Digital Camera Reviews

c-770 blackProduct Name: Olympus CAMEDIA C-770 Ultra Zoom

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Manufacturer: Olympus
Price: $799.00 (C-765 $699.00) as at Nov 2004
Release Date: February 2004

Ideal For: Amateur bird-watchers, wildlife and sport fans could find this a useful tool

Pros:

  • Excellent zoom lens
  • P/up flash AND hotshoe
  • Wide range of accessories
  • Adjustable focus viewfinder
  • All-metal body

Cons:

  • Modest low-light performance
  • No AF assist lamp
  • Small supplied media (16Meg XD)

Features:

Ease of Use:

Overall:

Verdict:

If you have a specific hobby or use (like a wildlife safari) for a medium performance camera with lots of zoom (38-380mm in 35mm equivalent), then this could be for you. Choose carefully; long lenses are not for beginners. Buy a monopod or tripod too.

Notes:

The C-770 is the slightly up-rated sibling of the C-765, however the differences are subtle. The former processes video in MPEG4 instead of QT and has a hotshoe for a supplementary flash.

With all the hoo-ha about video, you begin to wonder whether these cameras can still take a decent still. Fortunately the C-770 can, thanks to its superb 10x optical zoom – and it’s the key feature you should recognise when considering this camera. I say that because you will trade off a few other features like AF assist lamp and resolution in the process. Having said that, you don’t need ultra-high resolution with such a mighty zoom, as any subsequent image cropping is minimal if you shoot correctly.

Without an AF assist lamp, the low light focussing is slow, although it doesn’t ‘hunt’ as annoyingly as others do. Some users might find the EVF a bit dark when the light drops, especially prior to focus lock.

Long lenses wobble at full zoom, and the C-770 does not have image stabilisation, so there may be a steep learning curve if this is your first camera. Choose carefully.

Computer connection is via USB. A/V output via RCA. Remote control included.

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