Olympus Stylus 770 SW / µ Digital 770 SW Digital Camera

This is marketed as a rough and tough go-anywhere 7.1 mp compact digital camera. Compact and rough it is, but it lacks the picture quality that I have come to expect from Olympus, more on that later!

The Packaging

Olympus, like many other camera manufacturers are slimming down their product packaging. This camera comes in a small box with a battery charger, battery, and quick start guide. The two noticeably missing items are the memory card, and multi-language instruction manual. Have cameras become easier to use? Have manufacturers become more eco-friendly? Or have manufacturers decided to put more value into the camera to stay competitive in today's market? I think it is a mixture of all three, and I am glad for the slim packaging. (All manuals are available to download on the Olympus website)

First Impressions

This camera looks as though it is built to uphold its promises. The solid metal body protects it from 5 foot drops, and the multiple gaskets, locks, and bolts protect it up to 30 feet in the water. Still, with the built in speaker and plethora of buttons, I was wary to get it wet! With all those buttons, I was also surprised not to find a video button! Where was the video promised on the box?!?

It is a bit larger than a deck of cards, and much heavier, but it fits easily into a purse, or even a pocket. The lanyard is attached to a secure bit of metal, and unlike many, this one was easy to attach. The hole is big enough to accommodate most straps. The lanyard supplied is just a wrist strap, but I would suggest an adjustable strap to take it swimming, to avoid it getting lost in the waves.

The 3x optical zoom lens is covered by a steel cover that opens and closes when the camera is turned on and off. On first glance it looks sturdy, but this was the first thing to break!

The Camera

After charging the battery, the camera is ready for its first test-drive. The inbuilt memory can only hold about 6 pictures at good quality (why shoot at anything less?) so an xD picture card is also a requirement.

Because this camera is waterproof, the usb port, xD card slot, and battery slot are all protected by locking doors. The lock mechanism is a small plastic lock that needs to be slid across a few millimeters. This is easy for me, with nails and small fingers. However, it is very difficult for my father with bigger hands, and perhaps not as much patience. The gaskets all appear to be well built, and not easily scratched or damaged. However, if the get sandy, they DO NOT work! (Can't say I am surprised…)

The camera fits quite nicely in my hand, and all the controls are within finger or thumb distance, with the shutter and power under the finger, and the zoom at the tip of the thumb. However, they are not at all intuitive. Firstly, the functions are printed in gray, on a silver metal background. In most light, you have to move the camera around to make out what they say. There is a single button to bring up the different modes; a camera icon, shaky hand, and the letters "scn". (More on these later.)

Below the mode button, there is a play button that can also be used to view favorites. As this is just a play button, and not mode, you can not have the lens protected while your pass the camera around to show off a picture. To me this is a big drawback… I am not worried about kids dropping the camera, or even spilling their drink on it, but I have to worry about them touching the lens with sticky fingers!

Underneath here is the standard 5-way button pad. This gives direct access to control the white balance, flash, timer, close-up mode (macro), and a center button for OK and Function. The directional buttons are also used to scroll through pictures in playback mode. This dial is not very easy to use, and it is another instance on this camera where I have to use the tip of my nail to make it work.

At the very bottom there is a menu button, and a print button. The menu is different, depending on what mode you are in. On a whole, it is difficult to use with poor graphic quality. The white writing on a gray background is difficult to read, and the menus don't flow through naturally.

The 2.5" LCD is bright, clear, and not obstructed by my fingers. I am more accustomed to looking through a viewfinder, but I find this LCD gives a true image, and it is easy to compose shots in most conditions. The exception is on the surface of the water, but more on that later.

The display shows the mode in the top left corner, the image size along the bottom, and the amount of images remaining. If any other specific functions are chosen, they also show on the display.


Lets go through the modes, which let this camera down!

Default
The default mode (camera icon) offers two options. (Why two you ask in default mode? Sorry, I have no idea!) You can have a full "Auto" mode, and a "P" mode.

"Auto" mode, like most cameras, can't keep up with the wide range of conditions this camera is built for. In low light, the camera over-adjusts the ISO settings and pictures come out grainy. However, for normal daylight scenes it is sufficient. In this mode the menu button will only let you change the resolution, and the only thing the "func" button will do is change the camera to "P". (You can still adjust white balance, flash, macro, and timer with the 5-way button.)

The "P" mode gives you some control. On top of the standard changes from the 5-way button, you can adjust white balance, ISO, drive (so you can take a rapid sequence of pictures), and metering mode (ESP or spot). I like to shoot most pictures in this mode so I can easily control the ISO and metering.

Image Stabilizer

The shaky hand is obviously the image stabilizer. I think I have a relatively steady hand, so I don't use this mode. I also find that it slows the camera down slightly, and doesn't give any control of the ISO setting. It also takes pictures that I perceive to be of lower quality. On other cameras, I just bring the viewfinder to my eye to steady the picture, so I imagine this mode will be very helpful for some.

