Had it for one weekend and returned it. Main problem was the lack of an optical viewfinder. Trying outside shots, the LCD washed out so badly in the sun, I could barely make out what I shooting. Could not compose; could not ensure it focused correctly. Terrible! (Of course, this could be an issue with any camera with no viewfinder; Don't know.)

Inside issue was with flash. Tended to overexpose subjects giving them a washed out look.

Small, light, quick flash recycle, and nice zoom. Too bad...

Definitely NOT worth $300. Flash is just way too bright. Very fragile. The lens caps stopped working after a week. I sent it back for warranty, and Olympus sent it back with nothing done to repair it. Don't buy it.

If this is your first compact digital camera you will love this one. It is so easy to use. I am not a great camera person and had no problem taking pictures that looked like they were made by a professional. Now the part about the viewer not working in bright sunlite is a bit of a problem but, if you just use your body to block the sun from the viewer it will work just fine. I don't see how you could find a much better camera without a viewer built in like some have. I really don't see that it is such a big deal that it doesn't have a viewer. Doesn't bother me I just wanted a camera that takes great pictures and this one sure does.

the best camera i have owned.great zoom,digital image stabilizer,weather proof,takes very nice pics at low light leveles.

Have been using this camera for 3 months with no problems. A friend had a problem with the battery charger on his 740 and sent in for replacement. Shoot most of my photos with 8MP Canon Digital Rebel XT (SLR) with External flash and 18-200 zoom. This camera (740) allows for great "back-up" when I don't want to carry around the Huge Monster(XT). 7MP plus 5X Optical Zoom cannot be found in a better, smaller, lighter package. You can stick this in you pocket when going out to dinner and noone knows you are carrying a camera. I also often wear this in a belt pouch (like a cell phone) and am ready for an unexpected foto op at all times. Never owned an Olympus before but have convinced SEVERAL of my friends and business associates to buy it. The price is also dropping like a rock since intro in August '06. Can't be without it!

This is my third Olympus digital camera. I find it to be the smallest yet, without sacrificing features. They have addressed the issues in previous generations about the time it takes for the camera to turn on. With small kids, I often missed my shots by the time the cameras would turn on and load. This new stylus is perfect. The battery life is excellent and the image and color quality is superior to previous generations. I have found it to be very durable to this point and I am not very careful with how I treat electronics. A great, compact 7.1MP camera for the price!!!!

I bought this camera for my wife. She wanted one that was small enough to fit into her purse without taking up space. It was my aim to buy a quality camera that would not be outdated by the time Christmas was over with. This camera turned out to be a real gem. My expectations were surpassed. It takes great pictures that are equivalent and somewhat better than the digital SLR I bought two years ago. The buttons and features are easy to use and the display is very clear. The water resistance was tested on Christams day (It was very rainy that day) and passed with flying colors. Overall, I am happy with my purchase and will look to Olympus for future camera needs.

This camera does everything I would expect from a camera costing much more. It is easy to master and fits into a shirt pocket or small purse. I made a mistake buying too small a card. Don't but anything smaller than 1GB, the price for the larger card is insignificant seeing you will keep this camera numerous years.

Have had only for 3 months with no major problems so far. The only glitch is the lack of a view finder, so framing a shot in bright sunlight is not easy to do as you can't see the image in the LCD screen too clearly. Same as many other cameras of this type.

A gift for my daughter and her husband, this is the 3rd Olympus Digital Camera in 5 years that I have purchased. I use one of them at least every other day and they all still work great. The size, quality and features can't be beat.

I love every aspect of this camera except one.

I recently took it on a three week vacation to China and the photos I took are stunning.

It's very light weight and fits well in a pocket.

It's durable, weather resistant, and can really take a beating.

Extremely user friendly.

The automatic settings work very well. I'm particularly impressed with the under water and use available light settings. They can be a lot of fun to play with.

It turns on and can be adjusted to the right setting rapidly with little experience to grab shots on the go.

It looks cool.

The gyroscope technology works. You can take focused shots from a moving bus on a bumpy road or while walking.

The only drawback, and it's kind of a big one, is the lcd screen. There is a thick, protective plastic screen over the actual lcd screen. In bright light, (like out doors during an average sunny day), you can barely see the screen. If you're in the desert, on a mountain, in snow, or some other ecseptionaly bright setting the screen is black. You can not see a damned thing. To compensate for this I occasionaly had to take 5 photos of the same thing to make sure I got one that was centered ok.

