Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Wide Angle Zoom (Silver)

I got this camera a few months ago to have a rugged camera that I could use at the beach and stick in my pocket. I had a Canon Powershot SD600 before that had been ruined by beach spray. Previous to that I had an Olympus Camedia D-560 Zoom in college which had been abused thoroughly and survived 5 years and mutliple countries. I was disappointed with the Canon as it was so delicate so I decided to switch back to Olympus.

To summarize... This camera is well below average. I have tried using it in a variety of settings and all have been subpar. I waited to write a review after a few months, thinking I might be able to work out the kinks - but after a wonderful Thanksgiving - I felt I must mention this camera's inadequacies:

1. The camera takes rather blurry pictures when it should not - it's pot luck - some turn out alright, many do not. There is a setting that is supposed to eliminate this problem, but it does not.
2. I like simple cameras that don't require me to adjust the setting for any moment. This camera doesn't allow that so when a moment strikes -pictures often come out either overexposed, blurry, or grainy. Ridiculous for a camera of this price.
2. The movies are absolutely terrible - seriously, I could probably draw a flipbook better than the movies this thing takes. I was amazed how absolutely horrible the movies are after my previous two cameras - one 3.2MP and the other 6.0MP. I realize this is not a camcorder, but it's nice being able to take brief movies when the moment arises - as my old Canon was able to.

Overall - I am very dissapointed with this camera. I have not used the underwater capabilities but have let my 3 year old niece use it to see how rugged it is. Actually that's the best thing so far - I have no worries that she'll break it and don't really care if she does.

Back to Canon now.....

I've always leaving 4,5 stars reveiws, and there is a reason I think 1030 sw sucks.

I bought a refurbished one on Amazon on Oct 27,2008; and I first seen this camera when hiking with my friend in New Hampshire last winter, I heavily relied on the customer reviews on Amazon to make a decision (was going to by a canon SD), and somehow I pretty set up my mind in buying one so I just ignored the negative reviews and think they either got a lemon or they don't know how to shoot a good picture.

And this Thanksgiving my friend came from Detriot to Boston and brought his Canon 1100is, we went to Boston, Harvard University and took a trip to Ipswich which is a beautiful town north of Boston. I wasn't trying to compare anything but just copied all our photos into one folder and boy was I surprised.

ALL & EVERY picture that was taken by my $300 something camera was noisy and not focused well, while pictures taken by canon were way better. My friend tried to convince me that my investment was good but even he can tell the huge difference, all the details, focus are lost with this olympus SW 1030 camera. I know how to shoot good pictures and I am so pissed that I spend 300 bucks on this high-end camera and it takes lousy pictures.

I was upgrade from a Canon A610 and bought my girlfriend a Canon SD 900, I moved to Olympus because I read an article said that they had a very good DSLR E520, so I figure the SW 1030 should be good, and also I do lots of hiking, mountaineering and sea kayaking, it's just the picture quality is too bad to tolerate, it's far worse than my 3-year-old A 610.

Don't say I am not buying the right camera because this camera is good for waterproof, shockproof and all that things. Of course I love those features but I love good quality too!!!!!!!!! If you think quality matters than don't buy this camera, believe me or not you will find out yourself.

I've sold mine after Thanksgiving plus the extra 60 bucks I spend on the cases, xD cards, I am thinking of moving to a canon sd 990 but don't have the money now, I'll just wait for the price drop on sd 990.

I won't go over all the points & features others have already covered well. So I'll just quickly note I am very happy with this camera. It doesn't have the best lens by any means or the strongest zoom, but it is amazingly waterproof. We used it in the ocean snorkeling as well as in the pool taking various shots and videos. Worked like a charm.

You do have to play with the numerous settings and modes to get some pictures to look just right -- especially in lowlight situations. (Daylight pictures were no problem.) I found some night pics didn't always come out so well and it was very much a matter of trial & error to get them to work, so be sure to practice before trying to take pictures of an important event, trip or moment. Also the flash is not the strongest either so be sure your main subject(s) are fairly close and pretty much forget about the background showing up if it's any real distance away. The panorama function worked really well in just about every situation and the camera can even stitch the images together for you itself and you can see the results in a few seconds.

The camera fits nicely in the pocket of your shirt or pants. The charger will charge the battery fully in about an hour or so. We also bought the orange flotation strap which did keep the camera from sinking in water. It's a good, solid all purpose camera which we had a lot of fun using.

