Others say...

"Sturdy Camera for City Public Works Dept"
I have purchase 7 of the Olympus Stylus 790SW cameras for the City in their Parks & Rec, Building & Zoning, Engineering, and Utilities departments. They are sturdy and easy to use. In addition, a screen protector has been purchased for each camera. There have been no complaints with this camera.

"Almost the perfect camera for the job"
My wife and I are die-hard skiers and we want to photograph the beauty around us while we ski as well as each other. We've tried our other digital camera, a Fuju that we have loved, and our small digital video camera. Both freeze. And when I say freeze, I mean after only moments in the air on a mountain at 32 degrees... or even higher ... they freeze, even after carrying them in an inner pocket to keep them warm. SO, I was hunting for a camera specifically for outdoor photography in the winter on the slopes.

The Olympus Stylus 790SW is almost perfect for the job. First, when outfitted with an in-specification memory card and a fully charged battery, it works great in the cold! We demonstrated this many times this past winter, on mountains that were cold... 20 degrees at noon cold. Second, while we hadn't specifically been looking for it, the camera is shock-resistant. The specs say it will resist the shock of being dropped from a specific height. Well, we haven't dropped it. But we HAVE fallen while its in that inner pocket. I don't believe either of us has fallen directly on the camera, but I certainly worry a great deal less than I have with our other cameras during our winter photography attempts. Finally, it is waterproof to a certain depth in a body of water. This is perfect for those days when the snow is getting under the coat, or even on those occasional rain bursts. No fear of trashing the camera.

The only negative is the lack of a viewfinder. Only the large LCD provide feedback as to what the camera is pointing at. Indoors this is fine. Outdoors, in the bright with white snow reflecting light right at you, this makes it at times impossible to see any hint of what the camera is capturing. Add to this the effect of the polarized lense in most goggles, and its just plain hard to see the LCD while on the slopes. The good news in all of this is that I've taken many a blind photo only to find, when reviewing it that evening, that I got exactly what I was looking for... the only real challenge is holding the camera level.

The bottom line: This is almost the perfect camera to take to the ski slopes, and it would be perfect with a viewfinder that allowed you to see what you are capturing even in the brightest light conditions.

"You Get What You Pay For :)"
It's a handy little point and shoot, but my main reason for buying it was underwater capabilities.

Pros:
* underwater photography and video! AWESOME!
* big huge lcd screen
* multiple shooting modes
* compact, light, cheap

Cons:
* the menus are so "user friendly" it's almost confusing and childish. If you've NEVER used a camera before, I'm sure it'd be helpful, but for me it's too much extra junk to sift through.
* unnecessary "favorites" and "shakey" option on mode wheel (should be embedded as a menu option or playback option)
* alot of menu sifting to adjust white balance and other photo settings.
* TERRIBLE microphone/sound capture. I hope mine is not defective, because it is really bad. I have a 2 year old 6 megapixel Sony CyberShot thats sound quality is 10 times better. I would advise you not to capture any video where sound is an important factor.

"Great waterproof camera, takes great pictures."
I used a Pentax waterproof camera prior to purchasing the Olympus, and was satisfied with that one, but wanted a better quality picture. I purchased the Olympus and got just that! The picture quality is just as good as what I got from my non-waterproof camera, the screen size was great, the camera super easy to use, I couldn't ask for more!

On a side note, I also purchased one of these for my son, and his was defective, malfunctioning as soon as it got in the water. Olympus of course replaced it, I think one of the seals was just bad.

"Timely"
I bought the camera for my daughter who had just purchased a kayak. Thought it would be perfect for capturing wildlife pics along Michigan streams without fear of water damage.

The order arrived on my doorstep within minutes of the time that she drove up with the new boat on top of her car. Perfect timing. That weekend she toured the Kalamzoo river with friends and managed to swamp the new boat in fast water. Suddenly realized what a worthy gift this was. Certainly the ideal camera for any boater because we all get wet one way or another at one time or another. And the quality is everything they said. Jewelry beautiful as well.

All are happy and satisfied.

Dave Wallace
ainsco@iserv.net