First Look: Olympus’ 3.2 Megapixel 10X Digital Camera

Wayne N. Kawamoto
Managing Editor, www.smallbusinesscomputing.com

Olympus America announced its upcoming CAMEDIA C-730 Ultra Zoom, the latest addition to the company’s family of Ultra Zoom cameras. The C-730 will offer a high quality 10X optical ultra-zoom lens, and compact and stylish body that weighs only 11.1 ounces and measures 4.2″ wide x 3.0″ high.

The C-730 Ultra Zoom is designed for photographers who are familiar with photography and want the widest lens range and manual and automatic controls on a digital camera. The C-730 Ultra Zoom offers a 10X zoom, which is an equivalent zoom range of 38mm to 380mm-longer than many lenses used on consumer SLR cameras. Sporting a fast shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second for action photography, the shutter speed range also allows long exposures of up to 8 seconds.

The C-730 Ultra Zoom is designed to be easy to use. In fully Programmed Auto mode, the camera offers basic point-and-shoot simplicity. A Scene Program on the mode dial provides automatic exposure adjustments for the photographer who wants good results in a wide variety of settings: Portrait, Self Portrait, Landscape-Portrait, and Sports or Action photography.

A special “My Mode” feature may save time by allowing users to assign a frequently used function to the mode dial for quick access. The C-730 Ultra Zoom’s advanced settings include controls for aperture priority, shutter priority, and full manual operation and may be ideal for experienced photographers who want to take control. Users can transfer images to a PC by relying on the supplied Auto-Connect USB function that does not require software drivers. Images may also be viewed on a television with the supplied video cable.

Availability
The C-730 Ultra Zoom will be available in October 2002. It will include an Auto-Connect USB cable, Audio/Video Out cable, carrying strap, lens cap with retainer cord, 2 LB-01 (CR-3V) Lithium batteries, a 16MB xD-Picture Card, Olympus CAMEDIA Master Software 4.0, user manual and Quick Start guide.
The C-730 Ultra Zoom will be available at a street price of $599.For more information, visit the Olympus Web Site: http://www.olympusamerica.com.