Scene

With 24 scene modes, this camera covers many shooting conditions. They are the much the same as the modes on my Olympus SP-350, and Olympus seems to have the formula right for each one.

I don't think it is necessary to cover them all, but here are my favorites.

The Self Portrait mode (you know all those drunken arm extended ones?) cleverly adjusts the power of the flash so that the pictures come out right every time. It also softens the pictures with use of aperture settings.

The Behind Glass Mode is also helpful. It turns off the flash, but often adjusts the ISO settings to compensate.

I love to cook, so the Cuisine mode is tops! It represents the appetizing colors truly and vividly. It changes the camera to Macro mode, so it only works close-up.

The Beach/Snow mode is good at adjusting all of the glare. Pictures that would normally appear oversaturated and overexposed come out much more accurately.

There are 4 underwater modes, which all remind you not to go below 33 ft (10m). It is very important to use, as red light is lost the deeper you go underwater. However, all the pictures are still very blue, and I have decided Photoshop is far more effective at correcting the light and colors.

Underwater Snapshot is for taking portraits underwater. It works perfectly when the subject is about 3 feet away, but is not ideal for any other circumstances.

Underwater Wide 1 is for taking still life shots of reefs. Fish taken in this mode come out blurry, so don't attempt it! Like landscape mode, it uses infinity focus to take in the whole scene, instead of focusing on the foreground.

Underwater Wide 2 is the same as above, but shutter speed has the priority to capture moving fish. There is not enough available light underwater (and the flash creates too much back-splatter) to catch very fast moving sea creatures. However, as this is not meant to be solely an underwater camera, I don't think this detracts too much from the value.

Underwater Macro takes beautiful shots of all the small creatures but the pictures are often grainy due to the low light quality underwater.

The last scene mode is Video. I don't understand why you have to go through so many menus to get to the video mode, because it is sufficient for my video needs. The video quality (Up to 640 x 480) is good, and the audio (even underwater!) is equal to my more expensive Olympus SP-350. As it is so difficult to get to, I have not used it much. Other people I know with this camera didn't even know about the video mode. Big disappointment, Olympus!


Batteries

Battery life is great. The rechargeable Lithium Ion battery charges in a few hours, and lasts about two weeks as a standard pocket camera. That is about 250 pictures, taken in a wide variety of conditions.


Memory

The camera uses xD memory which is pricey. However, I am finding it faster than my old CF cards, and more reliable.


Durability

Let's face it; we bought this camera because it is tough. But just how tough?

The 5-foot shockproof promise was the first to be tested… This 5-foor rule means that is should be fine dropping off any table, bar counter, or out of most people's hands. What about onto concrete from half-way up a flight of stairs? No problem! The tough stainless steel is visibly dented and scratched, but the inner workings of the camera still work, and nothing on the memory card was lost.

Next, the camera was taken for a swim! There is always that first moment when you wince as it goes in the water, and strangers on the beach warn you that your camera is still on your wrist! However, this camera has been snorkeling, swimming, and sailing, without any issues. I have taken it to about 20 feet free diving, and the seals are still perfect. It has also survived a few tumbles in smallish (4-5 feet) waves.

Now here is where the problem starts. Waves contain sand, and unless you are very careful to rinse, soak, and then rinse the camera again after every use, sand eventually works its way into the rubber seals. Yes, the camera then leaks! However, this has happened to 2 people I know, and Olympus replaced the camera without question. Still, I would recommend following the instructions carefully and rinse it under clean running water after each use.

It has not been taking skiing, so I can't vouch for the freeze-proof promise, but it has been sat on, stepped on, and put at the bottom of a very full suitcase, so the crush-proof to 220lbs seems spot on.

After using the camera for about 10 months, it went missing on a bus. It turned up under a seat with the shutter stuck open. This "indestructible" camera must have fallen out of my bag onto a carpeted floor, and dislodged the lens cover. There was nothing else broken, and the camera was unscratched. Unbelievable for it to break in such a gentle way! With the lens cover broken, the camera was useless, and would not turn on. I did try rinsing and soaking it, incase the blame was dried salt, but this didn't help. At least it didn't flood!

The camera, bought in the Caribbean, was sent to Olympus in New York. Luckily, it was still under warranty, so it was returned repaired in less than 10 days (via FedEx) at no cost to us! Good job Olympus for offering a worldwide warranty!


Overall

This camera has many great features, but it fails as a standard point and shoot. If you leave it in one setting, night pictures will be grainy, people will be overexposed, beach pictures are washed out, and mountain greens go grey.

For a camera that debuted on the market at about $350 this is a disappointment. I think so many people only bought it for that amount, as it was one of the first with the shock-proof and waterproof label.

I am also slightly biased, as I have since replaced it (I thought the repairs would take much longer) with the Stylus 850 SW, which is far more user-friendly and takes pictures of a much higher quality.

Now that there are many other available options, I can't recommend this camera in any way.



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