The Olympus mju 760 (Olympus Stylus 760 in the US) is the sixth model in Olympus’ mju range of weatherproof compacts. But just what does this newcomer bring to the party? There’s a 7.1MP sensor that will deliver 20x26cm prints at 300dpi and a 3x optical zoom covering 37-111mm focal length equivalents with Dual Image Stabilisation. A total of 23 scene modes ensure there’s a setting to match the occasion, and the ISO range is 64-1600.

All this technology is wrapped in a subtle wedge-shaped metal body, with a choice of silver, red and blue colour-ways. The rear setting dial is easily operated by your thumb, while the other controls fall neatly to hand, with the ‘func’ button taking you directly to key settings.

The Olympus mju 760 fires up with a whine from the zoom, but the noise disappears in use and the zoom action and AF are both smooth and steady. However, the rear 2.5in LCD is less than satisfactory, with its glossy surface keen to reflect ambient light, making the on-screen information disappear on a sunny day.

Image Quality
Although the Olympus mju 760’s exposures are consistently good, the colours occasionally leave a little to be desired, with reduced contrast and saturation making them look ‘muddy’ at times. Under close examination, images have obvious sharpening artefacts around the edge and noise is generally high across the board, to the point that ISO 1600 isn’t recommended. Stick to modest print sizes and it’s not all bad though.