I am going to buy a camera. My two choices are Pentax Optio W60 waterproof and an Olympus Stylus 850 waterproof. The obvious difference is $100.
Give me your input please. Jim
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I am going to buy a camera. My two choices are Pentax Optio W60 waterproof and an Olympus Stylus 850 waterproof. The obvious difference is $100.
Give me your input please. Jim
http://photo.net/equipment/point-and...olympus-1030sw
Not the exact models you asked about but a good read and besides it was written by a friend of mine so also a bit of shameless promotion on his behalf.
I'm still happy with my W-30. Oddly, it quit focusing right after I bought it, not positive it ever was perfect. Sent it in, returned in about 20 days total. Happened again soon. Again sent it in, again, returned in about 20 days. Fantastic repair service. Point is,,, it works great now and has ever since. It still has all the features I want and I do not expect any problems. It is not a back-up camera,,, it is the only one we use. :)
Please don't think this is against the Olympus, it is that several of my friends use the Pentax, W-10, W-30, or W-60.
Jim -
I've got the Olympus 850SW and very much like it. Nothing against the Pentax Optio cameras, but I like the waterproof plus shockproof plus freezeproof features of the Olympus.
Also, it is really easy to navigate the Olympus. Lots of features and modes and I thought there was a pretty short learning curve on the 850SW.
No problems at all with it in about seven months of regular use. Nice size, has a nice heft to it, and looks good on top of all that.
You've seen a lot of pics I've posted with it and I'll let them speak for the quality of the images and color reproduction. Oh well, what's one more than I just put on photobucket ??
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...004_edited.jpg
Getting back to the Pentax - in the right hands it can do super pics. If you take a look at some of 7x's stuff, which I am pretty sure is all shot with a Pentax Optio, you might find yourself between a rock and a hard place making a decision.
John
We have several generations of the Olympus Stylus, 720, 790 and the 850. Warranty work has been fantastic and the photos very good. The thing that struck me positively about the 850 is how fast the shutter is. Shutter lag frustrates me terribly with the earlier models, hence the 850.
Underwater shots and video have been better than decent on the earlier models. We took quite a bit of video this summer on the boat and it was far better than expected, though the sound was nothing special.
I know the Pentax lag time is also much reduced in newer models, but the 850 seems instantaneous, so any differences can only be minor.
http://www.cameralandny.com/ is the place to buy it. Doug, an owner, has been a fishing buddy of mine for many years. He understands the only way to stand out positively as a camera dealer in NY City is with service.
Tell him Art told you to call and he might not hold it against you! ;)
art
If you are looking for higher quality enlarged images, say 8x10 and up, then the combination of 10 mp, 5x optical zoom and image stabilization give the nod to the Pentax. Even though the megapixel count is just about dead even the better optical zoom of the Pentax will mean higher quality enlargments than the Olympus since the Pentax can zoom in tighter on the subject, near or far. Also right now SD-HC memory is cheap, very large capacity and speed wise smokes just about all other forms of removable memory including the xd used by Olympus.
Other than that I'd say it's a horse race between the two makes. Both are excellent cameras with pluses and minuses. I would say you will be pleased no matter which make you decide to buy. I must also say that I have always been biased towards Pentax.
I had not considered the Olympus 1030 but that review got me thinking. That is a nice camera and affordable (in my price range) Thanks Kerry. JimQuote:
Originally Posted by Kerry Stratton
John,,, I may be wrong, but I think my Pentax has those features you mentioned. (then again, maybe not) :)
jimsnarocks ................
Don't put to much stock in the image stabilization features on the point and shoot cameras.
It is NOT like the systems in the DSLR's.
In the point and shoot cameras, all they do is increase the shutter speeds and use a higher ISO when you activate this option. This leads to higher noise levels which are really noticeable.
DickM.
