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.
Seconds (Shorter bars indicate better performance.)
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Typical shot-to-shot time | |
Time to first shot | |
Shutter lag (typical) |
Frames per second (Longer bars indicate better performance.
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Typical continuous-shooting speed |
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