The Olympus Stylus 770SW is the Incredible Hulk of digital cameras. It can be dunked in water to depths of 33 feet, crushed by a weight up to 220 pounds, dropped from a height of up to 5 feet, and frozen to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Sure, you can do that to other cameras too, but the 770SW differs from them because it will still function afterward.
The 7.1-megapixel 770SW has a basic feature set and an advanced sturdy housing. It has a 3x optical zoom lens and a 2.5-inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels. While other similar cameras have 3x lenses and 7 megapixels, most include only half the LCD screen resolution of the Olympus model. The Pentax Optio W30 and W20 are both examples.
The 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.8-inch camera has 18 MB of internal memory and is compatible with xD-Picture cards – but only up to 2 GB. Most digital cameras can accept greater capacities of memory, but 2 GB should be enough for this model – mainly because its Movie mode isn’t worth activating.
With 27 shooting modes, this Stylus has a nice selection of Scene modes but doesn’t offer much for photographers who want to manually control everything. The list of Scene modes includes four Underwater modes.
Listed among the Scene modes is the Movie mode, which can record video at resolutions of 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 160 x 120 pixels, but at a choppy 15 frames per second. Audio can be recorded – even underwater – so you can catch the drone of the sea when videoing Davy Jones’ Locker. Too bad the picture itself will look bad.
The Olympus Stylus 770SW appeals to the adventurer with its Swiss Army knife-like multifunctionality. It has a built-in manometer to measure the air or water pressure and to then record the elevation in the file information of photographs. Its LED auto focus assist lamp can be used as a flashlight when the camera is turned off. The 770SW has an alarm clock, too.
These features are nice, but not nice enough to cover up the glaring problems with the digital camera. The choppy movies are disappointing, as are the incredibly inaccurate colors in pictures and videos. The camera is touted as waterproof, but the seals around the battery and ports let water seep into the edges of the compartments. In addition, there is an inexcusable amount of shutter lag and processing time. The retail price isn’t very attractive either: $379.
There aren't that many waterproof digital cameras. Pentax and Olympus are the leaders in this field. Pentax's cameras include the W30, which can go underwater to 10 feet for 2 hours. The Pentax W20 only goes to 5 feet for 30 minutes. Both cameras are less expensive though. They aren't crush and freeze-proof; they seem to be tailored to casual beach-goers who won't snorkel under a few feet of water anyway.
The Olympus Stylus 770SW is good for mountaineers. What other camera still functions in such extreme conditions? This model is also good for parents who have had other electronics ruined from dips in the toilet or the ocean. The 770SW can take a beating from backpackers and toddlers and still keep snapping photos. The photos won’t be glorious at all, so you have to make a choice. Do you want great pictures or a camera that can fall from 5 feet, be dunked in 33 feet of water, frozen to 14 degrees, or crushed with 220 pounds?
