Physical Tour

**Back
**The back side of the Olympus 730 is highlighted by the enormous 3-inch LCD screen near the left side. The screen is framed in black and has a white Olympus logo at the bottom; it is flush with the camera body. On the top right corner of the display is a tiny rectangular LED with a speaker below it. The speaker consists of eight holes and is surrounded by several other dimples in the camera’s housing; the dimples go up a slight curve that looks something like a skateboarding ramp but is actually a thumb grip. Below these features is the user interface. It consists of a cluster of odd-shaped buttons which is cool looking as it lights up when the camera is powered on. The top two buttons has the recording button on the left and the playback button on the right. The recording button has a large red icon of a camera. The right playback button also shows its respective icon. Both icons are backlit and easy to find. The rest of the control buttons on the back are also backlit. The recording and playback buttons together shape an arch, which is cut out in the center as a useless metal half-circle. Below these buttons is the multi-selector and central OK/Func button. On each side of the square-shaped multi-selector is an icon. The left side turns on the macro mode, the top activates the exposure compensation scale, the right side lets users choose flash settings, and the bottom activates the self-timer. Below the multi-selector are two more buttons: Menu on the left and Delete on the right. The bottom buttons are arranged so that the top and bottom are symmetrical; this makes for an attractive interface.

**Left Side
**The left side isn’t all that interesting to look at. It is a bright chrome color and is very smooth with two exceptions: a tiny screw at the top and an engraved blob of text in the middle. The text states, "3.0x Optical Zoom." There are no features useful to shooting on the left side, and its slick nature won’t aid in handling much either.

**Right Side
**The right side has a chrome edge as well, but its shape is different. On this side, it looks more like a fish’s tail in how it gradually slims down to only a tiny ridge in the middle. At the top of the ridge is a screw, like on the left side. Barely visible from this angle are the wrist strap eyelets, which burrow through the top and bottom of the ridge as well. Toward the back of the Olympus Stylus 730 are some useful features; they are located on a platform that looks as if it is growing into the chrome ridge the same way grass grows into driveways. The back edge of this platform is a bit jagged, as the thumb grip protrudes outward. This jagged platform houses a tiny port cover and a small circular button that accesses the Normal and Simple camera modes. The port cover is plastic and attached by a flimsy twig at the top. A single jack is located beneath; it connects to USB, AV, and DC cables. Below this cover and more centrally located on the back is the Mode button. The right side isn’t especially attractive, but it is functional.

**Top
**The top of the Stylus 730 shows the darker gray central housing surrounded by the outer chrome bands and the lighter silver platform on the back of the camera. This model is very compact, but it still has a few protrusions seen from this angle. For instance, the thumb grip pokes out the back and the 3x lens has a tiny barrel that protrudes from the front. The controls on the top of the 730 line up neatly and are more oriented toward the right side. On the right edge is the zoom switch, which is like a wide and shallow paddle that can be pushed left to "W" (wide) and right to "T" (telephoto). To the left of the zoom switch is the chrome shutter release button that sits in a skinny donut-like frame. The button itself seems a little shaky and rickety as if it wasn’t placed in the body tight enough. To the left of the shutter release button is the much smaller Power button, which is surrounded by a little moat that connects it to the two buttons on its left. The Reset button is next, with the Print/Perfect Fix/ Image Stabilization button at the far left.

 

**Bottom
**The bottom of the Olympus Stylus 730 isn’t terribly interesting, but that isn’t surprising. Serial numbers and such will be on the right side (although our pre-production model has only a sticker here), with the quarter-inch tripod mount just to the left. Below the metal mount is a screw; there are two other screws on the bottom – one on each chrome edge. On the left side of the bottom is a plastic door with various icons and a tiny switch to open it. The switch must be pushed to the left and then the door pops open. Battery and memory card slots sit under the door, with a rubber sealant around the edges to maintain its "all weather" distinction.

Components

**Viewfinder
**With such an enormous LCD screen, the Olympus Stylus 730 doesn’t have room for an optical viewfinder. Users won’t miss it either. With the big-screen view with great resolution and a fast refresh rate that keeps moving subjects looking smooth, no one would want an optical viewfinder. From the recording menu, users can activate a Compare & Shoot mode. This mode shrinks the live view to about 2.5 inches and displays the last four pictures taken as thumbnails on the left side of the screen. Users can also enter the setup menu to choose what type of information is displayed on the screen: no info, some info, or detailed info. Overall, the live view on the display screen is gorgeous with the high resolution and enlarged medium.

