The Olympus Stylus 730 is a 7-mega pixel camera with a large 3-inch LCD screen and a 38-to-144mm equivalent lens. The Stylus 730 has not been receiving great reviews due to it’s lack of image quality. One user rated it 3 out of 10 saying “Terrible image quality. 9 out of 10 shots are typically noisy/grainy”. Perhaps the Stylus 730 isn’t the ideal

Christmas present, unless you are not expecting the most professional results. Cnet has reviewed the camera and writes: “The Stylus 730’s slim, rectangular metal body has several striking characteristics that set it apart from other style-minded snapshot cameras. Its 38-to-114mm-equivalent lens uses an internal zooming mechanism, so it always remains flush with the camera body. A large, 3-inch LCD screen somehow leaves enough room for a set of large, tactile buttons on the back panel. The buttons are backlit and look striking in any light, with glowing red, green, and white icons that make the different controls easy to find in the dark.

“Though very pretty, the Stylus 730’s body isn’t the most comfortable to use. The big, bright buttons on the back panel are great, but the shutter release and zoom control on the camera’s top edges are small and not very responsive. The camera’s LCD, while large, is grainy and prone to image ghosting, which can make framing quick shots awkward. However, the camera doesn’t have an optical viewfinder, so you’re forced to use the LCD.”

“The Stylus 730’s most disappointing aspect is its image quality. We saw massive noise at all sensitivity settings, a snowy grain worse than any we’ve seen recently. Even at ISO 100, images were fuzzy and mottled with color. And, though the most prominent, noise wasn’t the only issue; the lens produced distinct chromatic aberration (purple fringing along high-contrast edges) and notable barrel distortion, resulting in images that ballooned out when shot at the wide end of the lens.

Performance was another weak point of the Stylus 730, though not nearly as big a problem. After waiting 2.5 seconds from powering it on to taking the first shot, we had to wait an additional 2.9 seconds between every shot after that. With the onboard flash enabled, that wait increased to 3.5 seconds. The shutter lagged a disappointing 0.9 seconds from button press to shot in bright light. That lag more than doubled to 2 seconds in dim light. Burst mode was acceptable, snapping four shots in 3.6 seconds for a rate of 1.1 shots per second.

The Olympus Stylus 730 is a pretty camera with some impressive design aspects, but it simply doesn’t hold up for photography. If you really want a camera that can take a splash, consider the waterproof, shock-resistant Olympus Stylus 720 SW. The 720 SW shares some of the 730’s flaws, but its images are less noisy, and it can take much more abuse with regard to being dropped or getting wet.”

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