This is the third Olympus Stylus 1030 SW I've purchased in the last year for myself and family members. We have had no problems with this camera at all and buying through Amazon is absolutely the way to go.

The only negative feature with this camera is very, very low volumn when you use the video side of the camera and Olympus is aware of the problem.

The screen stopped working before a dozen pictures were taken. The warranty does not cover the shipping. Very expensive and disappointing.

I got this camera for taking on trips outdoors. I wanted something small that was water proof. Everything works well and the pictures during a sunny day are great. When there is less light, it suffers a bit.

Auto mode picture taking is ok but I wish there were manual modes. It is tough to get the picture I want at night.

ISO 400 and above is grainier than other compact cameras.

The pictures are a bit soft but reproducible to nice prints.

Water proof in the surf. You should definitely give it a fresh water rinse after use. Make sure that there is no sand in the lens cover. I heard that it would get stuck but I have not experienced this yet.

It is a bit heavy for the size but it is really heavy duty I suppose for the impact resistance.

XD cards are a little more expensive but it comes with an adapter to use micro SD cards. You can get 2gb micro SD for $7.99. This will allow for some serious pictures but make sure you have an extra battery to fill the card.

Video mode only does 10 seconds at the higher frames per second mode which sucks but the XD-m and other newer XD-h allow for longer videos in the higher resolution modes. Ten seconds is ok because we don't do to much video with the camera. You can get more time at the 15 frames per second mode at 640x480 if needed. I will get some XD-m+ cards later for video at the highest rating later. It is just cool to be filming a video while surfing and in the tube action vid.

Battery power is pretty good and sustains at prescribed projections by Olympus.

Overall I really like this camera but there are little things that make it so I can't give it 5 stars so it gets 4. For a point and shoot in swamps of Mexico, deserts of the Mojave, Oceans of the pacific kayaking or surfing, and at the size it comes in and with an optional floating camera strap, it is a great camera for $280. The floating strap was $15 which was pretty good. It would really suck if it was dropped and sank to the bottom of the ocean while surfing or snorkeling.

I have a Canon SD300 that takes way better quality pictures because of the manual modes, but it is very fragile. I broke 2 of them but good thing I purchased the warranty. This is a dry land camera and the size is great but not water proof. When I take this out to the beach, the salt air affects it and seems to clog it up. I have a water proof box for it but it is big and bulky. The 1030sw is the ultimate outdoors person camera. There is a pentax optio that is water proof but it is a bit bigger. Size is a big concern for us being we need something small and stealthy to fit in our gear.
I also have an older Olympus C-3020 that takes awesome pictures and has more of a manual mode. Of course the lens is bigger and the pictures at 3.2 megapixels are crisper. This camera is pretty big and it tough to take around hiking on trips. It still works really well.

When I got this 1030sw from Amazon, I should have ordered the accessories with it but forgot until later. They shipped really fast and I was pretty happy about it.

I would recommend this camera for anybody that is into outdoors h20 sports or the likes, but be aware of the camera not allowing for full manual mode. It is just a small compact point and shoot camera built tough.

4 stars given - If olympus fixed and added the things that were addressed here, they could sell a ton of these and would warrant 5 stars plus.

Have fun shopping for your camera :)

As far as I'm concerned, this is the optimal camera. It has all the features I've come to rely on with a point and shoot (video, image stabilization, autofocus, even 3x zoom) but also is waterproof and shockproof! I had no worries letting my 5 year old cousin use it unsupervised, there wasn't much she could do to it except maybe lose it. My favorite feature is the "rapid fire" mode, were I can take several pictures a second when trying to capture just the right frame.
The only thing I miss is having a view finder. But actually so far I haven't been in a situation when the LED screen hasn't been sufficent to take a shot. Its just when I hand it to someone unfamiliar with digital cameras that it ever was an issue.

This was a gift for my husband. He is a big hunter and fisherman so it is perfect for him. He loves it. It is hard to see through the screen though looking into the sun but really that isn't a big deal for him.

WHat an amazing camera! The video quality is great, picture quality is excellent. I recently took this camera on a 7-day cruise where I knew I would be snorkeling and spend most of my time underwater. I was afraid at first to get the baby wet...but it handles like a pro. My advice....USE THE DIFFERENT SETTINGS!!!!! They really made a difference between shooting landscapes, on the beach, in the water etc. I dropped this camera several times with not a single problem. it just works.... If you plan on shooting alot of video clips, I would recommend the special 2GB M type video card (it was less than $15 on amazon) I's also recommend the floating wriststrap, which came in very handy while swimming....and yes it keeps the camera from sinking!). I can't tell you how many people were asking me about my camera...they were so envious that I could take great digital photos without some bulky plastic camera housing!

