A question to 750UZ owners

arielshiran · Sep 19, 2003

Hi,

I consider buying this camera and got a contradictory answer from Olympus support compared to the information published in some web sites regarding the 750UZ taking movies ability.
My questions are:
1) Can I use the optical zoom while taking movies?
2) Is sound recorded in movies while the optical zoom is operating?

3) Can I take movies until the memory card is full or I am limited to a certain amount of time?

4) I would be very grateful if anyone can send me a sample movie that was taken with the 750UZ (better with sound and with the use of the optical zoom) to: [email protected]
Thank you very much,
Ariel.

Don Spencer · Sep 19, 2003

arielshiran said:
Hi,
I consider buying this camera and got a contradictory answer from
Olympus support compared to the information published in some web
sites regarding the 750UZ taking movies ability.
My questions are:
1) Can I use the optical zoom while taking movies?

No, you can't zoom while recording a movie, at least I wasn't able to do it.

arielshiran said:
2) Is sound recorded in movies while the optical zoom is operating?

not possible as you can't change zoom while recording. you can zoom forward and back before you begin recording, but once you start to record, it locks the zoom.

arielshiran said:
3) Can I take movies until the memory card is full or I am limited
to a certain amount of time?

You can shoot a movie as big as the remaining space on your memory card as far as I can tell. I use 128 meg cards, it's telling me I can shoot a movie clip 375 sec long if I start with an empty card. ('ll know for sure as soon as it's finished) OK, just downloaded the movie it's 6 minutes and 15 seconds

arielshiran said:
4) I would be very grateful if anyone can send me a sample movie
that was taken with the 750UZ (better with sound and with the use
of the optical zoom) to: [email protected]

see prevoius answers, you can't zoom while recording

arielshiran said:
Thank you very much,
Ariel.

--
http://www.pbase.com/galleries/donald_spencer (pbase supporter)

KenJo · Sep 19, 2003

Donald Spencer said:
arielshiran said:

Hi,
I consider buying this camera and got a contradictory answer from
Olympus support compared to the information published in some web
sites regarding the 750UZ taking movies ability.
My questions are:
1) Can I use the optical zoom while taking movies?

Click to expand...

No, you can't zoom while recording a movie, at least I wasn't able
to do it.

If the audio is off, you can indeed use the optical zoom lens. However, when audio is on, the optical zoom is rendered off.

Don Spencer said:
Don Spencer said:

2) Is sound recorded in movies while the optical zoom is operating?

Click to expand...

not possible as you can't change zoom while recording. you can zoom
forward and back before you begin recording, but once you start to
record, it locks the zoom.

Don Spencer said:

3) Can I take movies until the memory card is full or I am limited
to a certain amount of time?

Click to expand...

You can shoot a movie as big as the remaining space on your memory
card as far as I can tell. I use 128 meg cards, it's telling me I
can shoot a movie clip 375 sec long if I start with an empty card.
('ll know for sure as soon as it's finished) OK, just downloaded
the movie it's 6 minutes and 15 seconds

Ya, I was confused too, as there was conflicting information on this. Donald is correct, you can record video until the memory is used up.

Don Spencer said:
Don Spencer said:

4) I would be very grateful if anyone can send me a sample movie
that was taken with the 750UZ (better with sound and with the use
of the optical zoom) to: [email protected]

Click to expand...

see prevoius answers, you can't zoom while recording

Don Spencer said:

Thank you very much,
Ariel.

Click to expand...

--
http://www.pbase.com/galleries/donald_spencer (pbase supporter)

caterpillar · Sep 19, 2003

arielshiran said:
Hi,
I consider buying this camera and got a contradictory answer from
Olympus support compared to the information published in some web
sites regarding the 750UZ taking movies ability.
My questions are:
1) Can I use the optical zoom while taking movies?

Yes.

arielshiran said:
2) Is sound recorded in movies while the optical zoom is operating?

Yes. Set the digital zoom ON, Drive to Single Shot mode, and you can zoom WITH sound. I am using v82 firmware. Yes, I am amazed at this myself because I thought you have to turn the sound off to be able to zoom, but it is zooming with sound. I have the .mov files as proof of it that it does!

arielshiran said:
3) Can I take movies until the memory card is full or I am limited
to a certain amount of time?

