Olympus C-750 Ultra Zoom
At a Glance
Like its lesser sibling, the C-750 offers a full complement of creative exposure controls, including six scene modes, aperture priority, shutter priority, a program mode, and full manual--nearly all of them easy to select from the large mode dial on top of the camera. The only complication is that switching between aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual requires a trip into the menus. Both cameras have Olympus's My Mode control--a useful way to save up to four custom sets of frequently used camera settings.
For the most part, our images created with the C-750 were pleasing. The outdoor setting for one of our test shots juxtaposes deep shadows between buildings and a bright sky; here the C-750 handled the high contrasts especially well, producing one of the nicest outdoor shots we recorded. The camera did a good job of reproducing small details within the shot. Flash shots of our mannequin model were less pleasing: The images had fine color shading but gave the neutral-gray background a light sand tint.
Considering the C-750's plethora of controls, it's relatively uncomplicated to use. Dedicated buttons let you quickly set the self timer, flash, and macro modes. Navigating the menus is painless: Shortcuts let you jump to frequently used controls, such as the resolution settings, and though the menus are several layers deep, you can click though them fairly quickly. The camera also has manual focus, though you'd be hard-pressed to find it unless you read the Acrobat-based reference manual. (Hint: Hold down the OK button for a few seconds.)