Pros:

DURABLE ...this thing took a beating
Great pre-settings for different conditions
Love the thumb wheel to toggle between camera and video and the Guide
big LCD screen
great mic quality when taking video
very sleek/slim design
worth every damn penny if you live outdoors!
came with mini SD card adapter


Cons:

Wrist strap doesn't tighten to wrist ( i just took one off an older camera)
LCD screen is hard to see in sunny conditions ( but that's with every LCD camera)

I bought this camera to replace my old powershot SD700, which broke when it was dropped onto a carpeted floor from a height of maybe 4 feet. Overall, I'm happy with the Olympus, but it falls short of my SD700 in a few areas.

Pros:
- The Olympus is smaller than I expected. It fits easily into my pocket and is not cumbersome to carry around on backpacking trips, for example.
- This thing is durable. You can feel the "sturdiness." I added a screen protector from bestskinsever, and now I feel like it's indestructible. I never worry about it.
- It does a great job with macros (close-ups). It even has a special macro mode that uses a small, built-in LED to light your subject. Very nice feature.
- It has an impressive zoom; better than the 3X of my old SD700.
- It has an impressively high-res CCD: 10.1MP; again, better than my old SD700.

Cons:
- My old SD700 still took better pictures. I can't think of a way to quantify this qualitative observation, but I think it's true. I recently went on a backpacking trip and my buddy brought his camera, which happened to be an SD700. We took pictures of the same scenery, but the Fall colors looked more vibrant through his camera. Images also seem..."sharper" with the SD700, despite the megapixel advantage of the Olympus. Maybe someone who knows more about cameras could explain this.
- There are a handful of different acquisition settings on the Olympus, but navigating to them is not very intuitive and definitely not very fast.
- There's no real manual control of things like shutter speed, etc.

I use this camera for all of my outdoor activities: backpacking, snowboarding, climbing, and trips to the beach. That's what this thing was made for, and it feels good to carry it around in my pocket or toss it into my gear bag without worrying about it breaking like my other cameras. The pictures it takes are good enough for me, but are out-shined even by older, cheaper cameras of the same size. If you get this camera, you'll like it. Just keep in mind that you're paying quite a premium for durability.

I'm still not sure if I'm in love with this camera enough to justify the price. Two little things I haven't liked...1) the battery life is too short. Would strongly recommend the purchase of at least one spare battery, I will probably purchase two. I took it on vacation & was only shooting about 100 pictures a day on 3MG and I was loosing the battery by the end of the day; 2) the response time in between pictures is a little slower than I would have liked.
Some positives: The camera has a lot of scene selections & specialty modes that allowed me to get a few pictures that in the past I would not have gotten with a point & shoot -- like shooting into backlighting. I didn't have to worry about it getting wet on rainy days or if I dropped or bumped it so that was nice. The picture quality was good, I took most on 3mg & a few on 10mg. I loved the size...slipped easily into my pocket. I like the wide angle of the camera but I wish it had a little bigger zoom. I'm still learning about the camera & how to optimize all the different options. The main reason for buying the camera was to have a durable, sturdy, all weather camera that I could use in a variety of conditions and activities so overall I'm pleased.

Took camera on a month long trip to Central and South America and it performed wonderfully. I used it many times under water and the pictures came out really good. I also "bumped" it a few times and since it is shock-proof, no harm done. Highly recommend it.

This is a great camera for underwater and travel. It is very easy to use, it takes good pictures and it truly is waterproof, drop-proof, crush-proof and so much more!
The only issue I had with it was drying the lens off after taking it out of the water when I wanted to take an above water picture. Otherwise, I love it! It certainly serves its purpose.

I love this camera! I purchased it right before a Curacao vacation and didn't have too much time to figure it out beforehand. I found that it was easy to figure out with a little help from the book. At first I was afraid to taake it underwater but then I took the plunge! The pictures came out wonderful. We were snorkeling and the colors of the fish came out true. You need to watch were you place your fingers beause it's easy to put over the lens. I would recommend this item!

