Labs

The weatherproof mju: 740 can cope with the British climate or beach holidays better than most cameras. Its 5x zoom lens is a great asset for both keen photographers and casual snappers.

Performance is disappointing at three seconds between shots though, and the continuous mode can only capture three shots in a row. Video is recorded at 640 x 380 pixels at 15fps, or 320 x 240 at 30fps, giving jerky or blocky results respectively. We don't particularly like the menu layout, but a Function button gives quick access to the most important settings. On-screen help is available in menus and there's a Guide mode that presents camera options as a series of objectives.

Image quality was respectable in most of our tests, but detail was a step behind the leaders. Noise was reasonably low though, even at the top ISO 1600 setting. Pictures were well-exposed and skin tones handled well, but some colours were a little skewed, giving grass a turquoise tint.