Olympus 720 SW Performance

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Olympus Stylus 720 SW Performance

Timing and Performance

Olympus Stylus 720 SW Timing
Good to average speed for a consumer camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	1.8 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and capture the first image. (No lens to telescope out, it's internal to the body.)
Shutdown	~1.7 seconds	How long it takes the lens cover to close, so you can stow the camera in a pocket.
Buffer clearing time	7 seconds (3M JPEG, 13 shots in Continuous Hi mode)	Worst case buffer clearing time. This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.5 seconds	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	0.7 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	2.7 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	1.07 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	1.12 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.087 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	2.00 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots (no apparent buffer limit)
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	1.93 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots (no apparent buffer limit)
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras won't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous Hi mode 3M Fine JPEG (2048 x 1536 only)	0.27 second (3.74 frames per second); 13 frame buffer limit; 7 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 13-shot buffer length.
Continuous Hi mode 640x480 JPEG	0.27 second (3.74 frames per second); 19 frame buffer limit; 5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 19-shot buffer length.
Continuous Lo mode Large/Fine JPEG	0.97 second (1.03 frames per second); 4 frame buffer limit; 6 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over 4-shot buffer length.
Continuous Lo mode 640x480 JPEG	0.90 second (1.12 frames per second); No apparent buffer limit	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Flash recycling	6 seconds	Flash at maximum output
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	839 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-770=USB 2.0 Low; 771-4000=USB 2.0 High

The Stylus 720 SW's performance starts up fairly quickly, taking only 1.8 seconds from power-on to the first shot. Shutter response is quite sluggish by current standards at wide angle and telephoto lens settings though, but "prefocus" (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) results in a very fast lag of only 0.087 second. Shot to shot cycle times are average, at about 2.00 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and it can apparently capture images at this pace indefinitely, without having to slow down and wait for the memory card to catch up. Continuous-mode speed is excellent at the High setting, at about 3.75 frames/second, for up to 13 medium-resolution shots in succession. (High-speed continuous mode only supports a maximum resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels.) In Low speed continuous mode, the capture rate slows to 1.03 frames per second for the largest JPEG setting, capturing only four frames before needing to wait for the memory card. The flash takes about six seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, about average for this class of camera. Connected to a computer, download speeds are fast enough that you probably won't feel a need for a separate card reader, but nonetheless aren't as fast as many cameras currently on the market. Bottom line, while its continuous-mode speed is good when shooting with the "Hi" option, the Stylus 720 SW's sluggish shutter response will make it difficult to capture fast-paced action. (Unless of course, the shooting conditions are such that you can use the trick of prefocusing the camera before the critical moment arrives.)

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Fairly short battery life.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
LiIon rechargeable battery	180

The Olympus Stylus 720 SW uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power. The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life standard test conditions. Given the short run time with the LCD enabled, you should definitely consider purchasing a second battery to pack along on extended outings. (Remember that you're likely to spend some time looking at the photos you've captured on the camera's LCD, which isn't factored into the shot count listed above.)

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
No card is included with the Olympus Stylus 720 SW, although it accepts xD-Picture Cards; 20MB RAM is built into the camera.

Image Capacity with 20MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal
3,072 x 2,304	Images	5	11
3,072 x 2,304	File Size	3.5 MB	1.7 MB
2,560 x 1,920	Images	-	16
2,560 x 1,920	File Size	-	1.2 MB
2,304 x 1,728	Images	-	20
2,304 x 1,728	File Size	-	994 KB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	-	26
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	-	785 KB
1,600 x 1,200	Images	-	31
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	-	657 KB
1,280 x 960	Images	-	49
1,280 x 960	File Size	-	417 KB
1,024 x 768	Images	-	75
1,024 x 768	File Size	-	272 KB
640 x 480	Images	-	116
640 x 480	File Size	-	176 KB