Everything about the camara is as described , but the quality of photos done in dark conditions is not as good as other similar camaras (eg canon, panasonic..) which lack the water and shock proof features. . .
But overall very happy with it and would recommend it... may be in the near future Canon or Panasonic will go for those features and then.. will see.

I recently bought this camera. So far I have noted that its pictures have a great deal of noise and are rather grainy. It is as sturdy as it is touted to be. I have not used underwater yet. It's picture preview is good, and the screen is bright and sharp. Takes poor flash pictures in the dark. Weak overall.

I dropped my Canon 800si camera and the shutter quit working. Since it was over the warranty period, I bought this camera as a replacement since it looked so cool. I found it not to be as good as my Canon for zooming and picture quality even though my Canon was a 7.1 megapixel and this one is a 10 megapixel. I should have bought another Canon 800si.

Hands down, this camera is fantastic.

I've taken it under water, through the worlds largest tomato fight in Spain, and all over the place. It can go through anything.

It also has a picture mode for just about anything you can think of, and takes good pictures.

I'm an outdoor enthusiast, and this camera is fantastic in almost every way. I love that I don't have to worry about where I take this camera, whether I get it dirty, or anything else - it just simply works. I love that.

Ok, now the bad stuff. Really this camera should get a rating of 4.8, because it lacks in a couple of areas.

1) You can't charge it from a USB source, so if you're going on a long trip, you're going to have to buy lots of extra batteries - bummer! And I'm terribly annoyed that they did this.

2) It doesn't turn pictures right side up for you automatically. My friends $140 camera does this for her, and mine does not. It makes me cry every time she pulls out her cheapie.

But, those two deficiencies shouldn't be enough to draw you away from this camera. This thing is bullet proof, works in any environment, and "Just works!" period.

I think they added those two deficiencies just because it would be unfair to the other camera companies if they actually produced a completely perfect camera, no one would want any other one, we would loose competition, and ultimately monopolies are bad for the consumer anyway.

Cheers

I have used this camera in the pool and in the water park for many times and it has worked great. No leaks or any other problems. Picture quality is average/mediocre compared to other digital cameras in the same price range at around $300+ (I also own a canon S2IS for non-water use, for it takes much better pictures even though it is a couple generations older). The wide-angle lens is great and I think this alone is well worth the $50 price difference between this and the 850SW. It takes some getting used to to hold the camera properly without touching the lens. The lens is kind of difficult to clean (especially when you get sunscreen "grease" on it). Video quality is ok but the microphone/voice quality is not good. It's hard to get good sound out of it because it is on the side of the camera where you hold it rather than on the front of the camera. The slideshow playback on the large LCD screen makes it a great "toy" for my toddler (I don't need to worry about the camera being dropped and abused). If you definitely need the waterproof feature, this camera will not disappoint. If that's optional and you primarily want great pictures, then there are a lot of other better cameras out there to choose from. BTW, replace the strap with a Wii strap so you won't have to worry about losing the camera in the water!

I bought an Olympus 1030 SW in May, and first used it 6/28/08, with 75 photos taken on it total. I last used it 8/28/08 when snorkeling in Lake Tahoe (fresh water, depth of 5 ft). On 9/5/08 when I tried to use it again, it started, beeped 4 times, then shut down. Charger says the battery is fully charged, and the "View" mode works (where the camera also indicates a fully-charged battery), but cannot otherwise take photos or videos. Was shocked to see that Olympus warrantee excludes damage caused by water, shock, or "abuse" to a supposedly waterproof, shockproof and crushproof camera. After the horror stories I see posted on the Internet regarding Olympus "No Service" and charging people to fix their defective/leaking cameras, I'm considering contesting the credit card charge I bought it with.
Be warned! You may get lucky and get a "Good" Olympus 1030 SW, but their quality control appears to be letting some defective, non-waterproof units get into the retail stores. I would NOT trust this camera on a "Once-in-a-lifetime" trip !

We took this camera to Puerto Vallarta last August. It did really well with pictures taken on the outside. The underwater pictures were great too. The only problem I have with this camera is the fact that when in movie recording mode, you can't zoom.
This is the second Olympus camera I've owned and love the ease of use. But aside from this minor issue, I would say this is as good a product as my older Olympus.

amazing camera! It traveling to Iraq and is doing great in the sand and heat!

