The 10.1 megapixel Olympus Stylus 1030 SW is a camera built for rugged types. Capable of being submerged underwater up to 33 feet, surviving drops from as high as six feet, calmly ignoring 220 pounds of pressure and shrugging off temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit this is a camera for the sportsman/sportswoman. Its solid metal construction and relatively small size means that you can take it almost anywhere, although it will weigh you down a bit at just over six ounces in weight. The Olympus Stylus 1030 SW is available for $300.

The 1030 SW sports a handsome 2.7-inch display, with a par-for-the-course 230,000-pixel resolution. Most of the camera controls are crowded in to the right of this display, and although they can get a bit fiddly, they are laid out well and provide easy access to all of the most important features. Perhaps our biggest annoyance was the zoom control, found at the top right of the camera back, which doesn't give you a smooth zoom response but rather jumps between preset zoom ranges. We also found the shutter button lacked a two-step design that allows you to depress it slightly to focus and then press it all the way to take the picture. Instead you get a beep to warn you that you're in focus mode.

From a features perspective the 1030 SW offers a 3.6x zoom lens, which is reasonable for a compact camera. The maximum aperture of f/3.5 is a concern however. Aperture controls how much light is allowed onto the sensor. A higher number means less light, and the 1030 SW's relatively high number means you'll need to use a slower shutter speed or higher ISO than you would with cameras that offered lower aperture. This can cause problems with camera shake and noise. Camera shake is particularly concerning because the 1030 SW lacks optical image stabilization to counteract it, a surprising omission considering this camera is likely to find its way into challenging situations.

The Olympus Stylus 1030 SW offers a relatively simple set of manual controls. There's no manual shutter speed or aperture control here, but you can set ISO manually, choose from a variety of white balance presets, make adjustments to exposure compensation and choose from three auto focus settings, including face detection. There are also two metering options available. A wide variety of scene modes is available, including several modes for shooting both photos and videos (at up to 640x480 resolution) underwater. There's also a good selection of burst shooting options for taking fast sequences of photos.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, we submerged the 1030 SW, dropped it, froze it and sat on it. It survived all of these tests with flying colors.

Performance (read in-depth lab performance at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
The Olympus Stylus 1030 SW's performance in our testing was decidedly unimpressive. Color accuracy was poor, resolution was average and we detected far too much image noise in the photos. The camera also had problems with both automatic and preset white balance modes. On the plus side, the 1030 SW did post solid dynamic range scores. This means you should be able to capture photos that have a wide range from the darkest to brightest parts of the scene. The camera also did a reasonable job in low light, although as with all point-and-shoots, don't expect any miracles here.

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at Digitalcamerainfo.com)
The Olympus Stylus 1030 SW is one of a handful of rugged underwater cameras in the consumer marketplace. Compared to more pedestrian, non-waterproof models such as the Panasonic Lumix DCM-LZ8 and the Canon PowerShot S5 IS, the price-to-image-quality ratio for the 1030 SW is not very impressive. On the other hand, neither of these cameras will survive under the harsh conditions the 1030 SW can handle. If you’re eager to take a camera along while snorkeling, snowboarding or skiing, this Olympus can deliver photos you’d never get otherwise for a relatively modest $300. For more run-of-the-mill photography, though, there are better choices.