Was originally very happy with this camera. Used it in a pool, took it snorkeling and skin diving, played around at the beach, no issues. True, the photo quality could be a bit better, but overall, it gets the job done.
Then just recently, on a very shallow swim, in very calm water, I noticed the LCD crapped out. Got back on land, checked it out, and found that it had flooded. I'm pretty sure I'd done everything right, just as I had on all the previous (successful) forays into the water. Checked the reviews on Amazon and found that a few other people have had the same problem.
I'm based in the Philippines, and so now it's hell trying to get it serviced under warranty. The Olympus International Warranty is not honored here in the Philippines, and to get it repaired here will cost me more than a brand-new camera! Have contacted Olympus America and Olympus Japan to see what can be done (and also to find out what they know about the product -- have they been seeing a lot of these floods?), but they haven't been helpful. Neither has Amazon customer service; they replied a few times but could offer no help, and now have just stopped replying entirely.
I'm tempted to get another one, as I've already invested in accessories, including an U/W housing for when I go deeper (on scuba dives), but would really like to find out once and for all from Olympus if this camera is problematic, so that at least I'll know to never use it again without the housing. But even then, that kind of defeats the purpose of getting a shockproof waterproof camera doesn't it?
Does anybody know how to get in touch with the product managers (not customer service) of the SW line?
All in all, it's a good product, when it works. But the post-sales support has been pretty frustrating.
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I have owned five digital cameras in the past 10 years. I started with the Sony Mavica with the 10X optical zoom with 800,000 pixels that saved to 3.5" floppy disks. At the time, it was a great camera and only cost $1,000! Next I moved to a later generation Mavica with 2.5 megapixels and a 10X zoom that saved to a floppy OR a smart card. It only cost me $650. When that camera was stolen, I moved to a Kodak with 5 megapixels and storage to a mini disk. It also had a 10X zoom and was smaller than the previous Sonys. Cost $420. I also bought my wife a small Sony. I forget the model, but after about 4 months of owning it, the display screen got cracked, rendering the camera useless. The price to repair was as much as the camera cost originally ($200). I came to the conclusion that the design was poor and voiced my concerns to Sony and got no resolution. I probably won't buy another Sony camera based upon that experience. I have been happy with most of these cameras and always felt like I got good value for my dollar. The two drawbacks each of them had were 1) size - too big to conveniently stick in a pocket, and 2) susceptibility to contaminants - didn't do very well in water or sand.
I am a kayak fisherman along with other hobbies. However, fishing from a kayak presents one of the most hostile environments for digital/electronic equipment. None of my previous cameras would have lasted for a week getting the same use I put my Olympus 770 to. I have soaked this camera in salt water for hours fishing in Florida and Texas. The kids have run around on the sandy beaches taking pictures of each other. I've used it underwater in the neighbor's pool. It still works like a champ and constantly impresses me with its functionality, ease of use, and easy clean-up. And, it fits in my pocket. All of this for the low price of $199! I still have the Kodak, but now my wife keeps trying to steal "my camera", the Olympus 770.
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I am a little disappointed in this camera. The LCD window is impossible to see in the bright sun.Is there any other time to use an under water camera? If you are swimming and trying to take a picture you have no idea what the camera sees. Your working blind . Theres no viewfinder to look through. I can't recall another camera without this simple feature. Otherwise ,I am satisfied wiht this camera. Maybe I can learn to use it as time goes by.
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Camera is excellent for outside use, regardless of the conditions. Couple drawbacks are the
1)proprietary (& expensive) memory cards
2)lack of docking cradle
I shoot 150-250 pictures a day. The camera holds up to one charge just fine. Actually, I was able to go 2 days on one charge and got about 400 pictures total. Only problem is that you get the low battery warning, and then about 20 pictures left before it won't turn on at all. There's a vendor on ebay that sells a car charger and spare battery for about ten bucks shipped....well worth the extra peace of mind if you think your battery's going to run out. Plus it plugs into the cigarette lighter in the car.
I would have preferred a docking cradle, but it seems only low end cameras are coming with these now. My experience with using digitals is that the battery door is the first thing to go, especially if you have to open it every day to charge and remove the card, battery, etc. My last camera was a Casio Exilim that had a cradle which charged and transferred images. That camera lasted twice as long as my others in the past. Since the Olympus is waterproof, I wonder how long the seals will last, opening and closing the door constantly... Had it for a few weeks now and it's excellent overall. Time will tell.
The modes are all fairly easy to use. I only had to reference the manual a couple times, but it's worth reading since there are a lot of extra hidden features. There was a review somewhere maybe cnet, saying that the camera didn't remain in certain modes if you power off/on. That's not the case. If you have it in macro, turn off, etc. It'll be in macro when you turn it back on. Same for underwater, video modes, etc. Just press the button with the camera icon to go back to regular mode. It'll hold whatever specialty mode you leave it on.
Camera also has a cool flashlight feature (hold Menu for 5 sec) the bright white LED stays on for 30sec or so.
Overall awesome. Can't complain. Definitely great for $199. No need to get the 1030SW for $100 more. There weren't many upgrades other than the 10mp if you need that. (I personally don't). Great camera for the $$. Best I've used so far.
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