Olympus Stylus 720SW - Easy Camera Review

If your kids have dipped your cell phone into the toilet more than once, perhaps you should look into a durable digital camera like the Olympus Stylus 720SW. This camera can be immersed in up to 10 ft of water and can take falls from up to 5 ft too. The 7.1-megapixel Olympus 720SW is a camera that your curious toddler can hold without ruining.

The water and shockproof digital camera is small and skinny at 0.8 inches thick. There aren’t any protrusions, which make it more likely to survive falls. The camera’s 3x optical zoom lens remains within the body at all times, and the 2.5-inch LCD screen has a special scratch-proof surface to keep it from showing its beatings.

The surface is decent, but the screen’s resolution leaves much to be desired as it only has 115,000 pixels. The poor resolution combined with the slow refresh rate of the live preview image will only provide you with a rough estimate of what you’re photographing.

It is meant to be easy-to-use with its automatic and 23 scene modes. It also includes an extensive help guide. The guide is lengthy, which is good for beginners who want step-by-step tutorials on everything. However, all the text is difficult to read on the LCD screen; it’d be a much easier reference guide if it were a separate booklet.

Unfortunately, the Olympus Stylus 720SW isn’t a stellar performance digital camera. Its colors are terribly inaccurate. While most cameras exaggerate red colors, this model exaggerated greens and blues. This might make for gorgeous landscapes, but it will make portrait subjects look ill. In addition, even though the colors in landscapes may look good, textures probably won’t. The Stylus 720SW also had a hard time capturing a wide range of bright to dark shades.

This contrast issue may be a problem when shooting underwater, where lighting is often difficult. There are several underwater scene modes and the sturdy housing is outfitted with O-rings and rubber seals to keep it waterproof. Despite its underwater capabilities, don’t expect professional-looking photos. The bright blue water and vibrant yellow fish displayed on your vacation brochure won’t be the same results you’ll get from the Stylus 720SW. Instead, your underwater photos will turn out murky and dull-colored.

Turning on the flash, whether below or above water, usually isn’t a good idea with the 720SW. It reaches 12.5 ft at best, and it produces a bright spot toward the right half of the frame. Movies don’t look much better than the pictures. Movies record at a decent resolution but with a horrible 15 frame-per-second frame rate that makes it look very choppy.

The Olympus Stylus 720SW takes its best pictures in bright sunny weather, even though it can withstand rainy days and a dip in the pool. The camera costs about $300 online and is good for consumers who want a very durable camera and will use the underwater function. It doesn’t produce fabulous pictures, but there just aren’t that many weatherproof and shockproof cameras in the market right now. The 7.1-megapixel Olympus Stylus 720SW now has a weatherproof sibling, the Stylus 770SW, that is worth a look. With its introduction, the older 720SW should be offered at a more affordable price.

Olympus Stylus 720SW - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 311.86

Likes

- Very rugged - Effectively waterproof - Sturdy port door - Slim profile - Music with slide show - Calendar print mode

Dislikes

- Confusing menus - Poor lens placement - Too much shutter lag - Low resolution LCD screen - Choppy movie mode - Archaic software

Olympus Stylus 770SW Rating: N/A	Pentax Optio WPi Rating: N/A	Pentax Optio W20 Rating: N/A	Canon PowerShot SD40 Rating: 346.08	Nikon Coolpix S7c Rating: N/A
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- Freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit - Waterproof to 33 ft - Crushproof to 220 lbs - 230k resolution on LCD screen - Improved, wider viewing angle on LCD - Sells in 6 different colors - Faster auto focus system - Built-in manometer records elevation in file info	- Lighter weight - Tracking auto focus mode - Manual white balance - Compatible with cheaper SD cards - Comes in cool colors like red and blue	- More effective flash unit to 16.4 ft - Manual white balance - Digital color and effects filters - Compatible with cheaper SD cards - 640 x 480-pixel movies at smoother 30 fps - Digital image stabilization - Macro mode from 1 cm - Face recognition auto focus technology - Image recovery function	- Trendier housing comes in 4 colors - Very effective and fast face detection auto focus system - More accurate color reproduction - More effective resolution - Burst mode keeps going and going - My Colors effects - Custom white balance - Great-looking 640 x 480, 30 fps movies	- Wireless printing and emailing - Stores up to 30 email addresses - Vibration reduction - 3-inch LCD screen with 230k - Powerful flash - Wave design handles better - Interval shooting - Manual white balance - 640 x 480, 30 fps movies look much better - Faster 1.4 fps burst mode - Musical slide shows
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 7.1 megapixels - Similar body design - Shockproof to 5 ft - 3x optical zoom lens - 2.5-inch sized LCD screen - Same scene modes - ISO to 1600 - Lackluster 15 fps movie mode - Cheesy slide show music - Same awful flash unit - Olympus Master Software included - xD-Picture card compatible	- Waterproof - 3x optical zoom lens - SD card compatibility - 15 fps movies - Similar $299 price	- 7 megapixels - 3x optical zoom lens - 2.5-inch LCD screen - Manual ISO to 1600 - Voice recording mode - Underwater still and movie preset modes - $299 retail price	- 7.1 megapixels - Automatically oriented point-and-shoot style - ISO up to 1600 - Underwater scene mode (although this camera needs a separate underwater housing)	- 7.1 megapixels - 3x optical zoom lens stays within camera body - Similar sub-$300 online price - Manual ISO settings up to 1600 - 200-shot rechargeable battery included
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- More expensive $370 retail price	- 6 megapixels - 0.9 inches thick - 2-inch LCD screen - Less powerful flash to 10.2 ft - Manual ISO settings from 80-400 only - Top movie resolution is 320 x 240 pixels at 15 fps	- Design not as trendy - Waterproof to 5 ft only - Not shockproof - Only 115k on LCD screen	- 2.4x optical zoom lens - 1.8-inch LCD screen - $349 retail price - Automatic ISO setting produces more noise - Horrible pictures in low light - Built-in flash doesn’t even reach 7 ft - Thicker 0.94-inch body	- Not waterproof or shockproof - Horribly tiny zoom control