I researched the heck out of this camera before buying it....it's purpose was for our Disney trip, specifically the water parks. I tried it out at home in the pool and just love this camera. People are amazed at the underwater videos I've taken, and the pictures come out great too. Not so good on maximum zoom in low light, but that's the only complaint. I got a 8gb microsd and came home from florida with 300 hundred photos and a TON of video, with a ton of memory to spare. This camera has given us video memories that NO OTHER little camera would do. My only suggestion is to keep an eye on the lens if you're using it in the water. Sometimes a droplet of water will stay on the lens and show up on subsequent pictures. I just blow on it to get rid of any water. No viewfinder is really no problem....I haven't used one since my first digi camera 10 years ago!!! I feel bad for those who have had trouble with this camera, because for me, it's been amazing.

Appears to be a nice product, but if the LCD goes black then you have no view finder and no access to the functions. The camera only worked for a few days so I would not recommend it.

I really wanted to love this camera. It has everything I wanted: rugged, compact, waterproof, and takes great pictures. I currently have a Panasonic Lumix TZ-5, and a the Panasonic waterproof casing for it, and never used this combo with the Olympus Stylus 1030 SW around!

It was so easy to carry the Stylus 1030 SW around on the pool/beach and into the water. It starts up almost immediately upon pressing the power button so I never missed a shot. I loved that it was shock-proof so I didn't have to mentally treat it with kid gloves, and there are no protrusions on the camera to worry about breaking.

Now the bad news. After the first time going into the pool for about 3 feet underwater, the camera seems to be adversely affected. I was extra careful and followed the directions regarding checking the seals for foreign objects that may cause leaks, and they were properly closed.

I noticed that the videos taken (maybe from this point on, maybe always had this problem) had a smudge about the middle of the screen. This was not dirt on the outside of the lens where I can get at and clean. It would disappear under certain lighting conditions, but most underwater shots had it. My guess is that it's an internal reflective defect or dirt on the optics. Curiously, I don't notice it in my photos, just videos.

In addition to this, the lens would fog up during the night after some underwater excursions. The fog would cloud up the lens internally, so all photos and videos were foggy. Holding the camera in my hands would warm it up, causing the fog to get cloudier. As a work-around, I would air dry the camera each night with all its ports open, but this doesn't always work.

Another major drawback of this camera that was not publicized very well is that you MUST use the type M+ XD memory card to record VGA in 30 frames/sec. Using the included adapter my 4GB MicroSDHC card, you are limited to 10 seconds VGA 30 frames/sec videos. You can record lower resolution or VGA with 15 frames/sec videos without the M+ XD memory card, though.

Additionally, my videos would sometimes have strange regular very loud clicking sounds, about once click per second for certain stretches. This was very disconcerting.

I also noticed that the videos of bright lights indoors would sometimes have vertical glares above and below the light sources. I never noticed this phenomenon on my TZ-5 videos.

The final weird restriction that I found out only after using this camera was that it had two video modes: Underwater, and Non-underwater. In Underwater mode, you have no audio, but can use zoom. In Non-underwater mode, you can record audio, but cannot zoom. Perhaps the zooming caused horrible audio noises to be recorded so the engineers decided to never record audio while allowing zooming?

In conclusion, the Olympus Stylus 1030 SW was everything I was looking for on paper and would have been a wonderful all purpose point-and-shoot photo and video camera for all occasions. Unfortunately, my particular unit seemed not be quite waterproof as advertised, and the model had some major design drawbacks in the areas of video recording.

I really cannot recommend this camera based on the unit I had.

The Olympus Stylus 1030SW has been shipping with a known defect by Olympus. In the video recording mode the sound track contains a popping sound. It is generated by any touching of the camera. Olympus is supposedly coming out with a firmware fix in September. The buyer should beware of this problem and perhaps wait to purchase until a fix is incorporated in the cameras.

I've had this camera for a little over two weeks. Bought it so that i can take underwater images when in Hawaii. Haven't tried out the waterproof aspect yet, but can go ahead and give some insight into the quality of its normal pics.

10 mp camera, but is limited to 3 mp images when shooting on some of the preset modes (scenes) - specifically candlelight images and other night-time image settings. If you don't use the scene options, your images can be maxed at the 10 mp setting. Night images using scene (candlelight) were pretty grainy, so i'd avoid using that setting.

Normal daytime images were good. Crisp and clear. From power to first image - is really quick. However, taking one image at 10 mp causes a delay before you can take the next image of ~2 seconds. Unless you use the burst mode. 3-shot burst allows for 10 mp images, whereas the super 12 shot mode caps it again at 3 mp images.

