Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Olympus Stylus 850 SW (waterproof and shockproof)

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1365

Does anyone here have any experience with this camera? I'm mostly interested about picture quality e.g., image sharpness.

My Nikon Coolpix bit the dust (thank goodness, as it was a POS - can I say fuzzy and "lens error"?) and, while visiting my parents in TN, I dropped my Canon Powershot for the last time.

(I read through the camera threads on this board and the subject camera wasn't really mentioned, nor discussed).

Thanks!

Tina:

I don't have the 850, but I do own a 790SW - last year's model. It is an adequate camera - not the best. But it can hold up to some punishment. I do a lot of running, so was looking for something to stand up to the shock of constant jarring from miles and miles of running, and from the moisture that often accompanies running - especially when it's me.

I looked at three cameras, and choose the Olympus becuause of it's durability. Here's a short write up on my blog: Olympus 790SW.

The camera is not a great low light camera, but does okay in good lighting. Here's an example from low light conditions (including some video from the camera), and some better quaity stuff from my recent Run to the Top of Baldy. One thing to keep in mind - the camera is compact enough that I "ran" to the top of Baldy with the camera in my palm the whole way.

Soft images from the Stylus SW camera line. A regular stylus will give sharper images. It's kind of a pricey camera for the features. The only real advantage is the shock and waterproof features. You can get more bang for your buck with another brand.
Their 420 SLR is a good small camera that will give you real nice results and not cost a lot.

Hi,

My wife bought me one of these for my birthday in June, I used it in July up in Lassen,Baldy, White, Telescope and finally Whitney in August. It did everything I wanted it to do..

If you are a perfectionist when taking pictures then its probably not for you. If you want an easy to use "point and shoot" that will fit into a case on your backpack shoulder strap then its fine.

My wife has a Sony and she got tired of me beating it up, now she wants my camera. It is very user friendly and as I like to say, its "Fireman Proof". It is all about what you want to do with it.

Good Luck,

Ron

I have one of the prior versions: see link below:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06082306oly725sw.asp

The camera was ok for what I was using it for, i.e. taking photos when fishing, when I was sure the camera would get wet if not dunked and having no time to play with buttons. It was also reassuring that it could take and has taken) several bumps and drops and still works fine including a full submersion while fishing off Montauk last fall.

It lacks the flexibility of my DSLR of course, but then again, it was not designed for the same purpose. If you can, get one of those small tripods for use in lower light, since it lacks some of the low light level settings as an SLR, a small tripod (light to carry) would assist in taking sharper pics on the trail or in camp in the early morning oe evening.

Good luck!

I have the Olympus Stylus 830 (water resistant). I really like the low weight (<5oz with battery), the durability and that you can get panaramic shots. It is also fairly intuative.
Though I'm a point and shoot kind of person, it has a bunch more features that I know some of you photo geeks out there would have fun with. Good luck.