It is limited only by the size of your xD card.

arielshiran said:
4) I would be very grateful if anyone can send me a sample movie
that was taken with the 750UZ (better with sound and with the use
of the optical zoom) to: [email protected]
Thank you very much,
Ariel.

Hmmm. Let me think about that.

--
---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

arielshiran · Sep 19, 2003

Hello Caterpillar,

from your answer I understand you can use only the digital zoom and not the optical zoom while taking movies. Is this correct or can you use the optical zoom as well while recording movies with sound?

caterpillar · Sep 19, 2003

arielshiran said:
Hello Caterpillar,
from your answer I understand you can use only the digital zoom and
not the optical zoom while taking movies. Is this correct or can
you use the optical zoom as well while recording movies with sound?

Yes. You can use the optical zoom with sound. But I don't think you can go for the digital zoom. If I remember correctly, the manual says you CANNOT. But hey, it's working with mine. But just to convince myself so I won't have egg in my face, I just tried it 2 min ago prior to posting this. So, I am 100% certain it works as I have written.

YES. The c-750 has a movie mode that can zoom with sound. I have ver 82 of firmware.

---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

caterpillar · Sep 19, 2003

I forgot to add.

To get this. I set DRIVE to Single Shot, and Digital Zoom ON. Why these two have to be set is beyond me, but it works.

Caterpillar said:
arielshiran said:

Hello Caterpillar,
from your answer I understand you can use only the digital zoom and
not the optical zoom while taking movies. Is this correct or can
you use the optical zoom as well while recording movies with sound?

Click to expand...

Yes. You can use the optical zoom with sound. But I don't think you
can go for the digital zoom. If I remember correctly, the manual
says you CANNOT. But hey, it's working with mine. But just to
convince myself so I won't have egg in my face, I just tried it 2
min ago prior to posting this. So, I am 100% certain it works as I
have written.

YES. The c-750 has a movie mode that can zoom with sound. I have
ver 82 of firmware.

---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

--
---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

Henry Falkner · Sep 20, 2003

arielshiran said:
My questions are:
1) Can I use the optical zoom while taking movies?

The instructions say, only digital zoom is operating. I set the optical zoom before I startr recording a movie.

arielshiran said:
2) Is sound recorded in movies while the optical zoom is operating?

Not having tried zoom while recording movies, I could not say.

arielshiran said:
3) Can I take movies until the memory card is full or I am limited
to a certain amount of time?

The movie length is only limited by the card size, at least up to 128 Mega Bytes.

arielshiran said:
4) I would be very grateful if anyone can send me a sample movie
that was taken with the 750UZ (better with sound and with the use
of the optical zoom) to: [email protected]

They are too long for e-mail. I can send a CD via snail mail. Don't throw away your DV camera. The sound is vastly improved compared to that recorded by the C-40ZOOM, but the picture is low resolution and noisy.

Henry

--
H. Falkner

Brett DiMichele · Sep 20, 2003

I just decided to try what you said.. Yes you can zoom a small amount
from the location you was zoomed to when you started recording and out
slightly then back in. But it's not optical (listen to the camera, do you hear
the zoom mechanism working?? I don't..)

So yes it zooms somewhat, but it is not the optical zoom.

caterpillar · Sep 20, 2003

Brett DiMichele said:
I just decided to try what you said.. Yes you can zoom a small amount
from the location you was zoomed to when you started recording and out
slightly then back in. But it's not optical (listen to the camera,
do you hear
the zoom mechanism working?? I don't..)

So yes it zooms somewhat, but it is not the optical zoom.

Could be Brett. Frankly, I don't really go for movies in DCs. I only got to use this a couple of times to help a high jumper analyze his jump and some runners on their form as they run high speed. But I was really surprised to hear sound and get a zoom!

--
---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

arielshiran · Sep 20, 2003

So, to sum up, please verify that these are the opportunities:
1) A movie can be recorded with sound.
2) Optical zoom can be used while taking movies with no sound.
3) Digital zoom can be used while taking movies with sound.
4) The movies quality is not good.

If this is not the case and I misunderstood something, please let me know as the movies feature is important for me, because in certain Sony's cameras it is possible to take movies in a good quality with sound and with optical zoom.
Ariel.