People have written that the lcd screen is easy to see in any light from any angle. I discovered that this is not true. Taking an image into the sun (i know this isn't recommended) while holding the camera up high (which people will use when at weddings to shoot over people's heads) leads to glare. I had to guess what i was shooting at. I'd say image visibility on the lcd was ~50% when doing this.

Even given the above, i still like the camera a lot. Looks nice. Takes panoramic photos, battery lasts forever. Used it on and off for 4 days before it finally warned me of being low. Be careful b/c the battery indicator is deceiving. It said full for most of the time and then jumped to warning quick on me. Didn't even notice any intermediate indication position.

I give it a 3 for now until i go and try out the underwater capability.

Edit #1: Forgot to mention that the menus are pretty easy to use. Scrolling wheel menu cycles between the different options. One touch photo preview. Icons are easy to understand.

I've tried using the macro and super macro - works really well. Good detail on the close images.

One other con though - could not for the life of me figure out how to get the face detection to work. I swear that it'll sometimes follow a face and sometimes it'll target a random cup. I don't yet see an option in any of the menus that allows me to force it to do face rec every shot. Not a huge issue - but it's a spec that is being advertised, therefore i expect it to work.

The Olympus Stylus 1030SW is the coolest camera I've ever seen!!! I just got back from the beach with my family and it worked great. We had a ball with it in the ocean and now have some great memories to boot!!! The picture quality couldn't be better (as long as you use good photography techniques, you cant fight physics). I took video of myself and family riding waves in the ocean and it looks amazing. This camera is a great product that I am recommending to all my friends and family. Also, as a creative arts director for a non-profit I will be recommending its purchase by all of our new recruits.

-Make sure you buy a huge memory card though...I have the 2gig and it allows almost 2 hrs of video.

-The floating wrist strap is a must if you intend to use the camera anywhere near moving water.


Great Job Olympus!!!!

I bought this for my daughter for her honeymoon. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy when she took it in the pool and when she went snorkeling. The pictures came out amazing both underwater and on land. She took a great picture of her husband above the water from under the water and the resort even shows up in the background!! Now her friends and cousins are going to sell their cameras and buy this one. I highly recommend this. Make sure you read all of the directions and do your settings correctly and you will be amazed at the ease and quality.

I love my new camera. I am not, by any means, a professional but it does everything I wanted it to do. I carry it with me all the time because it is so small and lightweight. I took it kayaking and got some great photos and did not have to worry about it getting wet. I also took it to an amusement park and on all the water rides. I live in a wooded area with a lot of wildlife. I have been able to get some awesome photos of the deer through windows from inside the house so as not to scare them. Yes it does have one issue, you have to be careful not to put fingers in front of the shutter, but that's easy to learn. I am very happy with my purchase.

This is a terrible camera, of my 500 photos taken over 3/4 of them were out of focus and fuzzy. Photos that were posed and up close were fuzzy - not just action shots. We are returning this camera.

Bought this product before our trip to Jamaica, mon. Tried it out in the pool before leaving and it worked great. Took it on our trip and got great pictures, with one caveat. Make sure you're using the right setting. If the colors don't look right on the screen, you're probably taking above water pictures using the underwater setting.

In clear water, underwater pictures are outstanding. In murky water, your underwater pictures are murky.

I wish it had a 10X optical zoom.

I love this camera! It's a bit heavy, and a bit complicated to learn to use....but it is so awesome to take it into the water!! It opens up a whole new world of pictures!!!

When I first heard that Olympus was making a waterproof digital camera line, I instantly wanted one. I have been an Olymus owner for countless years through several different models. I'm always taking pictures and end up buying waterproof disposable cameras far too often! Months passed and I sort of forgot about it until a friend showed me her 1030 she recently purchased.

In all of my research (a ritual for me before buying anything over 100 dollars) I read several reviews that gave the camera great ratings and some that mentioned poor picture quality, difficulty finding settings for taking different types of photos, and faulty waterproof features. I was a little disheartened. Still I figured if my friend had one and loved it than maybe I should give it a try.

I've had my 1030 for a little over a month and LOVE this camera! If you have used Olympus digitals before the menu and settings are pretty standard with a few new features. I find them very simple and easy to use. It even does well when just left on the auto setting.

