Name: Olympus Stylus 740
Brand: Olympus

The 7-megapixel Olympus Stylus 740 is a slightly scaled-down version of the Stylus 750. They both share the same weather-resistant metal body, the same 36mm-to-180mm (35mm equivalent), 5X optical zoom lens, the same 7-megapixel sensor, and the same image processor. The only real difference that separates the 740 from its brother is that it lacks the 750's optical image stabilization. It still has digital image stabilization, but the camera doesn't optically compensate for image shake as does the 750.

Both cameras performed nearly identically in our lab tests, save for one quirk: the Stylus 740 is slightly faster than the 750 in shot-to-shot time when the onboard flash is enabled. The 740 registered a 3.3-second flash recycle time, while the 750 took 4.5 seconds to accomplish that feat. Image quality between the two cameras was also similar; both produced very attractive photos with little distortion.

6.8

Olympus Stylus 740

The Good

Decent image quality; comfortable design.

The Bad

Few manual controls; sluggish performance.

The Bottom Line

It's a bit slow, and control freaks will be disappointed, but the Olympus Stylus 740 is still a very nice snapshot camera.

For more information on the Olympus Stylus 740's design, features, and other details, please read our review of the Olympus Stylus 750.

Shooting speed
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS

1.3

1.1

0.4

Sony Cyber Shot DSC-T50

1.6

1.4

0.5

Olympus Stylus 750

2.2

2.4

0.6

Olympus Stylus 740

2.1