Olympus Mju 700 Austin TX

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The Mju 700 is a new all-weather compact digital camera from Olympus. It boasts a 7.1 megapixel CCD, a 3x optical zoom and an impressive range of scene modes, but does it have enough to rise above its numerous competitors?

The Mju 700 is very light and its distinctive wedge-shape makes the camera convenient and comfortable to hold. However, it's made of plastic, which lends it a rather cheap feel. The camera is weather proof, which means it will survive light showers, but it's by no means waterproof. In fact, we'd be a bit dubious of exposing this camera to extended periods of bad weather.

You control the camera operations via a dial, a four-way direction controller and four buttons, all of which reside at the back of the device. The power and shutter buttons are on the top of the camera, but they're so close together that it's easy to mix them up, and you can end up turning off the camera by a mistake. The position of the shutter release also means your fingers can stray across the flash at inopportune moments.

Talking of the LCD, the 2.5in screen is large and bright, and is great for composing shots, but there's no viewfinder, so you have to employ a little guesswork on sunny days to get the best images.

Impressively, there are no fewer than 23 automatic scene modes that cover different types of photography, from macro and portrait to action. Mind you, while the relative merits of the Sports and Landscape modes are obvious, we're not sure how often you're likely to use the Cuisine option.

In good conditions, the camera is very responsive, with minimal shutter lag. Where the flash has to charge, however, it's much less speedy. Indoor shots with flash require a fairly hefty wait between exposures as it recharges; indeed, overall performance is a little sluggish, especially indoors.

The quality of the images captured by the Mju 700 was generally good: colours were bright and punchy and had natural-looking skin tones. However, detail was a bit soft - although within the tolerances expected from a consumer compact - and the flash wasn't the most forgiving, having a tendency to bleach out detail and warmth. Looking more closely, there was slight purple fringing and a bit of noise. However, this is only to be expected from a small CCD with 7.1 million pixels crammed on to it.

There's plenty of choice in the compact digital camera market, and manufacturers have to make their product perform well and look good if they are really going to impress. Olympus has just about hit the middle ground with the Mju 700, producing neither a great performer nor a great looker. The design may appeal to some users, but the button ergonomics and indoor-with-flash performance really let it down. It's not a bad camera, it's just that there are better options.

Verdict

The design may appeal to some users, but the button ergonomics and indoor-with-flash performance really let it down

Author: Christopher Brennan

MacUser Online

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