**LCD Screen
**The large LCD screen has Olympus’ Bright Capture technology that allows users to frame photos and videos in extremely bright or dark settings. Indeed, this worked fairly well. The screen caught glares when held at extreme angles, but still showed the image fairly well in more normal positions. In the occasional instance where the Bright Capture technology doesn’t automatically gain up or pipe down in difficult lighting, there is a +/- 7 sliding brightness scale in the setup menu that can be adjusted. The screen size of 3 inches matches the Olympus Stylus 730 display with the largest LCDs on the digital camera market. The resolution on this model is also great. It has 230,000 pixels. The smooth resolution and big view makes for great spontaneous slide shows with friends and family standing around. The screen dims after a few seconds of inactivity; usually there is a way to turn this power-saving feature on and off, but there was no option included. That could be because of the camera’s pre-production status though, as some of the menus aren’t yet finalized.

**Flash
**The camera’s built-in flash is large and oval-shaped, providing an average illumination range that extends to 12.5 ft in wide and 8.5 ft in telephoto. The flash is off-axis from the lens, and that was apparent in the pictures. The edges of the frame are dark, but the flash isn’t as lopsided as it may look. The Olympus Stylus 730’s flash will have auto, on, off, and red-eye reduction modes. The pre-production model’s red-eye mode was not working, so its effectiveness could not be analyzed. From what I could tell, the flash unveiled a lot of detail without over-exposing subjects.

**Zoom Lens
**The Stylus 730 has a 3x optical zoom lens manufactured by Olympus. The lens is constructed from10 lenses in 8 groups with 3 aspherical lenses and 1 ED lens. The lens measures from 6.7-20.1 mm (equivalent to 38-114mm) and has maximum apertures of f/3.5 at its widest and f/5.0 at the most telephoto. The zoom is controlled by a miniscule paddle atop the camera. It may be tiny, but it is still fairly sensitive. If users flick it, they can get about 8 different focal lengths throughout the zoom range. Most compact cameras are only sensitive enough to get about 6 stops in their 3x optical zoom ranges. When the zoom switch is pushed, a vertical bar appears on the right side of the LCD screen with the "W" on top and the "T" on bottom. A green line moves up and down on the bar to show where users are in relation to the extreme angles. The camera’s menu system indicates that there are "fine zoom" and "digital zoom" options, but access was prohibited on this pre-production model. There is a macro mode that can be activated on the multi-selector; it can focus as close as 2.8 inches.

This Olympus digital camera has a digital image stabilization system that can be activated via its own button atop the camera. The button has a bump on it to distinguish it from the rest of the smooth top. It also has a shaking hand icon nearby. According to the Olympus press materials, this mode "increases the ISO to offer a faster shutter speed for stopping action in the subject as well as camera shake by the photographer." Alas, this isn’t as good as an optical image stabilization system but is still better than not having anything at all. It worked in most situations, but some pictures still turned out with blurry subjects.

Design / Layout

**Model Design / Appearance
**The 730 can survive a rainstorm or two with its all-weather metal housing and rubber sealants. It may not be able to bounce or take a fall like the 720SW, but the new 730 is still quite sturdy. The camera is nearly flat, but still has a few components that poke out. The lens sticks out from the front and the thumb grip curls out in the back. The camera is rectangle-shaped, but it still has the cool aura that the Stylus Verve brought to digital cameras. The metal body has chrome and dark silver elements that contrast for a sophisticated look. The huge LCD screen on the back is attractive and the backlit control buttons are unique to this digital camera. Overall, the Olympus Stylus 730 has a new design that makes it one of the best-looking Olympus cameras out there.

**Size / Portability
**The camera’s good looks are quite portable too. The Olympus Stylus 730 keeps a compact frame. It measures 2.4 inches tall, 3.8 inches long, and 0.83 inches wide. The pocket-sized camera definitely has some heft to it; you would know if it dropped accidentally. It weighs 4.6 oz without the battery or card. Hopefully it won’t be dropped – this is not shock proof – but it does have sturdy features to improve portability in a pocket. A metal lens cover protects the glass and keeps pocket lint out of the lens, while the rubber seals keep moisture such as condensation from a water bottle out of the camera’s insides.

**Handling Ability
**The rectangular camera doesn’t have a vast number of handling features, but does have a single thumb grip on the back that is quite effective. The thumb grip curls up on the right edge of the back. It has small dimples in it for texture and gives the edge a jagged look. With that tiny feature, it is easy to shoot with only one hand. On the front of the camera, the Olympus logo is textured where the fingers wrap around – but this is a stretch to call it a handling feature.

**Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
**The control buttons on the Olympus Stylus 730 are unique with their backlighting and clustered setup. The backlighting is interesting; a green light shows behind the playback button, a red light shows through the recording and delete buttons, and white light shows on the rest. The clustered setup isn’t as brilliant an idea; pushing buttons without looking is quite dangerous in this case. Most other cameras separate the buttons and add bumps or some tactile feature so users can distinguish the buttons and push them without looking. Still, this unique interface is backlit and labeled well. The camera’s multi-selector is square-shaped and slopes down in the middle like a bowl. In the center of the multi-selector is an OK/Func button. When the multi-selector is pushed, it makes the sound of clipping fingernails. This isn’t that annoying unless you’re in a museum or other area where silence is preferred. There are a few buttons on the top of the 730, including a Reset button. This is strange, as most compact cameras bury a reset option in the setup menu expecting that users won’t have to reset the camera to its default settings that often. Overall, the buttons are properly sized and labeled. There is one exception; the zoom switch is tiny.

MenuAlmost all Olympus digital cameras are cursed with non-intuitive menus and the 730 is no different. When the Menu button is pushed, the initial menu screen appears with a jumble of eight or nine options. In the recording mode, these are the options: Compare & Shoot, Image Quality, Multi-Shot, Panorama, Camera Menu, Setup, SCN, and Silent Mode. The Camera Menu is the central menu item and pushing okay takes users directly to the following items.    This menu was organized into two tabs, labeled 1 and 2, but the tabs are so small users hardly know they’re there. Some of the menu items were in text and others in icons, so there is no clear style throughout the system. Keep in mind that the reviewed camera is a pre-production model and the menus could change. With that in mind, some of the menu items blocked access to their options. For users who think these options are much too buried in this ridiculous menu system, there is a small menu for frequently used options when the OK/Func button is pushed. Here it is.   This can be confusing to have several settings appear in different places, but that confusion is probably better than the chaotic appearance of the initial blue menu. The following options come from the setup menu, which consists of four tabs.   You didn’t misread the menu. There are two volume options on this pre-production model. Undoubtedly they will be fixed when the real thing comes out. When the menu button is pushed in the playback mode, the following jumble of choices appear on the initial screen: Slide Show, Edit, Print Order, Calendar, Playback Menu, Setup, Album, Erase, and Silent Mode. The playback mode’s menu is quite short.   Overall, the menu system on the Stylus 730 isn’t intuitive or desirable. Still, this menu has an advantage over previous Olympus models because of its large viewing screen and enlargeable text and graphics, making it easier on the eyes to see those clusters of icons and text.

**Ease of Use **This digital camera has its pros and cons. On one hand, its menu system isn’t very intuitive with some settings found in multiple places and some menus dragging on in length. Still, the camera has a simple mode that shrinks the menu and transforms the Olympus Stylus 730 into a bona fide point-and-shoot. The 730 also packs an extremely helpful feature that is hard to find anywhere else: a help guide. This help guide doesn’t just display how many pictures are left on the card if the full-resolution image size is chosen or what the exposure compensation setting is used for. This help guide consists of an extensive list of scenarios and helps users achieve the proper exposure accordingly. Below is the in-camera help guide.

 

 This does prove to be a lot of words, but I think it beats having to reference the user manual every time a picture comes out blurry or dark. Overall, the help guide is a very nice touch but the overall interface is still too confusing.

Modes

**Auto Mode
**The Olympus Stylus 730 has a button on the right side of the camera that switches from Normal to Simple mode. When in the Simple mode, the icons enlarge and the menus shrink. The digital image stabilization and digital zoom are automatically activated. Users can still access the functions on the multi-selector: macro, flash, exposure compensation, and self-timer. If the Menu button is pushed when in the Simple mode, users can only set the date and time; there are no other options. Overall, this automatic mode is what it says it is: Simple.

**Movie Mode
**The Olympus Stylus 730 has a movie mode that records with 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 160 x 120 pixels. The first two movie sizes shoot 30 fps, but the smallest size shoots at a more email-friendly 15 fps. Before recording, users can select the white balance and metering. During recording, the optical zoom is disabled and limited digital zoom is available. There is a continuous auto focus system that works decently and quietly. The 3-inch screen displays how much time is left on the memory card, and a red light blinks from behind the recording button while videoing. On the pre-production model, there was no indicator on the front that the camera was recording. Outdoors in bright sunlight, the movies looked great. But even in the brightest indoor light, movies looked awfully dark. Keep in mind that this is a pre-production model though; it may not have all the right components to meter or record dark scenes. When movies play back on a computer, they will need QuickTime to work.

