The Olympus Stylus 770 SW is a bit pricey for a point and shoot, but it lets you take pictures in places where very few cameras let you, for instance underwater. The 770SW can be safely submersed to a depth of 33 feet and is capable of functioning normally in temperatures as lows as 14 degree Fahrenheit. The camera can handle a bit of damage too; it can be dropped from a height of 5 feet and can withstand a direct force of 220 pounds. The 770 SW makes for the perfect addition for your beach, pool and water park trips and you don’t have to worry about it getting wet. The camera features 7.1 Megapixel point and shoot model with 3X optical zoom and a 2.5 inch screen. The lens features maximum f-stops of f/3.5 to f/5. The Hyper Crystal screen can be easily viewed even in sunlight. Olympus has also incorporated an atmospheric pressure and depth measuring sensors into the SW 770, the camera starts sending alarms once the depth is close to 32 feet.
Like most other Olympus models, the SW 770 uses an XD memory card for storing the pictures. Thankfully, this one can store video clips on the xD, unlike other Olympus models like the SP-510 UZ which allowed just 15 seconds of video capture onto the xD or buy the more expensive HxD. Sadly, the Stylus’s video clarity is nothing to right home about. It looks all grainy and jumpy, perhaps it shoots with a 640 by 480 VGA resolution that too 15 frames per second. Many users have complained of blurry video footages with the highlight being blown out. A rather disappointing omission is the guide mode which Olympus could have incorporated to help newbie users to choose the correct mode. The daylight shot with the SW 770 is pretty good, maybe a bit overexposed but they were still good for the price. The flash shots tend to have some colored noise and the flash strength is a bit of a let down. The camera scores 1,650 lines of resolution which is almost as the same as its predecessor, the boot up time is 2.4 seconds which again is pretty decent. There is a bit of shutter lag nothing really bad maybe a casual photographer may not even notice it. The great thing about the SW 770 is the absence of any pincushion distortions, for a nontelescoping lens to be without pincushion distortion is a big thing. The Stylus 770 SW is priced at $400 which is pretty steep for a compact camera., however if you consider the specialty camera range, there is very little competion for this one, there is a very small number of camera out there which is capable of shooting 33 feet underwater and is freeze/crush/shock-proof. Outdoor enthusiasts who can overlook the minor quality issues with the image and video and the basic feature set can definitely mark this one a must buy.
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