Olympus Olympus C-7070 Digital Camera (7.41MP, 3072x2304, 4x Opt, 32MB xD-Picture Card)

Olympus C-7070 Wide Zoom

Olympus C-7070 Digital Camera (7.41MP, 3072x2304, 4x Opt, 32MB xD-Picture Card) Review, by Tracey Capen June 9, 2005

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• Reviewed by: GZoghby

  Strengths: Excellent battery life and very good manual controls.

  Weaknesses: Poor image quality and poor Olympus customer service.

  Overall: Over three decades ago I started my photography hobby with several Olympus SLR cameras (OM-1, OM-2, OM-10). I loved the Olympus brand for the durable, compact design. Now, after two months of owning a C-7070, I conclude with regrets that the brand has waned considerably. Pros: The C series is reasonably compact. The overall construction is high quality and durable (except for the media card system). The manual controls are prolific. There are lots of specialized buttons everywhere on the outside case in addition to via the usual menu control. Image resolution of 7 mega-pixels is empowering and allows substantial post production cropping. Battery life is excellent. I regularly was able to shoot 250 very high resolution pictures (one down from raw) without recharging. Cons: The lens is very atypical. When zoomed out to the widest setting, it exhibits notable barrel distortion. When zoomed in to the maximum setting, it still does not equate to the "standard angle of view". Image quality is below the brand. Color saturation is low in typical daylight settings and white balance is off. The media bay has a flimsy plastic cover that opens too easily. My first experience with customer service was a call to report the LCD display was flashing random zones in each picture. I was told that was not normal and to send it in for service. I later discovered via the Internet, not their manuals, this is a normal operation and is a variation on a histogram feature. The zones are shaded flashing blue or red to indicate over or under exposure. My second request for customer service is still in progress. After only 5 swaps of a premium brand compact flash card, a couple of the pins bent. I returned to Olympus for service and they have initially denied the warranty and estimated repairs at $207. There is nothing I should be able to do to damage the camera internals and with so little time on the camera this should be under warranty. Alas, there is a reason Nikon and Canon are now ahead of Olympus in the digital camera market.

• Reviewed by: zbysiek

  Strengths: stunning picture quality, battery life, easy to use

  Weaknesses: none

  Overall: best camera I've ever had; I had been using only cannon cameras so far, and I must say that olympus cameras are better buy. 7.4 megapixels, wide zoom, battery life and most of all picture quality might be something that you'd look for in first camer for under $400.I greatly recommed this item.

• Reviewed by: slanskye

  Strengths: Picture detail, long battery life, full manual control or auto

  Weaknesses: Extremely poor low-light focusing

  Overall: I only have the 3020 to compare this to - when I read about complaints of poor focusing in low-light, I assumed it was the same as my 3020; I would sometimes have some problems in low light but the 7070 is worse. If I only had one lamp on in a room, about 8 feet away from the subject, the 3020 could usually handle focusing, even if fully zoomed in. Under the same conditions, the 7070 is unable to focus. I have to turn on at least another two lamps in the room.That is about the only down I have so far. Have taken close to 500 pictures in 6 weeks; some of the detail is amazing. On a close-up of my son sitting on a sofa, the individual threads on the pillow show up.

• Reviewed by: kkkguo

  Strengths: Fast start up, strong body, sharp image, plenty of manual controls, accurate color and white balance, powerful flash, Battery life is superb.

  Weaknesses: focus could be better

  Overall: Have this camera for about one month, I can honestly say it is a great camera, especially for the money. The Auto white balance is the best I have ever seen and the camera has a good solid feel. Image quality is good with 95% of the images requiring less post-processing than with previous cameras.

• Reviewed by: chelique

  Strengths: Excellent Picture Quality,Excellent Close up picture quality and slow shutter image quality,Wide Zoom,Battery Life,Card Reader Drive Speed,Can use xD and CF cards at the same time.

  Weaknesses: Larger and heavier than the C-7000, with comparable picture quality,Only 4x optical zoom,Camera on/off switch is not very convenient

  Overall: I paid $360 for this camera and it is by far the highest quality digital camera I've ever used. It is slightly larger and heavier than other comparable compact cameras for everyday use. However, it will provide the quality in details. I took very good pictures under dark conditions in auto mode with very few blur. It is also excellent for taking pictures of moving targets. I was also amazed by the battery life. I took almost 50 pictures and the battery was still going strong. Also spare batteries are relatively cheaper compared to other products. Also being able to get two different types of memory cards (xD and CF) reduces the operating cost significantly as CF cards are much cheaper with larger storage options. You can also use both cards at the same time, there are 2 slots!! which is just awesome. As the size of this camera is neither compact nor large, regular stores usually don't carry a case that this camera will fit just right. I'm still searching for the right case for it. I am also very happy with the shortcut buttons spread all around the camera. you don't have to browse through the entire menu to make simple or even detailed changes between shots. The wide zoom is no joke, it really is capable of taking a very large perspective, you have to use it to see the difference it makes. Also the rotating LCD screen is very professional and useful. You dont have to bend or crawl to take pictures from the ground. just set the camera on the ground, flip the LCD and see the picture from the top. One last thing, my dad has huge fingers and the little on/off switch makes it quite hard for him to turn on and off the camera. Other than that I strongly suggest this item