good light you'll get away without the need for image stabilization. 10x Zoom Test Below shows 4 shots (1 wide and 3 zooms) of the blue car about 300m away taken through my window. All shots are reduced to 500x374 with no additional touch up. Fully Wide (38mm) 1/5 sec, f/8.0 Fully Zoom (380mm) 0.5 sec, f/8.0 taken without support Fully Zoom (380mm) 0.333333 sec, f/8.0 taken with hand support on a window Fully Zoom (380mm) 0.4 sec, f/8.0 taken with tripod The result shows support with a tripod is needed for best quality pictures at longer focal lengths (e.g. 380mm). The optical 10x zoom enables subject isolation from a distance of two to three hundred meters away for capturing details when you cannot get close the the subject. However, when using the Olympus C750UZ at the full optical zoom, a photographer needs to be aware of the shutter speed to avoid image blurring due to handshake. To assist users in determinin the lowest usable shutter speed, an indication will light up in the viewfinder/lcd when shutter speeds falls below the "hand-holdable" level for any given focal length. Night Shots Test For this test, the camera was supported on a tripod and timer mode used to capture the night scene. Above is the night shot that taken with 8 sec, f/2.8 and then resized to 500x374 without sharpening. The red box is the area that was cropped and shown below. taken with Noise Reduction turned ON taken with Noise Reduction turned OFF The result shows that the Olympus C750 can take pretty good night shots. It has the noise reduction system able to remove noise from long exposure. When enabled this feature will automatically remove noise (visible as white or aberrant coloured pixels in an otherwise dark night sky) from images which have a slower shutter speed e.g. 1 sec. For long exposures this means a second 'dark frame' exposure immediately after the first shot. This dark frame is used to subtract hot pixel noises from the first exposure. The slowest available timed shutter speed is 1 seconds, however you can take manual exposure mode up to 16 seconds (use timer mode is recommended). Below is the final touch up night shot after sharpening. Sample Shots There are 76 images in the samples gallery. Below show some of the sample shots as follows: or see the rest at http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/c750/ Conclusion Advantages Good colour, good metering, good to 4 megapixel resolution Good white balance even under artificial light Compact size (inclusive of 10x lens!) Large range of manual controls, aperture/shutter priority exposures and program mode Low image noise at ISO 50 and 100 Flash Hot-shoe seems to work well with external flash Noise reduction works well in low lighting shots Best value for a full-featured consumer digital camera Small LCD is bright and sharp Excellent battery life (with a good set of NiMH rechargeable's) Disadvantages Some chromatic aberrations visible Slow and Noisy startup time Auto metering only up to 1 second the long shutter (A mode) A/S/M mode hidden in 2 submenus - not easy to toggle between modes No image stabilization Recommendation Auto metering up to 8 second the long shutter (A mode) A/S/M mode is in the extra Dial option Include image stabilization Overall Conclusion Here's my rating of the Olympus C750: Highly Recommended what is good about this camera in my opinion? The camera is light & compact. You can bring it out anytime anywhere. With 10x zoom , you can shoot distant objects without having to go too close. Using the external flash on the hotshoe , you can take nice indoor people shots with bounce flash. The super macro mode allows magnified shots of small objects easily. Built-in noise reduction allows you to take nice and noiseless low lighting shots. The camera uses 4xAA which can be obtained easily and cheaply. The camera can use accessories like :- different type of filters (lens adapter needed) UV filter Absorbs the ultraviolet rays which often makes outdoor photographs hazy and indistinct. Many people use it as a permanent lens protector. Skylight filter Reduces the excessive bluishness that frequently occurs in outdoor color photography, especially in open shade under a clear, blue sky. Circular Polariser filter Remove unwanted reflections from non-metallic surfaces such as water, glass etc Close-up filter Reduce the minimum focusing distance depend on +1, +2, +3 and +4 diopters. The higher the diopter value, the nearer and more magnification. Neutral Density filter Reduce the amount of light reaching the film, they have no affect on color balance. Colored filter They are used for color correction of different light sources when using color film, or for controlling contrast with Black & White film. teleconverter (lens adapter needed) e.g. Canon TC-DC52 2.4x, Kenko LD20T 2x, Oly B-300, Oly C210 1.9x and Vitacon 2x. It is like a magnifier to boost up your optical zoom. wideangle converter (lens adapter needed) It works reversely like a teleconverter. Your focal length become wider. Olympus external flash FL-40/20 or third-party TTL (Promaster or Metz) with an adapter. External flash is useful for portrait, indoor, and for strong backlit situations to light up your subject. Refer to "Olympus External Flash Support by Michael Meissner" link if you want to know more about external flash.