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
This review is from: Olympus Stylus 770SW 7.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)I have an Olympus 770 SW (NOT the 720 SW), for sure...and I like it. I have had five digital cameras before, and this one is terrific. Considering that it's a sub-compact pocket camera, image quality is fine (not equal to that of a digital SLR, but I don't want to carry around a big box like a DSLR). Shadow detail is especially impressive. Operation is smooth and intuitive. The screen is fine, even outdoors. Shutter lag, a big concern of mine as I like to photograph my kids at sports, is minimal and can be zero if you prefocus. The number of custom scene settings is impressive. I bought it because of the waterproofing and shockproofing, and because of prior good experience with Olympus over the years, but I'm just as happy with the pictures it takes under normal circumstances too.A few gripes that stop me from giving the camera 5 stars:1. The battery cannot be recharged when it's in the camera. For a total of $80 or so, you can get an external power source and a cable, and together they let the camera run a long time without draining the battery, but they don't charge the battery. Battery life is fine for a day of normal shooting, but if you use the camera actively, every single night you pretty much have to unlock the case, take out the battery and charge it, then remember to put the battery back in the next day. Each charge takes 5 hours. I'm going to take the same $80 and instead buy two extra batteries to be comfortable--One in the camera, one reserve along with me, and another charging at home. Even so, it will take some planning and thinking to keep batteries ready all the time on a vacation. It would have been much nicer to have a holster or a charging socket on the case.2. The case is actually smaller than it needs to be. It could be significantly bigger and still fit in my shirt pocket, which is my standard size requirement. As it is, the advanced engineering is impressive to pack all the features in a tiny box, but the camera is more expensive than need be, the lens is smaller than it should be (depending on zoom position, the lens is between f/3.5 to f/5.0, which is pretty weak), it's harder to hold the camera than need be, and if the case were bigger, there would be room for a nice little charging socket too.3. There is indeed a background, almost mechanical noise introduced when filming videos. It probably can be filtered out, as it's very constant and very low pitched, but it's mildly annoying.4. Time between shots is too long--it takes several seconds to save each shot at full resolution.5. You can use the internal memory only if there's no memory card in the slot. Given the slow transfer speed to the card, it sure would be nice to be able to save a dozen or so shots very quickly to the internal memory and then transfer them to the memory when you have time.For all that, though, I'm really looking forward to using this camera on a forthcoming sea kayaking and snorkeling trip this summer. With one camera, I'll be able to take snapshots above and below water, also modest videos underwater (there's a special scene selection to do just that)!
This review is from: Olympus Stylus 770SW 7.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)Salt water spray has claimed two of my previous cameras so when I read about this camera and the Pentax Option W30 I decided one of the two would be a very valuable investment. The next question was deciding which one to buy.The Pentax is a superior camera. Colors are more saturated, and it has lower noise higher up the ISO range. Also, the Pentax produces videos that are 30FPS (the Olymmpus only goes up to 15FPS) which is a huge advantage. Also, the Pentax uses SD cards, which are available at higher density and faster speed.The Olympus, on the other hand, is much more bulletproof.First of all, it will survive down to 30' whereas the Pentax is limited to 10. I wanted a camera that could survive light snorkeling. I routinely breath-hold dive to 12'-15' and I'd hate to have a camera on me that I would worry about. With the Olympus I just do whatever I want. Second, the Olympus is crush proof. I can slap the thing in my backpocket and sit on it and not break it (I weigh about 190#). I can get on my boat, throw the thing on the deck with the rest of my gear, and watch it bounce around unharmed. The Pentax is just not that strong.In the end, since I already have a camera that takes brilliant, vivid pictures with great resolution and also takes great video (a Canon SD550) I decided rugged was more important than marginally better optical rendition. I figured the Olympus would take...
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