Auto Mode
The Olympus Stylus 730 has a button on the right side of the camera that switches from Normal to Simple mode. When in the Simple mode, the icons enlarge and the menus shrink. The digital image stabilization and digital zoom are automatically activated. Users can still access the functions on the multi-selector: macro, flash, exposure compensation, and self-timer. If the Menu button is pushed when in the Simple mode, users can only set the date and time; there are no other options. Overall, this automatic mode is what it says it is: Simple.
Movie Mode
The Olympus Stylus 730 has a movie mode that records with 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 160 x 120 pixels. The first two movie sizes shoot 30 fps, but the smallest size shoots at a more email-friendly 15 fps. Before recording, users can select the white balance and metering. During recording, the optical zoom is disabled and limited digital zoom is available. There is a continuous auto focus system that works decently and quietly. The 3-inch screen displays how much time is left on the memory card, and a red light blinks from behind the recording button while videoing. On the pre-production model, there was no indicator on the front that the camera was recording. Outdoors in bright sunlight, the movies looked great. But even in the brightest indoor light, movies looked awfully dark. Keep in mind that this is a pre-production model though; it may not have all the right components to meter or record dark scenes. When movies play back on a computer, they will need QuickTime to work.
Drive / Burst Mode
There is a burst mode available on the Stylus 730. The initial blue menu screen has a multi-shot option that can be turned on and off. Then in the recording menu, there is a Drive function, but its options don’t make much sense on the pre-production model we reviewed. “Single, Single, *1” were the options. In the OK/Func menu, however, the burst mode had more legitimate choices: Single, Continuous, and High-Speed Continuous. The high-speed choice snapped three shots in about a second and a half. It really wasn’t that speedy at all, but this is a pre-production model so speed could potentially change slightly come production time. In fact, the released specifications for this digital camera indicate that the high-speed burst mode shrinks the image size to 5 megapixels, but it shoots 3.5 fps for a burst of 11 pictures. At the highest resolution, the camera can only go as fast as 1 fps, according to the specs. Also of note, is a 12-second self-timer available on the multi-selector.
Playback Mode
When the Olympus Stylus 730 is powered up, a green light shines behind the playback button at all times – even when in the recording mode. This is a bit confusing and makes me think the backlighting is only for decoration. Pictures on the pre-production model were viewed one by one or in a calendar format via the initial blue menu screen. Other options are available from that screen too: Slide Show, Edit, Print Order, Calendar, Playback Menu, Setup, Album, Erase, and Silent Mode. The slide show allows users to employ several different transition effects (Normal, Scroll, Fader, Slide, Zoom Down, Zoom Up, Checkerboard, Blinds, Swivel, and Random) and even background music. There are a few other digital cameras that offer background music for slide shows, but most allow users to upload and change the music. There is no choice on this 
one. It is the same stanza of music that was on the 720 SW model – over and over and over again. Any slide show more than 30 seconds will drive you insane.
The editing option of the blue menu brought up a two-tabbed menu. Pictures can be cropped, resized to 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels, and changed to black-and-white or sepia. Both brightness and saturation can be adjusted on +/- 5 scales with a preview side by side with the original file. Frames can be added in the following styles: Suitcase, Off-center with Polka Dots, Lacey Heart, Crooked on Clock, Airmail Envelope over Photo, Off-center Circle, Rectangle, Vertical with Heart at Top, White Rectangle, Retro, and Half and Half. Most of these are really cheesy, but perhaps grandparents will like them not to mention that printing them would make easy postcards. To add to the cheesiness, there are a host of labels too: Congratulations (in red or blue), Thank You, Happy Birthday, Good Luck, Happy New Year, Happy Holidays, Best Wishes, Missing You, and Love (in red and blue). There may be more to the label selection, but the camera kept turning off after the Love label. Another glitch occurred when trying to view panorama pictures. An “xD” logo would appear, fade into white, then the camera would crash. None of the buttons would register, so I had to pull the battery out and push it back in to restart the camera. This will obviously be fixed on production models.
A new playback feature on the Olympus Stylus 730 is its automatic fix technology, tentatively called “Perfect Fix.” This technology is very similar to Kodak’s Perfect Touch. Both claim to fix red-eye and exposure, but the Olympus technology is the only one to claim to reduce blur. The Stylus 730’s digital image stabilization system works not only while recording but supposedly in playback as well. The Perfect Fix technology seemed to work on lighting, but it didn’t correct red-eye or blur; the technology included on the 730 is makeshift and the final model is expected to be fully functional, of course. The concept behind the technology is described in the press materials: “The camera houses an electronic gyro sensor that tracks movement along the X/Y axis and then inverts the recorded movement when the DISE (digital image stabilization edit) option is selected in playback to help sharpen the image.”
Pictures can be organized in up to 12 albums. Pictures can also be laid out on pages for easier printing into photo books or scrapbook pages. The following layouts are available: Three pictures on left with room for text on right, Large picture at top and room for text on bottom, Two big pictures stacked, and 4, 6, and 15 pictures to a page.
The released specs indicate there will be even more viewing options: index views of 4, 9, 16, and 25 pictures, and 10x enlargement of a picture. Overall, the Olympus Stylus 730’s playback mode is very thorough and has lots of interesting features that will make direct printing fun.
Custom Image Presets
The Olympus Stylus 730 comes with a great selection of scene modes and with one of the best interfaces through which to choose that scene. The selection can be found from the initial blue menu screen: Portrait, Landscape, Landscape + Portrait, Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Available Light Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Museum, Cuisine, Behind Glass, Documents, Auction, Shoot & Select 1, Shoot & Select 2, and Beach & Snow. When scrolled through, these 20 scene modes appear with a bright sample photo and an explanation. For example, the Available Light mode shows a picture of a child sleeping and displays the following text: “Available Light: For shooting sensitive subjects in low light conditions without a flash.” Overall, the scene modes are some of the easiest functions on this digital camera.
