[P1] Cameras

[Wayne]

The Olympus Zoom cameras are very good. One problem to be aware of is barrel
distortion. All cameras with these large zoom lens have it, so it really is
not fair to call it a "problem". The thing you want to check is the amount,
I believe the Olympus 760 was reviewed with "slight", which is about the
best you can hope for.

Another factor is fringing where you get purple highlights on the extreme
edges, again related in part to the long optical lens. I reviewed these
pictures showing these effects and they are minimal (used both
dcresource.com and stevesdigicams.com).

Another thought to consider is if you want higher resolution than the 3.2 mp
that the Olympus C760 has, you can get lens attachments for many cameras
that increase the telephoto range or increase the wide angle. Good quality
attachments can run you close to $100 each, so they can add quite a bit to
the camera purchase.

The Olympus with the 3.2 mp resolution will be fine for printing 8 x 10
photo quality prints.

Good luck on your quest, the Olympus actually was on my short list of
cameras to consider and the lens is awesome (I went with a Canon A80 in the
end, because of memory storage. I already had several Compact Flash cards
which the Canon used).


Best Regards,

Wayne
macguy at adelphia.net