Still, I'm very happy with this camera and would buy it again even knowing about the screen problem.

Having owned three previous digital cameras, I felt capable of making an informed decision for this one. Our family required another small pocket sized camera and we chose the Olympus because of the quality, features and waterproof feature. The pictures are very good quality and reproduce well. My complaints are the the lack of a viewfinder, making it difficult on sunny days to see the object your taking a picture of and the actual viewing screen lines are annoying to me. Other than that, the camera is worth the price and you are safe if it gets wet in any way. I used it on a recent ski trip and barely noticed it in my pocket, the same holds true for my other family members. By the way, we take over 1000 pictures/year in various formats, so this is a valid photographers point of view.

Read the professional and user reviews. This is a great looking camera with great features. BUT the LCD display ruins the product. I did not buy but tested a camera in same family with the same LCD display. Indoors, the display was barely passable. Outdoors, the display was unacceptable. Glare, reflection, and impossible to frame the shot.

Do not buy without checking the display first. If only using inside, the display is OK, but you probably do not need the 5X zoom.

Having owned this camera, I can say that the picture quality matches its specifications. 5X optical zoom is great. The only thing I found annoying is its LCD in the outside. You coudn't see a damn thing on its screen when it is sunny outside. So, I returned it after using for one month.

I own the stylus 710 that I have had since september of last year, and love it to pieces. Little did I know olympus was relaseing this little monster onto the market 2 months later. It has all of the features and software of the 710 model, with digital image stabilization, but
5x optical/5.6x digital/28x total zoom , an upgrade from 15x total zoom (3x optical and 5x digital). The price is about the same, and actually an excellent deal here on amazon. The 2.5" color LCD monitor with histogram display and auto image rotation has been standard in the 710 and 810, and the 1000 series, and I have not problem with it, I think it is comparable to all models in this range (panasonic, fuji, kodac, hp). I the bright sun, no LCD is going to be really great. I have captured many fun moments with this camera (2 weddings, 2 vacations) and love it. The diffence with the 740 model is the thickness is a bit bigger due to the bigger optical lense, but that is well worth the sacrifice, because having more optical zoom = better picture. I know, I tested this side by side with my 710. Pick this up, you will not be dissapointed. Also, look at the 750 and the 760 models, both of which have optical image and digital image stabilization, but alter the zooms a bit. Compare, and see what meets your needs.

I bought this for my Daughter, who is 22. She LOVES all the great features and clear pictures which it produces. She specifically enjoys the range of editing capabilities built into the camera.

This was my first digital camera, and after reading everything I could get my hands on to read about digital cameras I chose this one. It so happens that the last 35mm camera I owned for years was also an Olympus!

I have had several pocket digital cameras but this is excellent. Easy to use and I wanted a longer zoom, and this has a true 5x optical zoom. The pictures came out very good and the battery life is very good. My only complaint is that the screen is very hard to see in bright sunlight, but I think all cameras in this range without a viewfinder have the same problem.
Also, the price was great.
I would recommend this camera and I like the blue color- it is different from the rest.

This small camera is BIG in features. WIth 7 megapix the detail of the photos are awesome and very clear. The zoom feature is great but the best features are the compact size (can fit in a shirt pocket) and the ease of the control buttons. After dealing with lots of other digital cameras that had difficult to use control features such as deleting a photo or organizing your photos, this camera has proven to be the EASIEST camera I have ever had to operate. Even a child can figure this one out. I LOVE IT!

This camera is easy to use and has a great zoom. Cheap considering all the functions it has.

A great product!

This is a great camera. Only problem is you simply can not see any image on it in bright sunlight. Works great indoors and in medium to low light outdoors. Will not produce an image you can see on the viewfinder in bright sunlight. The others who said this was the case are 100% correct.

it a nice camera and easy to carry it will fit in your pocket i am satisfied

The Olympus 740 is a GREAT camera. It is easy to use in the auto mode and also gives the opportunity to set the camera for specific shots if one chooses. The only drawback is it is very difficult to see the screen in bright sunlight. I am enjoying the 740 and have had wonderful results.

I got this camera in March of 2007, and was very pleased when I received it. The size is even smaller than I expected, and the color is a dazzling blue.

