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Details at a glance
Megapixels: 7.1
Optical Zoom: 3x
Digital Zoom: 5x
LCD: 2.5 inch
Storage: xD
Internal: 19mb
Size: 91 x 58.7 x 19.8 mm
Weight: 149g
We clicked with
25 scene modes, Large lcd, The super macro - it's super.
Shots in the dark
Over-responsive shutter @ times, Wobbly central button, Takes xd cards only.
Links
More Olympus information
www.olympus.co.uk
Price Comparison:
Olympus mju725
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Rugged, tough, shockproof (up to 1.5m) and waterproof up to a depth of 5m - the mju725 sounds as if it should be more at home in a Bond movie than in the hands of a mere photographer. I've never seen so many features but is it a case of all talk and no trousers? We shall see…..
The mju725 is dinky at only 91mm x 58.7mm x 19.8mm and it weighs in at 149g - bit of a lightweight but what it lacks in size it makes up for in megapixels - it's got 7.1! There are three finishes to choose from - sleek titanium grey or sexy cherry red, or a rather lovely deep blue - decisions, decisions….
The lens is positioned in the top right which to me seems a tad quirky but it's up to the job with a 3x optical zoom and most importantly this is safely kept within the camera - it does not extend, which probably comes in handy if you're going to play rough and tumble. The lens, as you would expect is hidden behind a round cover but as it's flat at the top, when the camera's switched on - it's just like an eye opening and it's 'eye' opens very quickly.
If you spot a camera opportunity this is a camera that won't leave you hanging around - definitely on a mission. To the left of the lens is a small flash - no danger of putting your thumb over that by mistake, which makes a nice change.
The mju 725 is powered by a small oblong rechargeable Lithium ion battery which resembles a posh mint thin (well it's nearly lunch time.) The camera has an internal memory of 19mb (adequate) and takes itty bitty XD cards.
The LCD takes up three quarters of its rear and is 6.4cm (2.5") and it's superduper bright a joy to use when you're framing up shots and fab in low light conditions. However, as this is a camera happy to be out in the great outdoors and at one with nature, I'd strongly suggest a self-adhesive cover for the lcd, rubbing mud off it could mean the grit hits the fan.
To the right are the zoom controls and below this is a button that you can press to select one of three options - shooting mode selector, stabilizer and shoot in automatic mode. Underneath is the playback button and to the right a slightly raised small microphone.
The main circular control sits in the lower third of the body and this and this is where you can control your exposure, select a macro mode, a flash mode and use the self-timer (this also doubles as a delete.) There are four areas to press and a central control button, this is ok if you press it with your finger but if you do it with your nail it wobbles around a bit which is a bit disconcerting. Finally there are two buttons - a menu button to display the top menu and a button to make the display even brighter. It makes a change to find a camera where everything is well within easy reach and as all buttons are raised, they're easy to select irrespective of whether you have dainty or chunky digits.
There are 25 count them! 25 scene modes - inc 4 underwater options and one for beach & snow, best book a holiday to try that one methinks. There's also a very handy image stabilisation mode, but that may be overkill as the ISO range is massive everything from 80 to 1600 which again should cover all eventualities.
The focussing system is advanced offering standard, macro and super macro
and metering is ESP (Electro Selective Pattern) light metering and spot metering, which is v effective.
White balance modes include sunlight and tungsten as you might expect but there's also overcast and a choice of fluorescents. The internal flash provides auto, red eye reduction and fill in (now that's handy.)
For fast action on land on in water you can shoot @ 1.1fps and at high speed this increases to 3.7 fps up to 12 frames. As with most compacts you can capture video (15 fps) with sound.
As mentioned the lens opens very fast and it's fast focussing all the way with only the tiniest shutter lag, which is fine. (The only downside was that perhaps it's a little too fast - twice I focussed and then it refocused as I hit the button to take the shot.) But when you do shoot, there's no doubt that you've taken a shot as there is an audible clunk - again preferable to a silent shutter. If you forget what you're doing there's also the bonus of a guide function - like an onscreen helper with basic info to get you going again.
Once you've taken your shots, image processing is pretty comprehensive allowing you to reduce noise, correct brightness and saturation and with the supplied USB cable it's a doddle to connect to a PictBridge compatible printer. The results I had were pretty punchy and I was very impressed.
Purchase the camera and you also get a protective cover - neoprene - now there's a surprise, this little gem seems built for action and adventure. There's also a belt attachment, safety metal hook (a small karabiner if you're a bit clever), handstrap and safety cord. It is multi-language and you can even download 10 more languages from the Internet - another great feature for budding Bonds.
If a waterproof depth of up to 5m doesn't float your boat you could always get the PT-033 underwater case and this will cover you down to a depth of 40m.
Camera specification
| Mega-pixels: |
7.1 |
Photo: | JPEG |
| Optical Zoom: |
3x |
RAW: | No |
| Digital Zoom: |
5x |
Aperture: |
f/3.8 / 5.0 |
| LCD: | 2.5 inch |
Focal Length: |
6.7 - 20.1mm |
| Dimensions: |
91 x 58.7 x 19.8mm |
Shutter speed: |
1/2 sec to 1/1000 |
| Weight: |
149g |
Exposure: |
ISO 80 to 1600 |
| Storage: | xD (10mb int) |
Movie: |
QuickTime jpeg with sound (640x480@15fps) |
| Battery: |
Lion |
Microphone: | Yes |
| Interface: | USB 2.0, AV |
PictBridge: | No |