**Drive / Burst Mode
**There is a burst mode available on the Stylus 730. The initial blue menu screen has a multi-shot option that can be turned on and off. Then in the recording menu, there is a Drive function, but its options don’t make much sense on the pre-production model we reviewed. "Single, Single, *1" were the options. In the OK/Func menu, however, the burst mode had more legitimate choices: Single, Continuous, and High-Speed Continuous. The high-speed choice snapped three shots in about a second and a half. It really wasn’t that speedy at all, but this is a pre-production model so speed could potentially change slightly come production time. In fact, the released specifications for this digital camera indicate that the high-speed burst mode shrinks the image size to 5 megapixels, but it shoots 3.5 fps for a burst of 11 pictures. At the highest resolution, the camera can only go as fast as 1 fps, according to the specs. Also of note, is a 12-second self-timer available on the multi-selector.

**Playback Mode
**When the Olympus Stylus 730 is powered up, a green light shines behind the playback button at all times – even when in the recording mode. This is a bit confusing and makes me think the backlighting is only for decoration. Pictures on the pre-production model were viewed one by one or in a calendar format via the initial blue menu screen. Other options are available from that screen too: Slide Show, Edit, Print Order, Calendar, Playback Menu, Setup, Album, Erase, and Silent Mode. The slide show allows users to employ several different transition effects (Normal, Scroll, Fader, Slide, Zoom Down, Zoom Up, Checkerboard, Blinds, Swivel, and Random) and even background music. There are a few other digital cameras that offer background music for slide shows, but most allow users to upload and change the music. There is no choice on this

one. It is the same stanza of music that was on the 720 SW model – over and over and over again. Any slide show more than 30 seconds will drive you insane.

The editing option of the blue menu brought up a two-tabbed menu. Pictures can be cropped, resized to 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels, and changed to black-and-white or sepia. Both brightness and saturation can be adjusted on +/- 5 scales with a preview side by side with the original file. Frames can be added in the following styles: Suitcase, Off-center with Polka Dots, Lacey Heart, Crooked on Clock, Airmail Envelope over Photo, Off-center Circle, Rectangle, Vertical with Heart at Top, White Rectangle, Retro, and Half and Half. Most of these are really cheesy, but perhaps grandparents will like them not to mention that printing them would make easy postcards. To add to the cheesiness, there are a host of labels too: Congratulations (in red or blue), Thank You, Happy Birthday, Good Luck, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays, Best Wishes, Missing You, and Love (in red and blue). There may be more to the label selection, but the camera kept turning off after the Love label. Another glitch occurred when trying to view panorama pictures. An "xD" logo would appear, fade into white, then the camera would crash. None of the buttons would register, so I had to pull the battery out and push it back in to restart the camera. This will obviously be fixed on production models.

A new playback feature on the Olympus Stylus 730 is its automatic fix technology, tentatively called "Perfect Fix." This technology is very similar to Kodak’s Perfect Touch. Both claim to fix red-eye and exposure, but the Olympus technology is the only one to claim to reduce blur. The Stylus 730’s digital image stabilization system works not only while recording but supposedly in playback as well. The Perfect Fix technology seemed to work on lighting, but it didn’t correct red-eye or blur; the technology included on the 730 is makeshift and the final model is expected to be fully functional, of course. The concept behind the technology is described in the press materials: "The camera houses an electronic gyro sensor that tracks movement along the X/Y axis and then inverts the recorded movement when the DISE (digital image stabilization edit) option is selected in playback to help sharpen the image."

Pictures can be organized in up to 12 albums. Pictures can also be laid out on pages for easier printing into photo books or scrapbook pages. The following layouts are available: Three pictures on left with room for text on right, Large picture at top and room for text on bottom, Two big pictures stacked, and 4, 6, and 15 pictures to a page.

The released specs indicate there will be even more viewing options: index views of 4, 9, 16, and 25 pictures, and 10x enlargement of a picture. Overall, the Olympus Stylus 730’s playback mode is very thorough and has lots of interesting features that will make direct printing fun.

