Olympus promises a 3x zoom camera that can be dropped from 5 feet, frozen in a block of ice and dropped to the bottom of a pool, then take great pictures. Do they deliver?
Review summary of the Olympus Stylus 790SW:
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 The Stylus 790SW is an average digital camera wrapped in one of the most outstanding packages we've tested. The combination of style and durability in the casing is phenomenal, and we loved that no matter how much we beat it up, it took shots just as well as it did right out of the box. Unfortunately, right out of the box, it took pretty mediocre photographs. We were also extremely disappointed by the built-in limitations in the video mode. Ultimately, Olympus delivered on their promise of a tough-as-nails, yet pretty-as-flowers camera, but was off the mark delivering what we want a camera to do: take great pictures. Release: September 2007. Price: $275.
Pros: Sleek, slim design. Very tough and durable. Included software had nice editing features.
Cons: xD memory format is less common, more expensive. Mediocre picture quality. 10 second limit on high quality videos.
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Full Olympus Stylus 790SW Review:
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Design - Very Good
The 2.5-inch screen on the 790SW is no better or worse than any we've seen. There is no optical viewfinder, so all shots must be lined up on the LCD, which does an average job of representing what the picture will look like on your computer. A touch screen would be nice, but they're not ubiquitous just yet, and this camera is built to take punishment, so we won't fault Olympus for it.
The buttons were decently sized and responded well. We didn't like the selecting wheel for the different modes, but we aren’t sure how else they could make a waterproof selector switch. Considering how beefy and tough this camera is, we were surprised at how elegant it was. It didn't look like a rubberized version of a camera, or like a Panasonic ToughBook, ready to be taken to a battlefield; it simply looked like a very nice digital camera. It is sleek and streamlined, and Olympus did a great job with the finger rest on the front of the camera, which perfectly aligns with your middle finger to give you a better grip when shooting. It was designed with activity in mind, but externally, it just looks pretty.
The lens cover is phenomenal; when we first opened the camera, our inner five-year-old immediately jabbed a finger at it, trying to slide it away from covering the lens, but we found it extremely difficult, as the sliding metal lens cover did an excellent job of keeping it protected.
Shooting Features - Good
The 790SW's sensitivity settings--reaching up to ISO 1600--were nice, as was the 7.1-megapixel sensor. But we wonder if the internal zoom lens sacrificed some quality, because the external zoom cameras we've tested seem to take better pictures than the internal zooms, no matter how many megapixels of resolution they cram in there. That being said, with the 3x internal zoom, there are no external mechanical moving parts to get wet or damaged. We think Olympus can do a little better than 3x, though, so we'll look for that to improve on the next model. Also, Olympus claims a high-speed shutter mode, but we were unable to activate it. Some features require an Olympus-branded xD card, but we were unable to find in the included documentation whether or not that was true for this particular mode.
There were 22 different scene modes, none of which seemed to be able to capture the portrait-against-the-skyline shot we so desperately wanted when strolling the Brooklyn Heights promenade after sundown. Maybe with a timer and a tripod the shot could be made, but the slight tremble of our hands caused the lights to streak and the shot to blur, even giving one of the subjects a friendly ghost following him. Fast action shots came out OK, but only when the camera was focused on a non-moving subject. We had difficulty capturing moving objects well, especially in low-light situations.
Start-up was quick, and we were able to get a focused shot of our Senior Editor hard at work at his desk in about 2 seconds after turning it on. The second shot was slightly faster, but not by much. Manual controls were pretty much non-existent. You could adjust ISO settings, but not in every mode (and only when the dial was turned to the SCN mode), and adjustments must be made within the particular shooting mode. We would much rather have a centralized menu system, but the 790SW's seemed to be extremely compartmentalized; it was almost as if with each click on the wheel, you moved onto a different camera with different settings.
Image Quality - Mediocre
There is really no other way to say it: we were wholly unsatisfied with image quality on this camera. We tried many different scene assist modes, tried full auto, and tried to manually adjust our ISO settings, but ultimately were only satisfied with about 30 percent of our photos. We tend to take a lot of pictures (especially when testing a camera), so for those a bit more selective in their picture taking, this success rate will most likely improve. Some problems we experienced with images included fuzziness around the edges of subjects, typical motion blur and an overall lack of the crispness that we have come to expect with a 7.1-megapixel camera.
