Olympus 720SW Digital Camera Review

Review:

The 720SW is probably the toughest of the Stylus Series, featuring a 3 meters waterproof and 1.5 meters fall resistant metal body. More than that, the camera features some great technologies such as BrightCapture that will reduce the need for flash by increasing the 7.1MP CCD sensor’s sensitivity. Users can choose from three body colors, Polar Blue, Steel Silver and Dusky Pink.

Believe it or not, the 720 SW has a shockproof case that respects the MIL STD (Military Standard). Therefore it’s highly unlikely that it won’t have a long life in adventurers’ backpacks. It even allows photographers to take underwater photos without the need of an optional underwater casing. In other words, this little camera won’t have any problems in capturing the right moment at the right time, no matter the location! If its capabilities are still not enough for your appetite for extreme photography, the optional PT-033 underwater case can safely protect the camera even when submerged to an incredible 40 meter depth.

The 7.1 megapixel CCD sensor produces impressing results, namely very detail-rich and with great clarity photos. The 3x (38-114mm equivalent) optical zoom will cover most photographic needs while the BrightCapture Technology will make the camera’s integrated flash rather useless even in low light conditions such as even underwater scenery in this case. This unique Olympus technology also ‘affects’ the LCD as it can be made up to 4 times brighter, thus composition and framing in low light situations is no longer a problem for the photographer. In addition, the ISO sensitivity can be taken to a staggering ISO 1600 allowing for faster shutter speeds and much less blurry images.

The 720 SW also records movie clips at three resolutions of 640x480, 320x240 or 160x120 and 15 frames per second. The length of the clips is only limited by the size of available memory. Both photos and movies can be saved either into the integrated 19.1 MB memory or into an optional xD-Picture Card. The latest versions of these cards offer a 2-3 times faster transfer rate than their predecessors as well as the panorama function, also allowing different 3D effects and various art to be applied to the images.

The battery included in the 720 SW packages is a high-performance LI-42B lithium-ion rechargeable battery that will supply more power than any of the other Stylus cameras. The Guide Function is easy to use and makes the included users’ manual obsolete as it allows even the beginners to quickly understand and use the features of the cameras. The camera can be connected either to a PC or Mac via its USB port without the need of any additional software or directly to a PictBridge compatible printer by simply following the instructions shown on the LCD of the camera. For example, the Olympus P-11 dye-sublimation PictBridge compatible printer can produce great 10x15 prints in no more than 33 seconds. The camera also comes with the Olympus Master Software that can be used in order to manage and edit your photos.

The BrightCapture Technology is an exclusive Olympus feature that makes use of all effective pixels when rendering images on the LCD of the camera. The software divides the CCD sensor’s surface into 9-pixel square groups that are then compress into unique Super Pixels displayed on the LCD. The result is a much brighter and clearer view. Other advantages of this technology is the capability of taking the sensor’s sensitivity to high values such as ISO 1600 thus allowing the usage of faster shutter speeds and greatly reducing the risk of blurred images. The compressed Super pixels are used mostly for displaying the images on the LCD as the TruePic algorithm will then expand the information contained by them into higher resolution images. 
 

• 7.1 megapixel CCD sensor
• Movie recording (640x480, 320x240 or 160x120 at 15 fps
• 3x (37-111mm equivalent) optical zoom and 5x digital zoom
• iESP and Spot autofocus
• Digital ESP and Spot metering
• Auto ISO from 64 to 400 (and up to 2500 in Light Portrait and Candle modes)
• +/- 2EV in 1/3 steps exposure compensation
• ½ (up to 4 seconds in Night Scene mode) to 1/1000 shutter speeds
• Program AE + 23 predefined shooting modes
• Auto + 6 predefined White Balance modes
• Built-in flash with red-eye reduction
• 2.5 inch 115,000 pixels BrightCapture Technology TFT LCD