It has a lot of different settings for different environments where you'll be taking pictures. The ones I've used the most - a document setting for taking pictures of documents (I have no copy machine or scanner so this comes in handy when I need to scan an item), a setting for cuisine (I like to cook and share my recipes online so this comes in handy when sharing my food with others over the web), and available light (uses whatever light is present in the room without using a flash - helps when I'm trying to avoid red-eye or get a more natural look to my indoor pictures). The available light setting will cut down on the image quality if the light present isn't sufficient. It also has a museum setting that automatically shuts off the sound of the camera so that you don't disturb those around you in a quiet setting.

The fact that it's so cute and tiny is a big bonus - I love showing this thing off!

The only thing I find is missing is the view finder. I understand that it might be to cut down on the size of the camera, but taking pictures in really bright light - you miss it. I couldn't see a thing on the screen during sunny days - even the "brighter screen" didn't do much for it, and the light on a sunny day is so intense it's hard to even find what the light balance view is reading. This is a serious design flaw and I seriously considered returning the camera for this reason - it's just too cute and little to return though. It's great for bringing to parties and as a general picture-taker that is slim for traveling. The fact that I don't have to worry about the weather when I take it with me is a big plus as well.

esla mejor compra que he realizado. Las opciones para tomar fotografías son excelentes. Las fotos en ambientes con poca luz salen excelentes y las tomas en movimientos también no sale la foto borrosa.

DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA!! I am not a digital camera novice so when I read the negative reviews, I assumed they just didn't know what they were doing. Well, I was wrong, this camera is horrible! It takes great shots outside but you can't tell that when you take them b/c of the lack of a viewfinder, it is all but impossible to see the picture you are taking. That's just a minor inconvience though. The major problem is that all of the pictures of my daughter's first 4 months of life are so grainy as to be unusable. This camera is the worst I have ever used indoors. No matter what setting you use, it is terrible! Unless you only plan on using it outdoors in the shade, do not buy this camera! I will never be able to regain those pictures, I hope you make the smart choice & don't have to go thru the same thing.

Takes great outdoor pictures. Indoor pictures are not the same. I took more blurry indoor pictures from this camera than all my cameras combined. Recommend to leave the flash on at all times to minimize this problem. Using the image stabilizer indoor tend to produce pictures that are too dark to be any good. Using the zoom indoor for long distance shots tend to produce blurry pictures as well unless the camera is placed on a tripod. I would not buy this camera for the zooming or image stabilizing feature.

I have had my Olympus 740 for about a year. I mostly take photos of my now 18 month old. I usually get photos of where he just was because it takes so long to take the picture! Also, if I take pictures in the school gym, like for the school concerts, they ALL come out blurry. I thought that perhaps I just needed a professional camera, but then tried my sister-in-law's point and shoot fuji camera (can't recall the model) and it was WAY faster! And the photos she e-mails me are a lot sharper and have better color. My olympus has a lot of "features." I do like the candle light option, and I like the one when you hold the trigger down and it takes a bunch of pictures one after the other. But it usually takes about 8 seconds between shots. Thats too long if your subject is moving, or if you want to capture a cute or funny moment. If you want great photographs, look elsewhere.

I usually follow Consumer Report in everything I buy but decided to go off the beaten track this one time as I thought their choices were out-dated. I should have gone with their reviews. Maybe I don't know how to use this but I have never taken so many blurry pictures in my life. I have considered getting my old film camera out and using that again instead. I tried to take several pictures of my son goign down a little hill on his sled but none turned out, all blurry and/or too dark. I was very disappointed as we were visiting grandma and we don't get snow where we live so this was a one-time opporuntiy. I like being able to carry it in my purase at all times to take last minute shots but what good is it if they don't turn out. I'm constantly correcting them in Photo Shop and there is only so far you can go before they start looking grainy. Anyway had I not waited a year to really try it out I would have returned it and checked with Consumer Report to see what would be a good buy. I still may just give this to my 4-yr old son and get a better camera for me. We didn't get nearly as many good shots on our Disney vacation as I would have like. Like one other reviewer said it takes too long for the photo to take and you miss alot when you're taking pictures of children.

I have purchased 3 of the 740's mainly for the 5x optical and wish they did not discontinue this model. It does everything I need in a ultracompact digital camera. Great camera and great service from Amazon with putting me in touch with reputable sellers. Thanks John Anderson