Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Wide Angle Zoom (Black) by Olympus
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Digital camera reviews of Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Wide Angle Zoom (Black)
Digital camera Review: Great Camera on Paper...
Summary: 2 Stars
I really wanted to love this camera. It has everything I wanted: rugged, compact, waterproof, and takes great pictures. I currently have a Panasonic Lumix TZ-5, and a the Panasonic waterproof casing for it, and never used this combo with the Olympus Stylus 1030 SW around!
It was so easy to carry the Stylus 1030 SW around on the pool/beach and into the water. It starts up almost immediately upon pressing the power button so I never missed a shot. I loved that it was shock-proof so I didn't have to mentally treat it with kid gloves, and there are no protrusions on the camera to worry about breaking.
Now the bad news. After the first time going into the pool for about 3 feet underwater, the camera seems to be adversely affected. I was extra careful and followed the directions regarding checking the seals for foreign objects that may cause leaks, and they were properly closed.
I noticed that the videos taken (maybe from this point on, maybe always had this problem) had a smudge about the middle of the screen. This was not dirt on the outside of the lens where I can get at and clean. It would disappear under certain lighting conditions, but most underwater shots had it. My guess is that it's an internal reflective defect or dirt on the optics. Curiously, I don't notice it in my photos, just videos.
In addition to this, the lens would fog up during the night after some underwater excursions. The fog would cloud up the lens internally, so all photos and videos were foggy. Holding the camera in my hands would warm it up, causing the fog to get cloudier. As a work-around, I would air dry the camera each night with all its ports open, but this doesn't always work.
Another major drawback of this camera that was not publicized very well is that you MUST use the type M+ XD memory card to record VGA in 30 frames/sec. Using the included adapter my 4GB MicroSDHC card, you are limited to 10 seconds VGA 30 frames/sec videos. You can record lower resolution or VGA with 15 frames/sec videos without the M+ XD memory card, though.
Additionally, my videos would sometimes have strange regular very loud clicking sounds, about once click per second for certain stretches. This was very disconcerting.
I also noticed that the videos of bright lights indoors would sometimes have vertical glares above and below the light sources. I never noticed this phenomenon on my TZ-5 videos.
The final weird restriction that I found out only after using this camera was that it had two video modes: Underwater, and Non-underwater. In Underwater mode, you have no audio, but can use zoom. In Non-underwater mode, you can record audio, but cannot zoom. Perhaps the zooming caused horrible audio noises to be recorded so the engineers decided to never record audio while allowing zooming?
In conclusion, the Olympus Stylus 1030 SW was everything I was looking for on paper and would have been a wonderful all purpose point-and-shoot photo and video camera for all occasions. Unfortunately, my particular unit seemed not be quite waterproof as advertised, and the model had some major design drawbacks in the areas of video recording.
I really cannot recommend this camera based on the unit I had.
Update 9/6/08
The return process at Amazon.com was extremely smooth and painless. I definitely recommend Amazon.com based on their customer service.
Update 9/12/08
Upon looking at my pictures taken with this camera, I noticed that they did not have the proper orientation flag set. On my other digital cameras, my landscape and portrait shots have proper orientation flags so that programs like Picasa can auto-rotate. Not so with this camera. Seems like a strange omission from Olympus.
Digital camera Review: Great Camera, except for zoom and black color panel
Summary: 4 Stars
I have the black version of this camera and I have loved using it. I have put it through a lot and tried it in many different conditions and it has been great. The only drawbacks are the minimal zoom, the fact that it does not have zoom while in video mode, and the color panel (in my case, black) on the front has gotten really scratched. The black has been scratched away in places to reveal the silver camera underneath. I wish I had known about this scratch problem because I would have chosen the silver camera instead.
Overall, I am very pleased with this camera and it works perfectly with the recommended 2G chip. Holds tons of pictures and videos.
Digital camera Review: Great Underwater Photos and Video!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using a Sony camera for a few years and was fairly happy with it. My first digicam was an Olympus and I loved it, I'm still not sure why I bought a Sony after that??? Well, I'm happy to say that I'm back with Olympus again in this fine camera!
Compared to the Soney Cybershot T-9, the Olympus is just slightly bigger and heavier, but not much of either. I really like the way it is put together, feels solid and well made. I've only used it for about a week now so I can't report thoroughly on it but here are my first impressions...
The Good: Solid, well made feel. Large LCD screen is very clear and easy to see in daylight. Waterproof feature is great! The macro functions are very nice, there is an LED light that can be turned on to highlight the subject. It works well in Macro mode but not good for much more. I'm not a pro but I think it takes awesome pictures. The underwater shots I took on the first day (in the pool) were fantastic. Everybody that sees them thinks they are great too! I also took some underwater video and it came out great. The underwater settings seem to work well but I haven't tried any other settings underwater yet. One thing I want to try is video with sound underwater just to see what it picks up. I am not using the software that came with the camera so I can't comment on that, but I will say that it comes with Olympus software that is pretty extensive. I remember the version on my old Olympus was pretty good but now I just use what's included with Windows Vista, which is fine for me right now.
The Not So Good: The controls are a bit small so it is sometimes difficult to get my chubby fingers on the right buttons. Just a minor annoyance though. The wrist strap that comes with the camera is nice but for a camera whose main feature is Waterproof, they should have included a beefier strap that could cinch up around your wrist. If I were a to take this camera in deeper water I would want a better strap to ensure it wouldn't come off and sink to the bottom.
That's all I have for now. I've had no problems at all so far and the waterproof features are working well. Just remember to flush the camera with fresh water after you take it in the pool or ocean and make sure all the seals are intact before you dunk it in any water!
Digital camera Review: Great camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this camera at a dive show. The Olympus rep placed the camera flat and then hit the LCD with a closed fist. I've broken many a point N shoot, so after seeing that, I figured this one would last a bit longer. I just returned from Little Cayman. The camera was dropped, it still worked; submerged in salt water, still worked; submerged in a pitcher of beer, still worked; and subjected to normal stresses found on a bouncing boat and it still works! The battery lasted for several days prior to needing a recharge. The UW pics turned out ok. Most required some color correction but nothing horrible. I'd like if the camera would record in RAW. For snorkeling, this would be great or shallow dives.Digital camera Review: Great camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great camera for underwater and travel. It is very easy to use, it takes good pictures and it truly is waterproof, drop-proof, crush-proof and so much more!
The only issue I had with it was drying the lens off after taking it out of the water when I wanted to take an above water picture. Otherwise, I love it! It certainly serves its purpose.