Brett DiMichele · Sep 20, 2003

Ariel,

Honestly it seems as if movie taking is extremely important to you.. If this
is the case then by all means just buy a Sony Digital Camera. The Olympus
does record movies with sound and it does so untill the card is full (there
are no time limits) and you can zoom somewhat, but it's digital not optical
zoom.

Like I said before it seems as though movie mode is important to you. In
this case buy the Sony as they do have better movie recording modes on
some (more expensive) models. On the 750 the movie recording is nothing
more than a Bonus, the optics and quality of pictures are the 750's selling
point.

caterpillar · Sep 20, 2003

arielshiran said:
So, to sum up, please verify that these are the opportunities:
1) A movie can be recorded with sound.
2) Optical zoom can be used while taking movies with no sound.
3) Digital zoom can be used while taking movies with sound.
4) The movies quality is not good.
If this is not the case and I misunderstood something, please let
me know as the movies feature is important for me, because in
certain Sony's cameras it is possible to take movies in a good
quality with sound and with optical zoom.
Ariel.

Everything seems to be right except no. 2. It was pointed out that you do lose the zoom in optical but you retain the sound.

Also, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if it is a movie you want, I seriously suggest getting a videocam. I am certain now that you will not be happy with the c-750.

Go for the Sony.

---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

christroy · Sep 25, 2003

I just got a C-750, and to my surprise, there is no optical zoom for the sound video. This seems like a horrendous oversight. I'm a little bummed out.

Caterpillar said:
Brett DiMichele said:

I just decided to try what you said.. Yes you can zoom a small amount
from the location you was zoomed to when you started recording and out
slightly then back in. But it's not optical (listen to the camera,
do you hear
the zoom mechanism working?? I don't..)

So yes it zooms somewhat, but it is not the optical zoom.

Click to expand...

Could be Brett. Frankly, I don't really go for movies in DCs. I
only got to use this a couple of times to help a high jumper
analyze his jump and some runners on their form as they run high
speed. But I was really surprised to hear sound and get a zoom!

--
---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

Randy Collins · Sep 25, 2003

If I remember correctly to the few times that I've taken movies with my UZI, I think it allows you to zoom while in movie mode with sound.

Thing is, the zoom is LOUD....not really functional at all.

--
Randy C.
C-2100 * C-740 * C-5050 * TCON-17
San Antonio, TX

ctd. · Sep 25, 2003

Very few cameras allow optical zoom with sound because the noise of the optical zoom comes out very loudly in the sound track (the zoom mechanism being so close to the microphone). I guess it would be useable if you were prepared to discard the sound for that part of the video. Its not an oversight, its intentional. Phil has some comments on the issue in some of his reviews (although I can't think of which ones at the moment. Also see some of Steve's comments on his website)

I saw somewhere recently a digi video camera that took 2mp still photos. If you want good video and still photos, you really have to go with a video camera that takes stills.

A still camera with video will never ever give high quality video; but there is a possibility that at some time in the future the still photos from a video camera will be of sufficient quality to satisfy quite a number (but not all) people (anyway, thats my non professional/techinical feeling).

christroy · Sep 26, 2003

I initially thought about getting a video camera that did stills, but the quality of the stills was poor, and I don't have the need to film long videos. I see your point about the noise of the zoom, but is the zoom really that loud and that frequent? Video cameras all do zoom and sound, so the technology certainly exists (but at what cost?)

What bothers me the most is the fact that the lack of optical zoom on the sound video is buried on pg 89 (or something) of the manual. A buyer is not made readily aware of this.

I am going to ask Olympus for an explanation.

ctd. said:
Very few cameras allow optical zoom with sound because the noise of
the optical zoom comes out very loudly in the sound track (the zoom
mechanism being so close to the microphone). I guess it would be
useable if you were prepared to discard the sound for that part of
the video. Its not an oversight, its intentional. Phil has some
comments on the issue in some of his reviews (although I can't
think of which ones at the moment. Also see some of Steve's
comments on his website)

I saw somewhere recently a digi video camera that took 2mp still
photos. If you want good video and still photos, you really have to
go with a video camera that takes stills.

