Olympus mju700 digital camera

Posted by T3 Online on Thu 25 Oct 2007

Snap happy in the wind, rain or snow with this skinny snapper.

Rejoice, people who live in the parts of Britain where it still occasionally rains: this is one of the slimmest weather-proof cameras available, with an LCD that brightens dark environments.

At its thinnest point (admittedly it gets a lot chunkier at the controls end), this is a crucial 2mm thinner than its nearest rival, the five-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S2. Whip it out on a wet and windy afternoon and you'll get detailed and vividly-coloured snaps. There is some slight noise on background sky, but figures in the distance remain sharp. Overall, picture quality is impressive.

Olympus claim that its BrightCapture tech makes the LCD four times brighter than rivals. It certainly wiped the floor with the eight-meg Nikon Coolpix S4 in our night test, with its much brighter screen making it easier to accurately frame shots in the gloom. Image quality doesn't end there: night-time photos were also impressively clear.

Minimal lag on the LCD as you move it around means that our only complaint would be that, in good light, it can make photos you've taken appear a bit low-res.

Elsewhere, you get the usual 3x optical zoom, a hefty 23 scene modes for every possible scenario, a digital stabilisation mode that counters hand-shake well, although not as well as models with optical stabilisation, and some basic on-screen editing options. Considering the low price and overall thinness, there's little to complain about.

This is the Geoff Boycott of cameras: it might lack flair, but it does a solid job in all conditions. If you want a reliable camera for all seasons, then look no further.