**Custom Image Presets
**The Olympus Stylus 730 comes with a great selection of scene modes and with one of the best interfaces through which to choose that scene. The selection can be found from the initial blue menu screen: Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Museum, Cuisine, Behind Glass, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select 1, Shoot & Select 2, and Beach & Snow. When scrolled through, these 20 scene modes appear with a bright sample photo and an explanation. For example, the Available Light mode shows a picture of a child sleeping and displays the following text: "Available Light: For shooting sensitive subjects in low light conditions without a flash." Overall, the scene modes are some of the easiest functions on this digital camera.

Control Options

**Manual Control Options
**This digital camera isn’t made with manual control in mind. There is no manual mode and no manual control over shutter speeds and apertures, but the exposure compensation can be tweaked directly from the multi-selector. Users can also make a few minor changes like ISO and white balance.

**Focus
***Auto Focus
*The Olympus Stylus 730 uses a CCD contrast detection system that has two auto focus modes: iESP and Spot. The camera normally focuses from 19.7 inches, but can focus as close as 2.8 inches in the super macro mode. Super macro focuses from 2.8-17.4 inches. The regular macro mode can focus as close as 7.9 inches when the lens is at its widest focal length and from 11.8 inches when the camera is zoomed in on a subject.

*Manual Focus
*This feature is not available on this automatically oriented digital camera.

**ISO
**The Olympus Stylus 730 has a wider ISO range than previous Stylus models; the Stylus 720 SW’s ISO selection extended to 1600. Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200 are the 730’s options. Olympus’ Bright Capture technology uses higher sensitivities to bring out background detail.

**White Balance
**This digital camera has Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten, Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, and Fluorescent 3 white balance options. They can be found in the regular camera menu and also in the OK/Func menu. The looks of the menus are slightly different, with the regular menu covering most of the live view in text. The other menu has a much better live view. Unfortunately, there is no manual white balance mode.

**Exposure
**From the multi-selector, users can access the exposure compensation scale that has the standard range of +/- 2 in 1/3-stop steps.

**Metering
**The Stylus 730 has two metering modes available from the recording menu: the default multi-pattern ESP mode and the Spot mode. If users aren’t quite clear on which should be used when, there is a help guide that can be accessed that leads to the proper setting based on the lighting situation.

**Shutter Speed
**This digital camera has a typical range of a compact model. Its shutter speeds range from 1/1000th of a second to 1/2 second, with an extension to 4 seconds in the night scene. The extended shutter speeds from 1/2-4 seconds automatically activate a noise reduction system.

**Aperture
**The Olympus zoom lens’ widest aperture is f/3.5, which is much smaller than what the competition is offering right now. Most cameras have an f/2.8 stop, which lets in much more light onto the image sensor. The maximum aperture at the 3x focal length is an even smaller f/5.0.

Image Parameters

**Picture Quality / Size Options
**The Olympus Stylus 730 has an almost unmanageable amount of image sizes, although some of the options were not available on the pre-production model. Images sizes could be changed on the initial blue menu screen and consisted of the following: 3072 x 2304 (fine and normal compression choices, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080 (16:9 formatted), 2560 x 1920, 2304 x 1728, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480.

**Picture Effects Mode
**This digital camera has lots of picture effects, perhaps to enhance images before printing directly from the camera. It has the standard black-and-white and sepia choices, the more advanced brightness and saturation scales with +/- 5 options, and a host of frames and labels to make pictures and cards. There is also a button atop the camera that activates the Perfect Fix function. This is slated to reduce blur and red-eye, while fixing any exposure problems. On the pre-production model, the first two functions didn’t work but the exposure part of the function did.

Connectivity / Extras

**Connectivity
***Software
*The Olympus Stylus 730 will come packaged with Olympus Master Software that allows users to download images to a computer, search them by date or keyword, and perform simple editing tasks.

*Jacks, ports, plugs
*The Olympus 730 has a single terminal on the camera body that can do it all. It accepts AV-out, DC-in, and USB cables. Like most digital cameras, the AV-out function can be optimized for European or North American standards (PAL or NTSC). The DC-in cable uses 4.8 volts and it requires a coupler that is not included in the package, while the USB and AV cables are included.

*Direct Print Options
*The Olympus Stylus 730 has an option to create print orders from the initial blue menu screen. It lets users select all of the pictures to print or scroll through individually and choose 0-10 prints for each image. There are plenty of features that enhance photos and prepare them for direct printing on this camera. Frames and labels can be added to make birthday, thank you, or other cards. There are cropping, rotating, and other editing features in the playback menu. A "Perfect Fix" button on the top of the camera automatically improves the lighting, red-eye, and sharpness. There is also an option to create layouts of photos to print into photo books. Overall, this digital camera is primed for direct printing with its useful features and handy USB connectivity to PictBridge compatible printers.

