Olympus Stylus 770SW 7.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver) | List Price: $379.99
Discount Price: $199.94
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Brand: Olympus
Binding: Electronics
Release Date: 2007-03-05
Features: - 7.1-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 15 x 20-inch prints
- 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD screen minimizes glare
- 3x optical zoom with Digital Image Stabilization mode
- Waterproof, freeze-proof, and crush-proof design
- 27 Shooting modes including Movie with Sound
Rock solid adventure/theme park/pool/boat/ companion [Posted on 2008-06-23]
After a lot of research we bought the Olympus 770SW to have a camera we could take snorkeling, hiking, and many places/activities where I would not take my Nikon D80 or our beloved Minolta (RIP) point and shoot. I was concerned about reviewers who mentioned soft images and image quality. I'm fairly critical when looking at images, and I believe there is little to worry about for 90%+ of users on that score. We used the camera over a week in Orlando, through swamp boat rides, log flume rides, swimming pools, snorkeling, and pretty much everywhere and are very happy with it and our results.
Pros: Solidly built and appears to stand up to the dropping, submersion, and crushing Olympus claims. Fit easily in velcro pocket of cargo shorts. Good feel in the hand (balance, button placement). Picture quality has been well above expectations (see comments under cons below for caveats). I found the menus to be easily learned and intuitive (some reviewers don't like the menu set-up). Others mentioned battery life, but in fairly heavy use (over 100 exposures per day, many with fill flash, and lots of "power on time" reviewing pictures on the LCD), we never ran the battery to zero (we did charge every night though). The LCD is bright and clear and just excellent.
Cons: There is a notable delay from shutter press to firing, even when pre-focused. The delay is about the same as a 2003 era point and shoot, and we were easily able to overcome this by anticipating most of the time. The only place this was an issue was snorkeling after fish and trying to get them in-frame and in focus. They do not like to stay still, so the delay was a bit tough in that pursuit, but I still got some good shots with persistence. The flash is quite anemic. Very weak. Much much worse than a typical p&S flash these days. There is no viewfinder, which is an issue when trying to shoot using the LCD in bright sun. A few times we'd try to cup our hands over the LCD to try to line up a shot. The lens is in a position where one might inadvertantly have a finger or two in frame, but this is again easily resolved with some practice on hand position. Images tended to lack deep black tones and may appear somewhat washed out. This is easily fixed in Photoshop by hitting control L and bumping up the black level (moving the left-most triangle slider to the right) on images. Image quality with some light Photoshop work was excellent. Even the anemic flash can be somewhat overcome by brightening in the "level" function of Photoshop (moving the right-most slider left). Also, the camera is not buoyant AT ALL, so if you are in deep water, maybe you should get one of those floaty straps. In snorkeling, the included wrist strap worked for me, but I can see how in open water one might want something more floatable or more firmly attached to the diver.
The cons list is long here because I wanted to give a full honest appraisal of the camera, not because I'm trying to be critical. None of these cons stopped us from getting the pictures we hoped for with this camera.
The short version of this review is that this is a seemingly bulletproof camera that has worked great, and helped my family get a lot of great images of things we never would have had otherwise. The joy on our 2 year old's face as she leaps into daddy's arms in the pool (from the splash zone), our ten year old son's snorkeling adventure, the grandparents getting drenched on various log flume rides, a squirt gun fight, everyone getting soaked in a tropical downpour. We look forward to many more years of getting these kinds of shots that we wouldn't have otherwise. Great, tough little companion. I recommend it for any outdoors person.
Horrible Experience!!?!! [Posted on 2008-07-05]
I read all the reviews before I chose to buy this camera. Having three kids, a shockproof and waterproof camera sounded unbelievable and perfect for me. At first it was great. The pictures came out great and the camera was very user friendly. I love to take pictures and had the camera in my purse at all times to never miss a golden opportunity of the perfect picture. Then after using it one day with no problems, two days later when I went to use it again and the camera would not stay on. I tried a new battery, but still nothing. So much for this camera, its was supposed to be shockproof and waterproof yet it broke in its case inside of my purse.
Not very waterproof and hard to take pictures with [Posted on 2008-07-08]
I had this camera flood once although it may have been user error. Olympus fixed it and returned it. Then the next time I used it anywhere near water the screen stopped working. Well it comes on for a couple seconds but then goes black. This doesn't seem like a water issue but I don't know what else it could be. So I am not sure whether to send it back to Olympus or forget about it. Also, in general while the pictures are OK for what it is, it's really hard to take pictures with. You can't see a thing on the screen in daylight or under water and the screen illuminator feature doesn't seem to do anything. I got lots of pictures of fish going either into or out of the picture, not fish nicely centered on the picture. When the picture does come out it is nice, but it is not easy. Perhaps I am spoiled by DSLR but I was hoping for something a little better and more reliable.
Undependable and No Support [Posted on 2008-07-14]
I bought this camera in anticipation of a long planned trip to Hawaii. On my fourth snorkeling trip,(no more than 15 feet deep) the camera quit. Went back to the boat to change the battery and water poured from the inside. Sent Olympus an e-mail seeking help and got no response from them until five weeks later giving me their standard warranty BS.
Food Porn without Pain [Posted on 2008-07-15]
I suppose I could easily do a video review and really show off the camera - but I'm in writing mode at the moment. At any rate, we bought the camera to take underwater photos on a snorkeling vacation - where it performed perfectly - but I love it for food blogging. The macro feature takes perfect food porn pictures effortlessly, and if you get a bit of bechamel on your lens, it washes or wipes right off. I'm neither a trained or talented photographer, but I've been very happy with this product, which we've had for a year.
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