As far as picture quality goes, it can be awesome at times and sometimes a little faulted. Mostly the pictures that don't come out great are that way due to my improper use of the camera functions ( I need to take a little time to play with more of the settings), or in water situations a droplet getting on the lens (which is to be expected at times and doesn't really bother me). Being able to have a camera in water is worth a few botched shots, especially when its digital and you can see that there's a problem and fix it right away. The way I figure it, if I wanted the most fantastic and perfect pictures ever I wouldn't be looking for a durable waterproof camera. It is what it says it's going to be, end of story.

In reading the manual, I came to find out that this camera cannot be guaranteed waterproof after being immersed in water for over an hour. The people who gave the reviews saying that it was in fact not waterproof all had theirs in water for much longer. One person had it in for over three hours! I find it awesome that it lasted that long! I've been dipping, dunking, splashing, and dropping mine all over the place and it is still as good as new.

In short, if you are looking for a durable waterproof camera that can take quality photos of your expeditions, vacations, fun times, and memorable moments, this is the one for you!

While I've been happy with this camera for the past 45 days, now that I'm in Hawaii and on vacation, it stopped working almost immediately. There are numerous positive reviews of this camera but it appears there are growing "issues" with an apparent design flaw - I count three reviews already from unhappy owners of this camera. Unfortunately, we've already bulked up on xD cards and other accessories but are now considering spending a likely small fortune to have our unit repaired, after vacation, and buying another underwater camera, most likely a Sony or Canon with an underwater housing, to be shipped to us overnight. Overall, a very expensive experiment with Olympus...and their Service Department was very unhelpful in this situation - send it to us and we'll fix it in 5-7 business days. I would suggest you carefully look at your options BEFORE buying this particular camera.

I'm not a camera expert by any means, so this is not a very technical review. I bought this camera to take to the Caymans for vacation. It worked great for underwater and regular shots. I bought a microSD instead of the Olympus XD and it worked fine. The only advice I can tell you is make sure you swap modes once you get back out of the water or else your pictures will look weird. Also, watch your thumb when you take pics.

I like this camera for a 'FUN CAMERA'. The zoom isn't very good at all. The audio is horrible. But I do like how long the video clips can be and I LOVE the waterproof and shockproof feature. I bought the 'silicone skin' for a cover and it's basically my 5 year old boys camera. He enjoys playing with it and I have no worries.

Got this camera in anticipation of lots of snorkeling in Maui, Hawaii. Great pics above and below water for 5 of 6 days of the trip. On the 6th day, the best snorkeling spot the camera would not work. Water had gotten inside the camera. So I'm conflicted in the review. Thrilled with the pics I got, really, really upset I missed taking pics on the last day of my trip.

I used my new Olympus 1030 SW on a trip to Grand Cayman, after the first use in water it kept reading a message that there was a compartment open, which I could not see. The next day I was able to use it and I took hundreds of pics. Some were awesome and others grainy, but then again it stopped working saying there was a compartment open. I returned it; got a new one. Took some really great pics out of water, then the first time in the water after taking a few pics it just turned off and turning it on did not do a thing. I am returning it luckily within 30 days. But I am extremely disappointed in this product.

Looking for a durable camera for your thru-hike? You've found it. You can't find another camera with comparable features, this has everything you need to make it from Mexico to Canada and then some. Make the right choice and get the one that will make it all the way with some really adverse conditions to go through and keep on working. You don't want to miss any shots or worry about that last river crossing so get the camera that will get the job done and very well at that.

This is a great product. Really clear photos underwater, quick-ready so you can grab it and snap a photo in seconds. Feature-packed. I really like the create calendar feature. The only changes I would make to the design? Add a viewfinder for use with action scenes and video; also it might be better to have the lens in the center of the camera instead of where fingers naturally get in the way.

Battery life is very long, microphone is accurate for audio reproduction and this thing will take a beating. I used it for a month in Costa Rica in all sorts of weather, in hot springs and on the beach/salt water. Zero problems. A really great camera! Just what I expected from Olympus.

This camera is a great beach camera. It is waterproof to 33 Ft and can withstand bumping and banging. It was fun to take it in the water and shoot pictures snorkeling, boating, swimming, etc. The picture quality is very good, but we did have some issues with the video. When zooming in while taking a video, the video quality became very blurry. Also, the way the camera is designed your fingers get in the way of the speaker and you end up with a bumping noise on your videos. The only other complaint is that while the camera itself is durable, the finish on the camera scratches easily. After only a few days of use, it looked very 'beat up'. While this doesn't affect how it works, it looks bad cosmetically.