I used to subscribe to a couple of the photo magazines back in the 70's and there were tons of "camera shops" with full-page ads of the major manufacturers, cheap. After a not-so-pleasing purchase, a friend in the business (photography) advised that these companies, including Adorama, were notorius for selling "Grey Market."
Is this still a practice? I notice the W60 is really cheap (at Adorama) compared to a local shop in the Mall.
Jim
Jim,Quote:
Originally Posted by jimsnarocks
Just remember that a camera is a tool. Read the specs to see which camera meet your needs. Checkout the manufacturer website and websites like Digital Photography Review http://www.dpreview.com/
Be sure to let us know what you decided on.
Bluntly you have to be careful and read the fine print with most of those stores in the NY City area. Beach Camera is a place that I WON'T ever do business with again. I returned a non working camera to them within 30 days and they said they never received it back even though the UPS had a signed signature of one of their employees. I had to get my credit card company involved and it was just ugly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Sentell
Places like Dell Computer sell digital cameras that are extremely agressively priced and I trust them more. I've bought from them. I also always liked B&H Camera.
My 2 cents:
The macro on the 850SW is atrocious. I compared side-by-side with a 1030SW, and both macro functions on the 1030SW (macro and super macro) are easy to use and quite good.
I read far too many negative reviews of the W60 and had a good friend (who works at Crutchfield) tell me that he tried out both the W60 and the 1030SW on a two-day fishing trip, and was impressed by the sheer ease of use, crispness and durability of the 1030SW. I know you're not contemplating the 1030SW, but if you're looking for a waterproof camera, it's about as robust a point-and-shoot as you'll find. The shock resistance from 10' is an added bonus.
FWIW I got my 1030SW from dell.com and searched their site for online coupons to add to their already-low price. Got mine for under $270 shipped! Very pleased with image quality and water resistance (though indoor photos are best done in manual mode as the auto function produces a red color bias).
Anyhow, just my observations. The 850SW left a lot to be desired, and the W60 gave me little confidence in purchasing.
As mentioned above, figure out what you want from the camera and then buy the one that best suits your needs! If there are negative reviews, sometimes it's about a feature that you don't want or need and therefore doesn't apply to your criteria/needs.
PM me if you like.
Marty
After careful deliberation and much study I have decided on the Olympus 1030SW. I know it wasn't one of the original choices but after reading Kerry's offered comparison of the Olympus 1030 and the Pentax Optio W60 I felt compelled to scrap the stylus 850. FYI, as of this month the Olympus Stylus waterproof cams will be called "Olympus Tough"
Thanks to DickM I now know a lot more about ISO and DSLR's and have an understanding of "noise levels" produced by point and shoot cameras. I thought it meant shutter racket but nope. Thanks Dick.
Also thanks to Marty for the additional heads up on the 1030. And where to buy it. (Dell.com) I've done business with them before and they're alright.
Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I am ordering the camera today and will post some pics soon. Happy New Year to all. Jim
As someone that sells a lot of images every year I just ran my 850 through a few tests on macro as I had not done so previously. I usually use full-size SLR and so it was not an issue. And I was curious.
If the 850 sucks I would sure like to see what stands for great! ;)
I run Canon L series lenses mostly and the Olympus is not in their league... But for the occasional macro it is not bad.
Having some issues with Photobucket right now, put will put some test images up soon...
art
Since Jim has already decided on the 1030SW, this is another gratuitous comment for others who may be thinking about buying one of these waterproof / shockproof / freezeproof cameras.
I've been quite pleased with the macro feature on the 850SW. I don't know what MFTG means by "atrocious," but that is certainly not a word that would ever come to mind considering my experience with it. Surely, it is not the equal of some of the really great cameras out there - the ones you probably wouldn't take a lot of places or in a lot of conditions that we run into outdoors - but for a camera that you can take anywhere in a pocket and use in extreme conditions without worrying about it, I think the macro is quite satisfactory.
