Description The Stylus 1030 SW is one tough camera. The Shockproof, Waterproof, Freezeproof and Dustproof design gives active people the confidence to take this camera anywhere and shoot in nearly any condition. ...
Summary This camera was great for me, until recently.
I bought it 24 August 2008 and as I had dropped and broken 2 other cameras, I decided it was time to invest in a new one.
I looked online and decided the olypmus was my best bet, as I also had a friend who had the older model and we had borrowed it on a family holiday. The underwater pictures were great and I was excited to buy my own.
I have had no problems until now with this camera, the picture quality is good, not the best but that is what you expect with an underwater/freezeproof/shockproof camera.
I can so far vouch for the shock and drop proof qualities as I have dropped it a few times and it takes a good battering.
I climbed a glacier earlier this year and the camera had no problems with the low temperatures and it was raining yet I didn't have to put mine away. This is one of the reasons I loved this camera!
As for use underwater, the feature I use the most I am at a loss. It worked perfectly for me on many occasions, in the sea, in the swimming pool and generally being wet. I never took it beyond a few metres but I never encountered any problems.
On holiday this summer just under a year after purchase I was in the swimming pool and I noticed the camera was having problems. The screen was funny with lines across it looking like water was inside the viewing screen. I took it out immediately and found water in the battery compartment. I let it dry out and didn't use it underwater again as I feared it would break. It worked perfectly for other holiday snaps out of water.
When I got home my dad checked it as he is a photographer. He said he found a bit of sand or grit in the seal, and he tested it in the sink it seemed to be working fine now.
I then used it last week in a hot tub at my friends. Now I didn't worry as I had used it before in the hot tub so I knew it could cope with the temperature and we didn't use it too much underwater. But this time after the first use it looked very funny with lots of condensation and again water inside the screen. I dried it out in rice immediately overnight and then took it out the next day. The screen was very foggy, but when i looked at older pictures they were picture perfect and clear so it wasn't the screen but must have been a problem within the lens. I then put it in the hot press with a dehumidifier pack and left it again.
Today I have found it is much better with clear pictures although they look faintly stripy. It's not the same as before but I think this is all I will get.
I bought this from www.simplyelectronics.net and I had no problems with the order but their guarantee service was rubbish. I had e-mailed after the summer holiday as I knew my year would soon be up but they made it pretty clear all risk and payment was with myself and since it was not completely broken I knew it would cost me more to try and get it fixed.
I am in conclusion, writing to warn you all. This is supposed to be an underwater camera but it seems from mine and other reviews it can change at any point with no warning. The seals seem to be weak and I am no longer going to risk putting it anywhere near water. And until I can afford a new camera I will be taking photos in my new stripy quality. If you find any problems underwater do air it out right away and I found the rice and humidifier pack worked really well although it did not return it to the original state.
I would be less angry if I hadn't paid so much for this camera, as you can buy 10 mega pixel cameras for so cheap these days, I was only paying the extra presuming this camera would last me so much longer.
Strengths Good size, great battery life, big screen and easy to use.
Summary great to begin with, took it to the local pool, great, no probs underwater, then took it to the coast, began ok, then after a couple of days it says that the memory card cover is not seated correctly, then that the battery compartment is open?? i immediately get out the water, dry off, open the back cover and .....bloody water everywhere. not happy one bit. camera ruined, the black paint peels off very easily and the lense 'surround' just fell off after a short while.
Summary This camera is OK. It seems to me that it always uses the lowest aperture even when set to landscape mode which is not ideal. Although it blows for large landscapes compared to other cheaper cameras it does have underwater capabilities and is sealed much better than your typical tiny Point n Shoot.
I did use it's under water capabilities in Hawaii.
I'm not afraid to get dust in the lens when I go Riding my ATV in the dusty Glamis Sand Dunes.
I expected a bit more for the price I paid but I still use it when hiking or on bike rides and I don't want to lug around the SLR.
I'm going to give it a 4 star rating because of it being waterproof and sealed, but not because it is a huge value or has amazing picture quality.
Strengths Waterproof, shockproof preezeproof etc. Compact size.
When paired with the M+ XD Cards you can stream video until the card fills up 640x480 30fps!
The streaming video excellent when compared to many other cameras.
Sealed well (no more getting dust under the lens).
Stylish.
Weaknesses while using it under water, after a while the lens got a bit foggy (cleared out fairly quick.
They make the front shiny which is not idea for a "rugged" camera IMO... The anodized finish scratches easy.
Large landscape photography is not sharp.
Lens Location is easy to cover with a finger (Even if you can avoid it, when handing it to someone else to take a picture they often get their finger in the picture).
Limited Memory card choice (XD card), and small M+ XD Card sizes (2GB)
Similar Products Used Canon S410 (not exactly similar but compact).
Summary I've had this camera for over 6months now and have been rather disappointed with my purchase and the quality offered by Olympus. I run a web based adventure advisory. The job takes me outdoors to mild cold areas and the hot tropics, hence, the reason to have a point & shoot camera that can take some beating and wet conditions. There aren't many choices out there (short of using some sort of casing) so i settled on 1030sw after researching reviews here and other web locations. As soon as i brought it home, i realised the true quality and have continued to be disappointed with it until now. I do take care of all my equipment and no less for this camera. What prompted me to write this review was the recent event (last week) where the paint came off the the front face!
I do not have super high expectations for point and shoots but this camera is sub par and isnt worth the money paid for brand new unit. The number of wasted images i have with this camera is surprising! I have used sony, canon and panasonic cameras, and i am confident to mention the better image quality comes from this 3 manufacturers in the point-shoot category. Panasonic has now a rugged camera co-built with olympus - i hope the quality is better than this.
No reviews out there will mention what i have to say about the following. Buyer beware.
Strengths *waterproof
*shockproof (although not meant to thrown like a doll)
*digital stabilization good when on anti handshake
*solid built
*macro is ok
*light with macro feature - good for underwater shots
*good multi shot/sports mode
Weaknesses *heavy - will sink fast!!! must attach a float if you are boating. A friend learnt the hard way in a murky river while kayaking
*paint comes off! - just buy the chrome version to save the unpleasant truth
*image quality is absolutely terrible without anti-handshake. Its almost impossible to take a sharp picture on other modes without super steady hand under sunlight or tripod especially low light situations. If taking picture with naked hand, you will need to use the timer since the camera will shake when pressing the button.
*single timer mode - 2 choices would have been better
*when using anti handshake, you cannot set ISO. The auto ISO gives terrible noise for night shots. Indoor shots isn't great either. If using not using anti handshake, expect blur images.
*battery life isnt great - buy extra battery
*should be careful of sand on camera lens. When you close lens cover (when switching off), you may end up scratching the outer lens.
*reduction in resolution when selecting different features in the camera. 10.1 doesnt mean all images or video's can be shot in that high resolution
Summary Pretty upset that this thing is not waterproof. Takes fantastic pictures, and does work underwater a little, have some great action shots of friends surfing, but this is the third olympus camera that has broken on me underwater and am getting tired and fed up....
Strengths Excellent photos, compact
Weaknesses not waterproof, or at least has some flaws in the system.
No view finder
difficult to take macro shots
Similar Products Used the earlier waterproof version 850 sw
Customer Service was pretty good, got the 850 sw fixed twice almost immediately by olympus, had to pay the outgoing post both times... but they then sent me the 1030 sw to africa for free so was stoked... unfortunately though, it has broken now!
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