Olympus Stylus 1030SW

Olympus Stylus 1030SW – a 10 Megapixel waterproof digital camera.

Olympus advertises the Olympus Stylus 1030SW as being the toughest little point and shoot camera on the market. After doing some research, I would have to agree with them. Most waterproof digital cameras are water and dust proof, but the Olympus Stylus 1030SW is everything proof. We are talking about shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof, crushproof and dustproof. Sound pretty tough to you? Combine that with an outstanding 10.1 mega pixel resolution and sweet panoramic features and you got one hell of a travel camera.

Point and shoot digital cameras with a panoramic feature are nothing new. Point and shoot cameras with a panoramic function worth a damn were only a urban legend until the Olympus Stylus 1030SW came around. The Olympus Stylus 1030SW has a 3.6x wide optical zoom. Thats the equivalent to a 28-102mm equivalent in 35mm photography, f3.5-5.0. if you don’t know what all those numbers mean, just take my word for it, they are awesome. The on camera panoramic mode instantly takes three images and puts them together to create a perfect panoramic without any effort.

The Olympus Stylus 1030SW probably won’t be the first choice for serious SCUBA divers, but it is more than practical enough for the adventurous traveler or water enthusiast. The Olympus Stylus 1030SW is waterproof down to 33 feet. One thing novice SCUBA divers will appreciate about the Olympus Stylus 1030SW is the built in Manometer which logs depth with the picture meta information.

The quick & dirty:

Where you can get one:
Amazon.com $343.00

Why it rocks:

10-megapixel image sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints
3.6x optical wide-angle zoom; Face Detection
2.7-inch HyperCrystal II LCD
Waterproof to 33 feet; shockproof to 6.6 feet
Stores images on xD Picture Cards (not included)

Seat-of-the-pants rating: 10 out of 10

I really can’t think f anything bad to say about the Olympus Stylus 1030SW. It is tough, has awesome resolution, and is very user friendly. The only feature I really question about the Olympus Stylus 1030SW is it being freezeproof. I have never really had any luck with something that claims to be freeze proof in extremely cold climates.

Looking to buy? Check out these sites:
Amazon.com $343.00