SHOCKPROOF, waterproof, freezeproof and crushproof—the new Stylus 770 SW from Olympus has features one might call “Die Hardy.” It’s the kind of camera John McClane could use to yippee-kai-yay from one sensational stunt sequence to another. I was handed this camera three weeks ago and, indeed, parting with it would be such sweet sorrow. Just when you think life or age or something has mellowed you down, you suddenly receive a gadget like this that has you thinking of adrenaline-pumping adventure.

Olympus calls the Stylus 770 SW “the world’s most durable digital camera.” Does the camera live up to the billing? Well, it certainly did more than just survive this writer’s suburban three-week torture test.

Waterproof

THERE aren’t many waterproof point-and-shooters to begin with, and certainly none like the Stylus 770 SW, which could shoot both stills and video with sound, down to depths of 10 meters or 33 feet, without any special accessory (an optional underwater case can let you go way deeper, down to 130 feet or 40 meters).

The camera’s sealant technology not only keeps out water but also mud, sand and dust, but the real fun and games start when you take it underwater. It’s got four underwater scene modes. I didn’t get the chance to test them while scuba diving or snorkeling, so I did the next best thing: I jumped into the swimming pool and used the underwater features on my kids.

The pictures and short VGA movies turned out okay, but, then again, the pool was only 10 feet at the deep end and sunlight shone through the water. It would be nice to see what this camera can do in the ocean. Its negative buoyancy (it doesn’t float underwater) is something scuba divers and snorkellers can appreciate, unless, of course, the camera slips off their wrists and sinks in the ocean depths.

Freezeproof

LIVING in winterless Manila doesn’t make it impossible to try this camera out in subfreezing temperatures. The Stylus 770W is supposed to be able to perform when the weather dips below 14 degrees Fahrenheit or -10 degrees Celsius, perfect for someone who wishes to scale Everest. Inspired by a picture I saw on the Internet showing a Stylus 770W entombed in a huge block of ice, I left my own demo unit overnight inside our freezer. I took it out the next morning and, surprisingly, there wasn’t even any fogging on the lens when I clicked away. Start-up time was the same and the camera seemed none the worse for wear taking stills and video after being frozen. 

Shockproof and crushproof

THE camera’s rugged stainless-steel construction and reinforced LCD panel is engineered to withstand a load of 220 lb and drops of up to five feet. So it’s not really crushproof, more like crush-resistant. I’m 5'10" and 175 lb. I tossed the camera over my shoulder several times while standing on different surfaces (including a concrete floor). Each time after, I would stand on the camera on one leg for a good five minutes. It’s a crude way of testing, I know, but still the camera worked fine after. There were a few minor scratches on the casing but I was able to rub them off with a metal polisher.

Sure, the camera is still going to get totaled if it slips off your hand while taking panoramic shots from your hotel window, for instance. But it won’t have any problem dealing with life’s little accidents and it can surely take a beating even from the naughtiest of toddlers.  

Multifunctional cam

THE camera also appeals to the inner McGyver in every man by having Swiss army knife-like multifunctionality. It has a built-in manometer that measures air and water pressure to calculate the altitude and depth of every photo taken. It records and displays the info on the digital image, which is great for your show-and-tell sessions. (It can’t authenticate your Everest summit claim, though, as its manometer only measures up to 16,400 feet.)

Its LED auto focus assist lamp not only works best in low-light situations and for macroshots but also doubles as a flashlight when the camera is turned off. The camera also has an alarm clock and a calendar, so you can retrieve your photos by the date they were shot.

You can also tweak your photos before printing or e-mailing even without a computer, by using the camera’s onboard editing features. Now you won’t need to Photoshop for minor adjustments on color and saturation, to fix redeye, frame photos, add text messages and convert color photographs into black-and-white or sepia.

As tough as it is, it’s still a camera

THE Stylus 770 SW with its 7-megapixel resolution can produce crisp, clear pictures, especially outdoors. Image quality would be fairly accurate if you can choose the correct scene mode—there are 24 of them for the typical (sunset, beach, indoor) and not so typical (underwater scenes, cuisine, fireworks) shooting and lighting situations. They won’t be like the glorious snaps that an SLR yields, but the fotos from this Olympus snapper would be more than good enough for the everyday user. The camera’s Digital Image Stabilization also helps freeze moving subjects to produce blur-free photos.

Its video capability, though, is limited, a choppy 15 frames per second (fps) at 640 x 480 pixels, compared with the 30 fps that is pretty much the standard nowadays. Another minor grievance is the on-camera navigation, which could be more user-friendly. To get to the scene mode requires two presses of a button before you can actually select a mode. And the movie mode is buried along with the other scene mode options. It would have been better to have a dedicated button for shooting movies.

However, considering how much abuse this camera can absorb, and how you can take it out when others cameras are being stowed away because of the elements, it would be a bit churlish to complain.

OLYMPUS STYLUS 770 SW: John McClane meets his match

SHOCKPROOF, waterproof, freezeproof and crushproof—the new Stylus 770 SW from Olympus has features one might call “Die Hardy.”

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