Olympus Stylus 850SW
Cameras are either your friend or the spawn of Satan. There is no gray area when it comes to cameras. Some of you may spend thousands on high end cameras and equipment, and others like me want the best we can get with a limited budget.
Point and shoot cameras make the most sense for those of us whom only know enough about cameras to judge them by the price paid. I love to take pictures, and I would love to own a high end camera, but family and fishing get all of my money. I have owned quite a few of these somewhat disposable cameras. If I get 2 years out of a camera I am pleased. After all it spends its life on the boat or the console of my truck. Getting beat up by all the other crap I tend to carry in both locations. Let’s not forget I am a salt water guy too, with a small boat none the less.
For the last 4 years I have been using water proof point and shoots, the first was a no name ordered off the internet, and for 100.00 I was happy, until the 100th picture. I guess the camera is only good for that long. I then found the Pentax Optio WXX series of cameras and had very good luck with it. Despite it’s warnings of only good to 10’ I found that it works well down to 40’. The camera lasted about 2.5 years and had taken many pictures ranging from snorkeling trips in the Bahamas, Keys, fishing in the mosquito lagoon, Everglades, to family get togethers and for the most part it took very good pictures. I did find that as with most P&S cameras the shutter speed, and reaction time was very poor. This would result in missed shots as well as blurry shots. This year while in Belize the Optio failed at the mouth of a cave I was entering on a tube. Talk about bad timing!!!
Enter the new toy! Being I had 4 days left and 2 more countries to visit I had to get a camera. After a little research I settled with an Olympus Stylus 850SW. The price was about the same as the Pentax at 250.00, and the features mimicked the Pentax, however one thing sold me. The camera salesman explained that this model was capable of a 5’ drop to the marble floor and surviving. He held the camera at roughly 6-6.5’ turned it on and dropped it to the hard floor, picked it up and snapped a picture of me with dropped jaw and all. He also said that it was good down to 10’ underwater. I told him I would be snorkeling later in the day and if it failed I would bring it back. He agreed and I left. Straight to the water and down to @25’ the camera worked as planned.
Now for a P&S camera I don’t expect shutter speed to be good nor do I expect fast reaction times for objects in motion, but surprisingly this camera is not too bad. The Digital Image Stabilization mode is perfect for me as it eliminates those blurry photos that have always plagued me. The camera is not the end all be all of P&S cameras, but for something that will be tossed around in a small boat, a console of a truck, and constantly being subjected to salt water baths this one thus far is well worth the money. Its ease of use only adds to the likeability. Many functions are added from Document to sport modes give the camera some pretty good versatility. I find I am using it at work as well for documenting everything from I&T to equipment serial numbers.
As with all things there are some pros and cons. The pros for this camera are a plentiful. The cons; not so much. The only true con I have is the placement of the lens as it is on the upper left hand corner of the camera as opposed to the center. I tend to hold the camera with my left hand so I have to pay attention. The Pros as mentioned are a plenty. The LCD Display is very clear, and easy to see at 2” X 1.5” and at 8.0MP pictures come out very clear. Even a quick shot of the TV once I returned home proved the ability of this camera to take good clear pictures no matter the situation.
A nice zoom of the same picture….
If you are in the market for a good P&S camera this is somewhere to start. My opinion is that Olympus really thought about us regular guys when it comes to the durability, ease of use, and water proof! Please do not exceed what the manufacturer states for depths as should the camera not be used as per their specifications and it fails you may be out of luck! For more information visit the website
http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1365
And as always this is just MY Opinion. When I find something stands up to the rigors of me, it cant be half bad. If you have any questions from a users standpoint please feel free to drop me an email. costefishnt@4everwright.com
…Now if this camera will help me catch the fish it would be worth twice what I paid for it…
Review by: Curtis Cost Efish'nt³ Wright
Microskiff.com Pro Staff
email: costefishnt@4everwright.com