A still camera with video will never ever give high quality video;
but there is a possibility that at some time in the future the
still photos from a video camera will be of sufficient quality to
satisfy quite a number (but not all) people (anyway, thats my non
professional/techinical feeling).

arielshiran · Sep 26, 2003

I will be happy if you can tell me what how the Olympus representative answers this question. Please update the forum when you get Olympus response. I still have thoughts about buying the UZ750 too.
Ariel.

christroy said:
What bothers me the most is the fact that the lack of optical zoom
on the sound video is buried on pg 89 (or something) of the manual.
A buyer is not made readily aware of this.

I am going to ask Olympus for an explanation.

ctd. said:

Very few cameras allow optical zoom with sound because the noise of
the optical zoom comes out very loudly in the sound track (the zoom
mechanism being so close to the microphone). I guess it would be
useable if you were prepared to discard the sound for that part of
the video. Its not an oversight, its intentional. Phil has some
comments on the issue in some of his reviews (although I can't
think of which ones at the moment. Also see some of Steve's
comments on his website)

I saw somewhere recently a digi video camera that took 2mp still
photos. If you want good video and still photos, you really have to
go with a video camera that takes stills.

A still camera with video will never ever give high quality video;
but there is a possibility that at some time in the future the
still photos from a video camera will be of sufficient quality to
satisfy quite a number (but not all) people (anyway, thats my non
professional/techinical feeling).

Click to expand...

christroy · Sep 28, 2003

I haven't heard Olympus yet, but interestingly, the FUJI S5000 also has no optical zoom with the sound videos. I suppose that there is a cost/physical limitation (perhaps too much power consumption or processing required?), or as suggested before, the noise of the zoom interferes with the recording.

arielshiran said:
christroy said:

What bothers me the most is the fact that the lack of optical zoom
on the sound video is buried on pg 89 (or something) of the manual.
A buyer is not made readily aware of this.

I am going to ask Olympus for an explanation.

ctd. said:

Very few cameras allow optical zoom with sound because the noise of
the optical zoom comes out very loudly in the sound track (the zoom
mechanism being so close to the microphone). I guess it would be
useable if you were prepared to discard the sound for that part of
the video. Its not an oversight, its intentional. Phil has some
comments on the issue in some of his reviews (although I can't
think of which ones at the moment. Also see some of Steve's
comments on his website)

I saw somewhere recently a digi video camera that took 2mp still
photos. If you want good video and still photos, you really have to
go with a video camera that takes stills.

A still camera with video will never ever give high quality video;
but there is a possibility that at some time in the future the
still photos from a video camera will be of sufficient quality to
satisfy quite a number (but not all) people (anyway, thats my non
professional/techinical feeling).

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

caterpillar · Sep 28, 2003

Mainly it's the noise. To retain the sound option with the optical zoom would have introduced the sound of the motors into the video clip. I thought it was optical in the beginning, but I was told otherwise.

I don't go much for video on digicam's as the image quality is poor even at highest resolution and even at 640 x 480 (future versions, perhaps?), it would eat up precious storage and xD cards are still a tad too high in cost compared to CF cards. I only used this to help some athletes analyze their running, jumping, and/or throwing forms.

christroy said:
arielshiran said:

christroy said:

What bothers me the most is the fact that the lack of optical zoom
on the sound video is buried on pg 89 (or something) of the manual.
A buyer is not made readily aware of this.

I am going to ask Olympus for an explanation.

ctd. said:

Very few cameras allow optical zoom with sound because the noise of
the optical zoom comes out very loudly in the sound track (the zoom
mechanism being so close to the microphone). I guess it would be
useable if you were prepared to discard the sound for that part of
the video. Its not an oversight, its intentional. Phil has some
comments on the issue in some of his reviews (although I can't
think of which ones at the moment. Also see some of Steve's
comments on his website)

I saw somewhere recently a digi video camera that took 2mp still
photos. If you want good video and still photos, you really have to
go with a video camera that takes stills.

A still camera with video will never ever give high quality video;
but there is a possibility that at some time in the future the
still photos from a video camera will be of sufficient quality to
satisfy quite a number (but not all) people (anyway, thats my non
professional/techinical feeling).

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
---------------------

Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

A question to 750UZ owners

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