I've owned this camera for several years now and although the resolution is starting to get low by todays standards, I still greatly enjoy this camera. I absolutely love the 10x zoom, and the pictures taken are much better than if you would have a cheapy low-end 3-4 megapixel camera. For anyone on a budget, this camera now offers alot of quality for an affordable price.

This is the book that should have come with the camera. Text is written in plain language. I learned more in one weekend about my camera than I learned in two years. You may miss some of the wonderful features this camera has to offer. A must have how to book for the Olympus c 700 zoom.
FCR

I have used the C-700 for a wide variety of shots. From taking pictures from high-altitude. It shows the glaciers, dams and bridges on highways, even buildings and individual trees changing color in the Rockies. I took a picture at maximum 10x x 2.7x (27x) zoom from a cruise ship in Alaska of Orcas on the beach rubbing barnacles off. I couldn't see the result in the view finder or see the orcas with binoculars, but got good quality full screen images cropping out half of the picture where the orcas were. I've taken close-ups of orchids in Singapore, Bald Eagles, in Arkansas, Geysers at Yellowstone and am very happy most of the time. I carry 5 sets of spare rechargeable batteries and use a recharger that hooks up to the car. With the recharger, I never really have to use more that 2 sets when I have the car. It recharges at home in less than 1 hour, and I seldom need more than 3 sets in a full day of photo taking. I keep about 1100MB of memory cards for a full two-week vacation and read them in with a USB reader. I organize and edit using PhotoParade and save my best ones into Webshots. These work very well for my purposes (viewing on my computer). Shutterfly prints calendars for me and the pictures are amazing.

I haven't had any trouble with the lens cap. Maybe that was an earlier model. The cord attaching it must be facing the side it attaches, but it will open with it on in this position.

I have had a problem early on with purple halo's on zoomed pictures around bright portions of the picture. This turned out to be me moving the camera. I found you can brace your hand against a tree, rock, or anything and get sharp pictures. Also, I don't hesitate to take dozens of pictures of something I really want. Animals and birds aren't very cooperative, but by taking many pictures, I've gotten some great shots. With film, I never would have tried. It is also easy to delete unwanted pictures. For landscape, I normally shot in HQ mode which is still better quality than my 1.3 MP camera gave. The main difference there is it still has the 10x zoom which if nothing else can crop a picture like you want. The 2.7x digital is mostly only good for focusing on something tiny like a small bird.

The only negative I've had is trying to take pictures with sharp contrast - real bright light and real dark shade. I've had this with my other digital as well, as well as with film.

I've owned this camera for more than a year and have been very impressed with the pictures I've taken. I have some fine close-ups of eagles and whales, taken shortly after I bought it. My biggest disappointment is that the springs in the lens cap break easily--I've broken two and haven't found one in many months to replace it, or I might have broken more. The shutter is also a little slow to respond, so you have to anticipate action shots (a bit hard when you're whale watching). I'm told this is a problems with most/all digital cameras and not unique to this one. I still give 4 stars because of the great pictures, the many options it has for taking photos (more like an SLR than a point-and-shoot) and the 10X optical lens.

Easy to use, beautiful photos, great macro lens for extreme close-up situations. This is my first digital and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a camera with a lot of virsitality.

If you are looking for a high quality, low cost camera that offers a wide range of features then I highly recommend this to anyone considering it. This is the first and only digital camera I have owned and I've had it for approximately 4 or 5 years. I orginally purchased this camera to take to pro baseball games because of the 10x zoom lens, which is still close to the best today. I was pleasantly surprised, once I learned the features of the camera, that it takes exceptional close-ups as well. (The portrait setting is one of my favorites, but you should read how to properly apply the feature before using it.) Even with the low 2.1 megapixels, by today's standards, the pictures are very clear when blown up to an 8x10. The only couple of downsides I would mention are the lack of image stabilization and the lag time between shots. While most newer cameras now offer image stabilization, if you have a fairly steady hand or a tripod it won't be too big of a deal. As for the lag time, any digital camera is going to be slightly sluggish compared to 35mm. I would still buy this camera again.

We have had this camera for over 6 years. Paid $600. The best buy we have ever made in a camera. Have thousands of great pictures. Has performed better than expected - never a problem with using the camera zoom. The camera has taken many trips with us and spends much time in several boats during summer months. My wife has taken many bird and nature shots which she has printed - all are very sharp detailed.

I love my camera but left the memory card in an in store photo developing kiosk. Now I can't find one for it anywhere. I'm very bummed but will continue looking. So if you buy this camera used make sure you get a memory card with it.