Olympus 770SW

[Jay H]

Has anybody used this for a basic outdoors camera:

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1287

Since I'm a kayaker, the waterproof thing sounds great as well as the winter thing. Uses a Li-Ion battery pack and not AAs though... however, looks interesting on paper...

Jay

 

[David Metsky]

Image quality isn't as good as some other compacts in the same class, but if you need a bombproof camera this is hard to beat. As to winter, I've never had any problems with my other cameras in winter besides two things:
- battery use in cold weather
- condensation when I bring the camera into a warm building
I don't think either of those are dealt with by the 770SW, beyond what is normal for all digital cameras. Cold really doesn't affect digital cameras much beyond battery life.

An alternative as a normal P&S with better image quality and a good waterproof case, although those can be quite expensive.

 

[Jay H]

I would find the waterproof case, i.e. a Pelican case would be very oppressive for taking photos for me. I know hikingwise, if it's in my backpack, I'm much less likely to stop, unearth the camera and take a photo than if it's in front of me in my camera case, etc. Same deal with kayaking, I'm not as likely to grab the drybox, get out the camera and take shots than if I can have the nice waterproof camera handy.

Right now, I have a Canon G3 with a sticky shutter button in a basic LowePro camera case underneath my spray skirt (and being very cautious kayaking).... a waterproof camera would have me worry less and photo more!

Jay

 

[David Metsky]

I'm talking about cases that fit over otherwise non-waterproof cameras and allow you to take them underwater and shoot. They'd be bigger then the 770SW but in non-water situations you can just remove them from the case, shoot as normal, and have better image quality.

http://www.oceanbrite.com/display_p...gory=Consumer Digital Camera Housing Packages

These are just examples, I have no experience with any of them.

 

[darren]

I second what Dave said. I'd go with the Canon SD800 (while you can get one) and the Canon underwater case. Better performance and more versatile. More money though.

- darren

 

[DougPaul]

Cold really doesn't affect digital cameras much beyond battery life.

I have been told by a salesman that the LCD display can freeze and crack in the cold. (Of course, he was trying to sell me extra repair insurance, so he might have been over exaggerating the risk.)

Cold definitely does affect the display and any wide temp display must be compensated if it is to work effectively over the range.

The following web page lists a number of operating and storage temp ranges for LCD displays: http://www.pacificdisplay.com/lcd_temp_range.htm. There do seem to be models that cover a wider temp range than I'm willing to hike in... -55C to +85C, in one case.

FWIW, Canon seems to list 32 -- 104F (0 -- 40C) as the operating range for their cameras. My 60CSx GPS is rated 5 -- 158F (-15 -- 70C).

Cold also affects the sensors and electronics. Lower temps reduce the noise (which is good). Astronomers, for instance, chill their sensors. The characteristics of the transistors in the processing chips are also affected by temp, all processors have temp range limits.

So far, the only temp problem I have had with a digital camera or GPS is that the display of an eTrex Vista GPS went all black in the heat of the sun on a hot summer day when mounted on the top of the dashboard of my car. (It was fine after it cooled back down.)

Doug

 

[Jay H]

David, all the cases I've seen, as you have linked too are way too expensive for me, a casual photographer... And then even the custom ones will become useless when you change cameras so I'm not really looking at getting a clear shell for an existing camera or for a new one. I want the camera to be IPX8... Of course, I'll probably continue to use my Canon until I either decide to hack it and open it up myself or it explodes. Right now to set my focus, I have to turn it to a different mode to change the aperture cause it seems to be always in focus mode due to the sticky shutter button. Bad design, it's been like that for almost as long as I've owned it, except usually I'd be able to wiggle it to unstuck it. Now it's beyond that.

Jay

 

[Tim Seaver]

Skin for SD800

While by no means waterproof, the silicon skins made by Delkin offer a tiny bit of shock protection. I am not sure how many models it's made for. I imagine it would protect from small splashes and drips, but that's about all.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

My Canon A70 is going back for a second CCD connector repair. The first, and presumably the second, are covered under a recall. The problem happens more frequently in warmer, more humid conditions. I.e., this week when it got really hot and humid, it happened again.

They offered me an "upgrade" to the A530 for $125 + $10 shipping, but you can buy this online for $119 with free shipping so it's more of a ripoff than a deal.

So, I'm thinking I'll get a new camera altogether and get this one repaired again and see how much longer it goes for.

Tim

 

[David Metsky]

Tim, is that yours? I was about to buy one (the Delkin skin) but haven't heard anyone tell me if it does a good job. What do you think?

-dave-

 

[Tim Seaver]

Yes Dave, I just got it about a week ago. It seems to work pretty well - the lens pops in and out of the little porthole flaps. It definitely helps with shock - I just took a digger today with the camera in my hand, which ended up getting slapped into the dirt with the lens face down. Just brushed off the dirt and it was fine. It seems to make the camera feel less likely to slip from your hands - the bare body kind of has that feel.