*Battery
*The Stylus 730 comes with the same battery that powered the 720 SW camera: a rechargeable Olympus lithium-ion LI-42B battery. The 3.7-volt battery comes with a charger that will be used frequently. The skinny battery can only shoot 200 shots per charge. The pre-production model had problems with its battery door; it kept popping open unexpectedly and shutting down the camera. Hopefully this doesn’t happen on the real deal; that would make those rubber seals on the door quite pointless.

*Memory
*The Olympus 730 has 22 MB of internal memory. The camera requires an xD-Picture card, and for all of the functions to work properly users will need Olympus-branded media. The camera is tested to accept cards up to 2 GB.

**Other features
***Panorama mode –* The specs claim that the camera can take up to 10 pictures and stitch them together with the help of the Olympus Master Software and an Olympus-branded xD-Picture card. This function definitely had some glitches on the pre-production model. It would provide framing assists and take a string of pictures, but if I tried to view them in the playback menu there would be trouble. An xD logo would appear, then fade into a white screen which would freeze the camera. I had to pop the battery out and back in a few times.

*Silent Mode – *This will keep the camera quiet at a ballet performance or other place where noisy beeps and shutters are unwanted. This is available from the initial blue menu screen.

*Voice Memo – *On the pre-production mode, it recorded less than 5 seconds. It is unclear how long the real model will record. The voice memo function can be turned on and off in the setup menu.

Pixel mapping – Like several other Olympus digital cameras, the image sensor can reformat itself with the built-in pixel mapping function.

Overall Impressions

**Value
**Olympus must be counting on this camera’s good looks to justify the $399 price tag they’re putting on this digital camera. The Stylus 730 is sturdy, all-weather, and sleek. However, it is still just a point-and-shoot camera. While it does have lots of scene modes, its menu system is so confusing to use that it’ll scare plenty of consumers into searching for something easier to use – particularly those unfamiliar with the medium. Overall, the $399 price is just too much for an entry-level model these days.

**Comparisons
***Olympus Stylus 740 –* This brand new digital camera was also announced with the 730. It has the same 7.1-megapixel image sensor and all-weather distinction. Its modes are the same, but it has some big differences. It has the "world’s smallest 5x optical zoom lens" and a 2.5-inch LCD screen with 215,000 pixels. Its body is 0.96 inches thick and it will be available in September for $349.

• Olympus Stylus 720 SW – *Also with the same retail price of $399, the Olympus Stylus 720SW is sturdier than its newest sibling. This digital camera is waterproof to depths of 10 ft and shock proof from falls of 5 ft. The other difference is in the LCD screen. The 720 has a 2.5-inch display with 115,000 pixels; the 730 has a 3-inch screen and 230,000 pixels. The automatic modes are similar on both cameras; the old 720 does not have the ISO 3200 option though.
  

**Who It’s For
***Point-and-Shooters –* These consumers will like this camera only if it is in the Simple mode, which eliminates any chance of getting lost in the labyrinth of menus.

*Budget Consumers – *These consumers will have to wait for awhile to purchase this model. It is priced at $399 right now, but the price always drops after a few months anyway.

Gadget Freaks – This is not a camera that will attract these folks.

Manual Control Freaks – This camera is more for point-and-shooters who like the automatic settings; it certainly won’t appeal to this demographic with its lack of manual exposure control or even manual white balance.

Pros/ Serious Hobbyists – No chance.

Conclusion

**Conclusion
**The Olympus Stylus 730 is one of several new releases this fall from the manufacturer. This camera has one of the biggest LCD screens in the market at 3 inches, and its resolution is also great at 230,000 pixels. This 7.1-megapixel model is definitely a point-and-shoot with its vast number of scene modes and limited manual controls. It has a digital image stabilization mode that is new to the Stylus series, and it is functional in recording and playback modes. Besides the large display and new stabilization mode, the Stylus 730 adds an ISO 3200 setting to the mix. These are all great features, but the camera still suffers from other issues that are typical of Olympus cameras. The menu system is split so that some options appear in multiple places and there are menus within menus within menus. The ease of use factor just isn’t there on the 730, unless using the camera’s Simple mode which totally disables menus altogether. We reviewed a pre-production model that still has plenty of glitches that need to be worked out, so keep checking back in a few months for the full review. The Olympus Stylus 730 will be available in September for $399.