Does anyone have experience with the new price-point model from Olympus, the Stylus-550 WP?
We recently picked one up on an impulse for an upcoming paddling vacation. Wondering if anyone has put it through the paces already, and what do you think?
Don’t Know About That Particular Model
I have had the Stylus 300 and now the 850 SW. No problems with either, good pics. Would still have the 300 if it could swim too! WW
I have the 850 SW too
and it swam (while tethered) more than once. Takes good photos. It is a good vacation point and shoot. Good luck with your new camera.
I dunked my 850 and got some
– Last Updated: Jul-18-09 5:42 PM EST –
fish tail photos. Takes great close-ups and snap shots. I had a 500 , but it died on impact with the driveway.
web search
Do a web search for waterproof digital cameras and you’ll find several sites that have already tested it.
Bill H.
test it in H2O now, while still can …
store exchnage it if it leaks.
I like the Olympus cameras
I have the 790 SW model, and i am really impressed with it. It takes great pictures, is tough, and very waterproof. I lost mine while paddling and found it 3 hours later floating accross the lake. I would strongly suggest either tieing it right to your pfd, or getting a float for it, or both.
waterproof cameras
I recently bought a new point-and-shoot digital camera after dunking and ruining my old Nikon Coolpix while paddling. I started out looking at waterproof cameras like the Olympus and comparable models made by Fuji and Canon. However, after reading numerous user reviews on Amazon, I decided to buy a regular digital camera again and be more diligent about keeping it in a waterproof case while paddling. The waterproof cameras apparently work well in terms of water resistance and durability, but apparently do not take as nice pictures in the price range I was looking at ($150-250). The higher rated waterproofs supposedly take pretty nice pictures but cost more than I was wanting to spend right now.
Strange Pricing
I did notice after i got my 790 some wierd pricing for the olympus cameras. the 790, the older model cost more than the 850, which is newer, more megapixels, and i would assume better camera. There is also the 1050, which is the same price as my old 790, which again, more megapaxels and all, but my older 790 takes awesome pictures. I don’t know anyone with the newer models to compare, but it kinda sounds like they are more of a mass market, generic type of camera. If anyone here is into camera specs and such they could probably tell you more about it.
Here you go
Check there and the forums from the respective manufacturers.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/
Also, use the image comarator on www.imaging-resource.com - very easy to see what’s what and how the camera IQ stacks-up. Read the reviews and you can form your own conclusion.
In general, most of the underwater cameras will lack IQ compared to similarly priced non-wp models by a good margin but some come close to the cheaper models.
More MP is not necessarily all good and newer is not always better 