The preset modes were unexciting. They did provide better images than the full-auto settings, but the difference was not significant. Rather, the presets simply gave us a new set of imperfections in the image to complain about. In-camera edting options were also disppointing. We were given two automatic features ("shadow adjustment" and "red-eye fix") as well as the ability to choose from three pre-formatted color balance adjustments. Needless to say, we did not rely on the camera for editing images.
We were quite bothered by the 10 second limit on videos at VGA, the highest resolution (640x480). We don't understand why the camera can't simply record videos as long as the remaining memory capacity allows. The quality of 320x240 videos was not much worse, but we were hoping for full VGA. Normally, we would lament the lack of a widescreen format for video, but when you can't even take a 12-second video at VGA quality, the point is probably moot.
Durability - Excellent
While the rest of the Olympus 790 SW's features were admittedly average, this category is where it stands out from the pack. This camera is a workhorse, a warthog or whatever other nickname you can dream up for "really freaking tough." We decided to make Olympus prove to us that the camera could resist shock from a 5 foot fall. Then we decided to do it again. And again. And so on. Other than a few minor and almost unnoticeable scratches, the camera held up extremely well. And trust us, we beat the hell out of it, and it still kept on ticking.
Being in New York City and not having easy access to a pool, to test the waterproofing on the 790SW we did the next best thing. We took the phone swimming in a pint glass. We dunked our review unit in all kinds of expensive imported malt beverages at a local watering hole, even taking pictures through the bubbles. We left it in the glass for a few minutes, took it out, took a picture. No problem. We took it into the bathroom, rinsed it off (all while receiving incredulous stares from other patrons), took more pictures, and had no problems. Any time we had any kind of dust or dirt on our camera, a simple trip to the sink did the trick. We have a tendency to forget that the little plastic and metal things hanging off our wrists are hundred-dollar pieces of equipment, so its nice to not worry about babying our camera on a night out. Olympus definitely delivered on their promises of durability; this was easily the best feature of the camera.
Image Transfer - Very Good
The included Olympus Master software can be set to start immediately upon connection of a camera or card (which can either be convenient or annoying, depending on how you roll). When you load the software, you can import your pictures from the "My Pictures" folder on your computer, or if you have previous versions of the Olympus software, you can import from those as well. Upon startup, a quick-start guide pops up, which remains on top of the screen as you follow the directions it gives you. Considering it obstructs the view of the program, it's a bit cumbersome. It would have been nice for the guide and the functions to be integrated, or at least dedicate a part of the screen to the guide so we could follow along as we performed the tasks.
The software has lots of editing options, allowing you to adjust brightness, contrast, color, tone and gamma, with auto and fully manual settings. We liked that the software worked with Macintosh computers, providing considerably more editing options than iPhoto, if an admittedly less aesthetically pleasing experience. For those not looking to spend a few bills on Photoshop, this seems like a pretty solid and easy-to-use photo editing option, one of the better that we've seen. It would have been nice to have an e-mail option within the program, however.
Transfers with the USB 2.0 cable were fast, with 80 or so 7.1 MP pictures taking under a minute to transfer. We were troubled by the required xD card--which was more expensive ($39.99) than the 1GB SD cards we saw at our local big-box retailer ($21.99)--and even more troubled by the fact that in order to access features like Panorama, you needed an Olympus brand xD card. This is nothing short of shameful. If they want to include special features on their brand of cards, the least they could do is include one with the camera.
Accessories - Good
Accessories bundled with the 790SW included a wrist strap, a Li-Ion battery, a USB 2.0 cable, a proprietary A/V cable, a battery charger and software CD-ROM. We like to be able to charge our devices through our computer and, barring that, at least have a dock with an AC adapter that we can set at our computer desk. We find removing the battery and placing it in the charger inconvenient. We also think it bears repeating that when features like Panorama require an Olympus brand xD card, one should be included.
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