Haven't really looked at the 1030SW in depth since it was just coming out about the time I bought my 850SW. There was a pretty good jump in price, as I recall, and what more you got for the money ( e.g. deeper submersion for a longer time on the waterproof feature and a longer drop on the shockproof, along other interesting enhancements that I didn't think would make a lot of difference for my intended uses ) didn't justify it for me personally. My guess is that given the opportunity to get the 1030SW for what I paid for the 850SW, I would jump at it.
John
I can't speak for the 1030SW, but I have the 850SW and used it today while fishing for steelhead and took some underwater shots (too murky so I didn't save them) but the air temp was 30 degrees and the water temp was probably 33 degrees judging from the amount of ice and slush that we were fishing through. I am pretty hard on cameras and this one with the silicone skin option has been fine. I really recommend the silicone case for $16.00.
Glenn
My side-by-side experiment (850 vs 1030) involved an n=1 per camera. I can make no statistical arguments regarding precision. My experience was limited to the demo cameras that Circuit City had on-hand. Still, when attempting to focus on the same object at the same distance using the macro function of each camera, the choice was clear. I got used to the SD series of Canons (of which I drowned no fewer than 2), which had excellent marcos. A fishin buddy who has the 790SW warned me that the SW series' macro wasn't as intuitive as other P&S cameras, so I knew what to expect.
Anyway, for you guys who like your 850SW, that's great! I just happened to get into the driver's seat at a time when both were readily available and a little bit less polarized in terms of price.
Here's a New Year's day troot from the 1030 taking advantage only of its low-temp functionality:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p...Jan2009001.jpg
Marty
Marty -
Never occured to me that you were talking about the process rather than results. Here are a couple of pics taken with the 850SW macro.
My personal favorite - more for the expression than anything else.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...015_edited.jpg
And I think this is Ron Eagle Elk's favorite - he seems to have a thing about slimey fish.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...006_edited.jpg
It did take a little experimenting to figure out the best of the three macro settings to use. But once set, it is very easy to use the macro and the results are quite satisfactory, especially considering the dynamic situation involved taking these shots.
John
Those are really superb shots, John! I retract my statement about the 850SW macro function. It could just as easily have been the camera that I had at my disposal - or the user!!! I'm sometimes addled when it comes to getting the hang of this high-tech stuff...seriously.
Mmmmmmmmm whitey.
the pentax w60 is also freezeproof to below zero temeratures.
As announced, I wanted input on cameras (point and shoot, waterproof). I thought I decided on an Olympus Stylus 1030SW. They seemed to be soldout everywhere I looked. Oh I found some but not for the price I wanted. I then came across the Olympus 1050SW. Basically the same camera but it doesn't go as deep in the water as the 1030. I doubt if I will ever be 30 feet underwater anyway unless I'm drowning, and then I'll be too busy to be taking photos. This one is good to 9 ft. I might be able to recover from that depth.
Hopefully I will be familiar enough with it by this coming Friday. I will be fishing with my FF club and will try to get some shots posted with it on the fishing reports BB. Thanks for all your help. Jim
Not that it matters now,,, but I put my W-30 in the hot tub today and took about a dozen pix of some flies. All came out fine. :)
I got an olympus stylus 790sw, the 850 is replacing it so we got it almost half off. Only difference is 790 is 7.2megapixels and 850 is 8megapixels. It takes good moving photos and nice macro (close up for flies).
Only complaint it has a big screen to check out the picture you just took, so I suggest investing in some of those cut and peel screen covers.
Those are nice. I did a lot of research and learned more than I wanted too at the time. My 1050 also has the large view screen and I've already put the cover on it. It is a 10.1 megapixals and I'm sure once I figure it out I'll be able to take some outstanding fish photos. As for the Macro there are 3 settings: Macro, Super Macro and S Macro LED. I'm still reading the book. My wife is starting a Digital Camera class at the local JC where she teaches. Hopefully she will learn enough for both of us. She has already hi-jacked my new tripod for her Olympus Stylus 730. Jim