 

[darren]

David, all the cases I've seen, as you have linked too are way too expensive for me, a casual photographer...

That page is misleading. While the pix show just the cases, those prices are for the case and camera combo.

The SD 800 is $299 and the Canon WP-DC9 case is $169 from B&H. Total of $468.

Link to camera and case at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=sd800&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=RootPage.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t


The 770SW is $315. So for ~ $150 more you get a better camera and a truely waterproof case (130') and you can take it out of the case and use it hiking (carry it in a ziplock bag if it rains).

If you really just want a waterproof camera then take a look at the Pentax Optio W30. It is almost $100 less than the 770SW and has pretty much the same specs.

- darren

 

[Jay H]

Canon offered me some kind of deal too, some newer refurbished Canon camera but the kicker was I'd have to send in my G3 which doesn't make it worth a deal cause I could possibly give it to a friend of take it apart and play.

I'm not going to buy anything right now but as always, like to know all my options.

Darren, I checked out that Elph that you linked too, I can't tell from the picture but is that shutter button surrounded by a circular disk which controls the zoom? If so, it'll probably get sticky just my stupid G3 is now. I think I'll try to avoid that from now on, personally.

Jay

 

[DougPaul]

Darren, I checked out that Elph that you linked too, I can't tell from the picture but is that shutter button surrounded by a circular disk which controls the zoom? If so, it'll probably get sticky just my stupid G3 is now. I think I'll try to avoid that from now on, personally.

Sounds like it. You can find lots of detailed info on the controls at http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/SD800IS/SD800ISA.HTM. I've had no problems with the zoom control on my A75.

Another review ( http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/sd800.htm ) observes that the zoom has only 8 fixed settings. (My A75 also has some number of fixed zoom settings.) I'd rather a continuous manual adjustment.

Doug

 

[David Metsky]

Another review ( http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/sd800.htm ) observes that the zoom has only 8 fixed settings. (My A75 also has some number of fixed zoom settings.) I'd rather a continuous manual adjustment.

You're not going to find that on a compact P&S camera.

 

[DougPaul]

(manual continuous zoom range)

You're not going to find that on a compact P&S camera.

It would seem that the motor could stop anywhere between the limits, so I would presume that a continuous range should be possible. As for manual, I guess I'm not surprised.

I suppose one can always shoot a little wide and crop...

Doug

 

[cbcbd]

Has anybody used this for a basic outdoors camera:

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1287

Since I'm a kayaker, the waterproof thing sounds great as well as the winter thing. Uses a Li-Ion battery pack and not AAs though... however, looks interesting on paper...

Jay

Jay, my father just bought this camera a couple weeks ago and graciously lent it to me for a kayaking trip up in Acadia this past weekend (after my A620 crapped out after only a little less than a year of hard use).

The lack of manual controls in a camera kind of leave me wanting and I generally dislike trusting scenes since every once in a while I want control and would rather keep low ISOs than get a grainy pic that I can't fix later. But anyway...

But, it was great having a small P&S that you didn't need to baby in the water - and I mean "IN", because we went snorkeling.
I lost my spare battery, but took about 200 pics and 10 vids and this camera was submersed for many periods in frigid waters (my face hurt!). Did not see the power even show below full.

But anyway, after my 3 day trip I had to return it, so I don't have a long term review.

Being the first small P&S I've used, it was nice to have something small that you could pull out whenever (I do get lazy while on the go). The scenes have their quirks, but you could probably learn to use them in your favor over time.
As for the quality... ok, I edited the quality part - I have no idea how I could say that the quality was no worse/better than my A620. The quality is ok - the camera needs a real steady hand and you really have to use the scenes to get the most out of it. I used the highest "quality" setting with the biggest resolution. At 100% zoom the pics aren't that great - 70% yes. Anyway, just look at the pics.


I will be posting a TR on the trip and you can check out the pics - I'll also link them here for future reference.

Doug

 

[cbcbd]

Here are the pics I took with the 770W in Acadia:
http://community.webshots.com/user/cbcbd

Note: this was my first time using it. The only modes I really only used were the general Program and the Underwater Portrait scene mode.

 

[Jay H]

Hey, Thanks cdcbd, I gather by lack of manual controls, it's got no way to manually set aperture and shutter speed? or do you mean a manual focus?

It looks like I'll be holding off on a purchase of anything anyway, I gather with Kayaking getting fairly popular these days, more mfgrs will start putting out waterproof IPX8 P&S cameras... I just bought a BD Hilight anyway so I'll be living on ramen noodles for a bit.

Jay

 

[David Metsky]

Nope, no manual controls other then ISO and exposure compensation.

The new 790 SW has been released as well.