Olympus Stylus SW · on sale March 2008 · a retrospective
The Olympus Stylus 1030 SW: the camera you could take in the pool
In 2008 Olympus sold a pocket camera you could drop, freeze, sit on and take down 33 feet. Reviewers admired the armour and were less kind about the pictures.
Meet the camera
It looks like a small piece of equipment, not a fashion item. Reviewed.com noted visible screw heads reinforcing its tough-gear image, a glossy front panel inset in brushed metal in silver, green or black, and the words SHOCK + WATERPROOF printed under the model name.3 Imaging Resource said the design looked more industrial than sexy and that it weighed about 6.8 ounces with battery and card, a little heavier than other compacts, which added to the sturdy feel.2
Olympus announced it on January 22, 2008, as the latest in a line of incredibly rugged compact cameras, shipping from March at $399.99.1 It had a ten-megapixel CCD, a 3.6x Olympus zoom lens, a 2.7-inch screen and 14.7 MB of built-in memory, with an xD-Picture Card slot.1 Reviewed.com thought the $400 price looked better the more you used its element-defying abilities.3
Why this one was interesting
Built for what happens to cameras
Imaging Resource's reviewer listed what it could survive: a 6.6-foot drop, being sat or stood on, up to 220 pounds of pressure, a dive to 33 feet, and sub-freezing temperatures down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.2 Reviewed.com gave the depth rating as 30 feet,3 Neocamera called it waterproof, shockproof, crushproof and scratchproof.4 The review's own summary was that the real claim to fame was the ability to withstand conditions that other cameras, or their manufacturers, can only dream of.2
Was it a new chip or lens?
Not really. It had a 10.1-megapixel CCD and a lens that Imaging Resource called wider than average at a 28 mm equivalent,2 but there was no optical stabilisation. Instead, Olympus offered what it called digital image stabilisation, which was really a higher ISO, and Imaging Resource listed the name among the cons.2 The real news was the armour.
Features for the outdoors
Imaging Resource noted 29 shooting modes, 25 of them scene modes, special underwater scene modes, face detection, a Shadow Adjustment feature for backlit scenes and a manometer that recorded air pressure so climbers and divers had a reference for the height or depth of a picture.2 A separate LED light replaced the flash for macro shots.1
If you want an ordinary, not rugged, Canon from the same year, see our SD1100 IS retrospective.
The pictures, honestly
The reviews agreed on the faults. Imaging Resource found image noise even at low ISOs, chromatic aberration, soft images, a poor autofocus system and image quality not as good as non-rugged competitors.2 At ISO 400 an 8 by 10 inch print looked pretty good if a little soft, ISO 800 was better at 5 by 7, and ISO 1600 gave grainy 4 by 6 prints.2 It added that printed output was actually worse than that of the 7.1-megapixel 720SW before it, despite the extra resolution, which is why it did not earn a Dave's Pick.2 Reviewed.com judged the automatic systems reasonable but found shortcomings in key areas, notably white balance and continuous shooting speed, and found colour accuracy less than impressive, with Olympus boosting the intensity.3
Where the camera made sense was under water, and the Commons photographs bear that out: wrecks, coral and a basking shark taken with this camera model.
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.
The dim and the dull
Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data.
Like that look? See what 1030 SWs have recently sold for on eBay ↗
On eBay right now
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The little wins
Face detection
The camera detected faces, though Imaging Resource complained it was buried in the main menu.2
Perfect Shot Preview
A live preview showed how a picture would look with various white balance, exposure and other settings before you took it, which Imaging Resource called very useful.2
A mode dial that replaced a button
Imaging Resource liked the quality mode dial that replaced the usual mode button, and the helpful on-board Guide.2
A pre-capture movie mode
A Pre-Capture Movie mode started recording immediately and kept two seconds from before you pressed the shutter and five afterwards, a total of seven seconds.2
A HyperCrystal screen
Olympus said its new HyperCrystal II screen offered improved contrast and colour reproduction.1
Where it let you down
There was no manual control of any kind, not even for white balance, Neocamera noted.4 Imaging Resource listed a weak flash, difficult-to-read control markings and a face detection menu hidden away.2 Reviewed.com thought the plastic tripod socket flimsy.3 The lens and screen were the only things standing between the camera and the elements, so owners should check the door seal and gasket, which Reviewed.com described.3
What the reviewers said in 2008
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Imaging Resource | 6 Aug 2008 | A decent choice for rugged conditions but no Dave's Pick: noisy, soft pictures and worse prints than its 720SW predecessor.2 |
| Reviewed.com | Undated | Buy it for its element-defying abilities; value was good for its intended audience, but white balance and burst speed disappointed.3 |
| Neocamera | Undated | Tough, and with a wide lens, but rather limited with no manual controls at all.4 |
The timeline
- 22 January 2008Olympus announces the Stylus 1030 SW at $399.99.1
- March 2008It ships.1
- 6 August 2008Imaging Resource publishes its review.2
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a camera for the beach, the pool, the boat or the slopes and care more about survival than sharpness. Imaging Resource's advice was that you don't have to be an outdoor adventurer to benefit from the ruggedness.2 What it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:
- The seals. Look at the battery and card door and its rubber gasket. An old seal can fail, so treat any claim of waterproofing with caution and test in shallow water first.3
- The battery. It was rated for about 260 shots when new;2 a fresh one is on Amazon ↗.
- The card. It takes xD-Picture Cards, not SD, and has 14.7 MB built in.1
- The screen and lens. Check for scratches or moisture behind the glass.
- The name. It was sold as the Olympus µ (mju) 1030 SW in Europe and the Stylus 1030 SW in the US, so search both.
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗Replacement battery ↗
New to the jargon (CCD, ISO, xD cards, IXUS vs ELPH)? Read our plain-English digicam glossary.
Sources
- Imaging Resource, “Olympus Stylus 1030 SW” announcement by Mike Tomkins (22 Jan 2008)
- Imaging Resource, Olympus Stylus 1030SW review by Theano Nikitas (6 Aug 2008)
- Reviewed.com, Olympus Stylus 1030 SW review (undated)
- Neocamera, “Olympus Stylus 1030SW full review posted” (undated)
Camera photos by suwa (CC BY-SA 3.0); other photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.