Out of the box the camera looks different to most on the market with its odd shaped yet groovy design, with the right hand (while holding) side being thicker than the left. However this does not feel in any way awkward to hold and sits quite snugly in the photographer’s hand. The size is great as it will go anywhere and tuck nicely away in your shirt pocket – easily going unnoticed. And when its time to shoot, one handed, shooting is a breeze.

The new MJU 700 is packed with great features and all of which a novice, as well as a seasoned pro will enjoy using.

First up, the general functionality, control layout and menu system on the camera are all positioned where they should be… where your right thumb sits for easy access.

Most of your every day shooting requirements can be found on a dial with 4 main options to choose from. The SCN (Scene) options are fantastic with 23 different scenes, with the most popular at No.1 ‘Portrait’ right through to snow and beach shots. The SCN modes take away any thought and calculation you might need to consider and allow the photographer to concentrate on the most important thing – composition!

The Olympus MJU 700 has an excellent number of ISO (film speed) settings ranging from a fine 64 to a grainy 1600 speed. At the finer end, the 64, 200 and 400 all produce excellent results. And as a surprise the 800, considering its 800, is as good as the 400! Thumbs up. The in-camera processing to reduce grain at 800 works a treat and now allows happy snappers the luxury of shooting into darker light conditions more easily. At 1600 the grain is very noticeable and is more of a ‘get out of jail free’ card when you have no other option and just have to capture the moment. The 1600 speed will give you good prints at a standard size of 4x6 inches, with visible grain, but don’t hold your breath if you want larger prints from this setting.

The auto aperture control is pretty much spot on with every lighting test conducted. The tests performed covered near night shots, low indoor light, daylight shade and bright sunlight - all passing with flying colours (no pun intended!). Even in our toughest test where we try to trick the camera by putting a black dog behind a wire frame white fence rail, with the rail in sunlight and the dog in the shade... and yes, the Olympus MJU 700 exposed the image correctly. Nice.

For indoor and evening light situations, Olympus have developed, what they call ‘Bright Capture Technology’ for the 2.5 inch LCD on the back of the camera. And it pretty much does what it says. When there is little light in the room the ‘Bright Capture Technology’ kicks in and the screen instantly lightens up allowing you to see your subject. So with this model, gone are the days of telling your friends in a group portrait at night to hang on while you work out where they are on the screen – as now they are easily visible!

Another feature worth mentioning is the anti-shake setting, found on the dial with a picture of a hand, with two lines either side of it signalling movement. This feature disables the ISO settings and works with the shutter and aperture controls, raising the ISO (film speed) setting in situations where there might be a chance that movement could be evident in the shot from a shaky hand, or low light. I found this to be a handy little addition but also noticed the camera shooting at the higher settings more often – increasing the chance of a grainier photo. But overall, a grainier image is far better than a blurred image which would otherwise be deleted from the camera.

Like any new camera, once you spend 30 minutes – and that’s all it will take – to breifly read through the manual and study each of the camera settings you’ll be shooting like a photographer possessed in no time. And best of all producing images that friends and family will envy you for.

So overall I rate this camera very highly and recommend anyone looking for an upgrade to seriously consider this model, as its 7.1 mega-pixel capture will be more than enough for every day shooting, its splash proof / weather proof exterior covers you for any little accidents and slim / slick looking design will keep the fashion conscious very happy. Thumbs up!

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