30 January 2006

By: Tudor Raiciu, Technology and Science Editor

Olympus Mju 700 Preview

By LetsGoDigital
Parties, concerts - the excitement of the night. And the pictures? When it comes to night time and low light shooting, the results sometimes just don't seem to really measure up. Not so with the 7.1 million pixel Mju 700. Incorporating BrightCapture Technology, the necessity to use a flash is significantly reduced. This assures that the unique atmosphere of night time motifs is faithfully captured to let the memories live on forever. The innovative technology simplifies framing on the large 6.4cm LCD too by providing a live view that's four times brighter than on conventional models. Meanwhile, a host of advanced shooting features boosts image quality - no matter if shooting day or night.LetsGoDigital added: "Olympus has been quite successful with the launch of its digital version of the Mju camera. Colourful and a fresh interesting design combined with a user-friendly operation are the key elements that make the Olympus Mju 700 different from the mass market. The camera is thin and a true light-weight, but without losing any comfort in handling. The large 2.5 inch LCD display on the Mju 700 is a welcome feature and gives the photographer live view. The 7.1 million pixel resolution will give you enough information to enlarge your favourite moment or crop details to post-process the image. The Olympus Mju 700 is a very nice digital camera that enriches the Mju family with some extra design and life-style.Click on the link below to read our Olympus Mju 700 preview which will give you some inside look and feel of what you may expect of the new Olympus Mju 700."Naturally, as part of the Olympus Mju family, the Mju 700 makes a lasting impression wherever it is taken. Its slim and compact weatherproof (equivalent to the IEC standard publication 529 IPX4) metal body radiates style, and with the wide choice of available colours - Moonlight Silver, Sunset Orange, Midnight Black and Twilight Blue - the stylish camera design will catch the eye all the more easily. Its elegantly sculptured, weatherproof exterior is an unmistakable statement of style. But the metal-bodied Olympus Mju 700 also cuts a great figure in terms of its performance attributes. A resolution of 7.1 million pixels guarantees that image definition is razor-sharp. Its bright 3x optical zoom (equivalent to 37-111mm on a 35mm camera) is comprised of high-quality elements. Of course, thanks to the generous 6.4cm LCD, subjects not only can be easily located on the screen for trouble-free image capture, the results may later be shown off even to large groups of friends.LetsGoDigital concludes: "The new Olympus Mju 700 is a great compact digital camera. Its look and feel is great for those who are searching for a light-weight camera to carry along with them all the time. The camera's operation is friendly and in fact I seldom had to use the manual to find out what the purpose was of a particular setting. The camera manufacturers have left the 4 Megapixel and lower class behind and are only focussing on 5MP and higher, compact or system cameras. The Olympus Mju 700 is a design camera, stylish, light weight and perfect for the entry-level and snap shooter."For the Olympus Mju 700 preview , visit LetsGoDigital.
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OLYMPUS MJU 700

back view

mega pixels

x zoom
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The large screen dominates the back of the camera, with small but easy to use controls spaced down the right side

top view

The wedge shape is evident; only the shutter release and power button spoil the Mjus smooth, swooping lines The thick end of the wedge houses a cover that hides the mains power/USB socket, the wrist strap lug and on the base, the ip-out cover of the battery/ memory card compartment

side view

quick specs
SENSOR 1/2.3in CCD, 7.07MP Effective LENS 6.5-19.5mm (37-111mm equiv) f3.4-5.7 SHUTTER SPEEDS 1/2 1/1000th sec EXPOSURE MODES Auto, P, 23 scene modes ISO Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 FLASH GN 7 VIEWFINDER None MONITOR 2.5in 115,000-pixel TFT LCD OTHER xD Picture Card, 19.1MB internal storage, 640x480 video @ 30fps, Pictbridge, Histogram, Framing lines, Guide Mode l POWER LI-42B Li-ion battery pack with charger included l DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT 94.8 x 56 x 20.4mm/103g

l l l l l l l l l

Olympus Mju 700
Stylish, ultra-compact 7.1MP weatherproofed camera

Tested by Doug Harman

www.olympus.com bright, usable in brighter conditions to boot, but could be improved with an anti-reection coating.
uilt just like a small wedge-shaped slice of metallic pie, this new Mju is stylish and resplendent with its subtly curved metal face and it has weather proong to withstand splashes.

PERFORMANCE

FEATURES

what we think

WHAT WE LIKE:
Compact, price, lightweight and compact, weatherproong, large LCD screen, excellent exposures, anti-shake mode, good colour rendition, many scene modes

WHAT WE DONT LIKE:

No optical nder, image shadow noise, slight lens softness, over compression in lower quality settings

the scores

features design
Specications, controls Build, handling, ease of use Metering, focus etc
The Mju 700s 7.1MP sensor will probably be top here, providing JPEG les of up to 20.3Mb, from as-shot image les. The 23 scene modes provide comprehensive settings including three Underwater modes (though the camera is NOT immersible, this is for underwater housings) and a Behind-glass setting. Some of the scene modes use Olympus proprietary BrightCapture Technology: neat processing tricks to improve snaps. Blocks of nine pixels are treated as super pixels with the values averaged out, in theory reducing noise and improving colours. There are two metering modes: ESP (matrix) and spot, plus the usual run of white balance presets. Focusing is accomplished with Olympuss iESP TTL contrast detection AF system.
The metering really struts its stuff, even in complex lighting situations. Colour rendition is natural and focusing, while a tad awkward in macro or super-macro settings and in low lighting, works well in brighter conditions. The lens is a tad soft for my liking however. Theres also some barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom.

I looked twice at the price, given the high-resolution sensor and sheer level of techno-sophistication. Given the overall performance and its specication, the Mju 700 is certainly good value.

VERDICT

SHQ mode is essential for larger prints. If you want to be really critical, image softness and slight lens performance problems reduce captured detail. However, 6x4in prints wont show most of the problems, and all the other great features of the camera outweigh the drawbacks. WDC

DESIGN

performance

Sharpness, colour etc

up against

April 2006

Based on RRP

image quality

The wedge-shaped body is attractive and lends itself to one-handed operation, but that gives it the propensity for camera shake. However, the 700 does boast an anti-shake setting. Menus are comprehensive and can be accessed in various ways depending on the mode in use; theres a neat guide mode that sets the camera for you depending on the chosen setting. All the cameras controls, while small, are easy to use, as is the 2.5in LCD. Its very

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Issues with softness and slight barrel distortion aside, images look fantastic. But once you get a little closer things become less pleasing. Theres distinct edge and corner softening; too much noise in shadow areas (even at low ISOs) and slight over compression in the HQ or lower settings.
Colour and white balance are hard to criticise Download this and other test images on the website What Digital Camera
p39 Olympus mju700jpjhn.indd 39

2/6/06 11:50:29