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Olympus Stylus 1030 SW
Digital Camera Review
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Connectivity
Software (6.50)
The CD-ROM that comes with the camera includes versions of OLYMPUS Master 2, an image organizing and editing program, for both Windows and Mac. Windows users also receive a trial copy of muvee theaterPack, a rudimentary automated movie editing program that expires after 15 days – how will those poor Mac owners control their jealousy? The OLYMPUS Master 2 program, though, is far more useful than most of the software we receive free with digital cameras. In addition to basic image organizing and viewing capabilities, OLYMPUS Master 2 supports automated photo email creation and YouTube uploading, and provides extensive photo editing capabilities, including automatic and manual adjustment of brightness and contrast, color balance, hue and saturation, image sharpening, and even lens distortion correction to adjust for pincushioning and barrel distortion.
Jacks, ports, plugs (2.00)
There’s one proprietary port used to connect two included cables for USB connectivity and video output. The AV cable supports composite video and one channel of audio. Requiring a proprietary USB cable on this camera is especially problematic, since card readers that handle the xD card format are a rarity. If you lose the Olympus cable, you're going to have trouble off-loading your pictures.
Direct Print Options (3.50)
The in-camera software used to printing directly from the 1030 SW to a PictBridge-compatible printer connected via USB offers three useful features not found on many compact cameras: the ability to print several images on a single sheet of paper, the option to print pages of thumbnail-sized images to serve as index prints, and image cropping before printing. More importantly, the menu structure and on-screen displays are easy to use, which counts for a lot. There are two direct print modes. Easy Print simply outputs a single copy of the picture shown on the LCD, using the printer default settings. Custom Print lets you choose paper size, specify bordered or borderless printing, choose from single or multi-image printing, create an index print, set the number of prints for each image and decide whether to overlay file name and/or date on the print.
You also have the option to create a DPOF print order, which specifies settings for printing at a kiosk or commercial printing service, or on a DPOF-compatible home printer.
Battery (5.00)
The 1030 SW uses a slender LI-50B lithium ion rechargeable battery, which Olympus says will last about 260 shots per charge. That may sound like plenty but, during our testing, we found the battery would poop out long before the day was over. If you’re planning to carry this camera to capture once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities, we’d strongly recommend packing a spare battery (a $31 investment on Amazon). Also worth noting: there's no keying system when inserting the battery, meaning it goes in upside down as easily as right-side-up. Getting it right requires peering into the battery compartment and looking for the connectors, a significant inconvenience.
The in-camera software used to printing directly from the 1030 SW to a PictBridge-compatible printer connected via USB offers three useful features not found on many compact cameras: the ability to print several images on a single sheet of paper, the option to print pages of thumbnail-sized images to serve as index prints, and image cropping before printing. More importantly, the menu structure and on-screen displays are easy to use, which counts for a lot. There are two direct print modes. Easy Print simply outputs a single copy of the picture shown on the LCD, using the printer default settings. Custom Print lets you choose paper size, specify bordered or borderless printing, choose from single or multi-image printing, create an index print, set the number of prints for each image and decide whether to overlay file name and/or date on the print.
You also have the option to create a DPOF print order, which specifies settings for printing at a kiosk or commercial printing service, or on a DPOF-compatible home printer.
Battery (5.00)
The 1030 SW uses a slender LI-50B lithium ion rechargeable battery, which Olympus says will last about 260 shots per charge. That may sound like plenty but, during our testing, we found the battery would poop out long before the day was over. If you’re planning to carry this camera to capture once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities, we’d strongly recommend packing a spare battery (a $31 investment on Amazon). Also worth noting: there's no keying system when inserting the battery, meaning it goes in upside down as easily as right-side-up. Getting it right requires peering into the battery compartment and looking for the connectors, a significant inconvenience.
The slim battery and xD card share a bottom compartment.
Memory (2.50)
There’s a modest 14.7MB of internal memory built into the camera – beyond that, you’re looking at an investment in xD-Picture Cards, an Olympus proprietary memory format currently available with a maximum storage capacity of 2 gigabytes. We can’t really come up with an advantage to using xD cards – they can’t come close to the enormous capacities of SDHC cards (now at 32 gigabytes), and sell for a higher price per capacity than SD cards. Radio Shack, for example, sells a 2-gigabyte SanDisk xD card for $34.99, while a 2-gigabyte SanDisk SD card goes for $14.99. The camera comes with an adapter that enables it to accept microSD cards, the type ordinarily used in cellphones. Here again, unless you happen to have a stash of microSD cards with nothing better to do, we would prefer using standard, inexpensive, high-capacity SD cards, like most compact cameras.
Other features (12.00)
Torture and Abuse Resistance: Ordinarily our carefully orchestrated digital camera evaluation procedure doesn’t include physically abusing the equipment, so the very heart of the 1030 SW’s appeal lies here, at the tail end of our review. Olympus makes four significant promises regarding the camera’s ability to stand up to harsh conditions:
- Waterproof to a depth of 33 feet (10 meters) for an hour
- Freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius)
- Shockproof to withstand a 6.6-foot (2 meter) drop
- Crushproof to withstand 220 pounds of pressure
We shot two feet underwater with the 1030 SW,
though it's safe to use at 33-foot depths.
Since our staff lacks professional divers to take our test camera down to a 30-foot depth, we tried the 1030SW in more readily available environments (a pool, a bathtub and an unoccupied aquarium tank) with excellent results. After years of guarding our cameras against the elements, it seemed incredibly intimidating at first to dunk a camera in H2O. It quickly became clear, though, that Olympus had delivered on its waterproof promise. All seals held, even after violent jostling, and the camera emerged unscathed.
Temperature torment was also inflicted using the water bath technique. A cooler full of water, ice and salt was brought down to roughly the 14-degree mark and the camera was immersed. Again, it emerged, Houdini-like, none the worse for wear.
Shockproof was relatively easy to test. We started tentatively, with a fall to a carpeted surface, but finally graduated to a linoleum floor. The 1030 SW plummeted, bounced slightly, and continued to function.
Finally, a heavyset editor's back pocket was used to test grace under pressure. The 1030 SW survived the indignity unscathed.
Manometer: To be honest, we thought a manometer was something you bought from an ad in the back pages of Cosmo until we encountered it in the camera manual. Turns out it displays the atmospheric pressure and altitude/depth while shooting, ranging from -32.8 feet (-10 m) to 16,400 feet (5000 m). This would be a far more useful feature if you could actually record the reading along with your photograph, but it's still worth having.
- Waterproof to a depth of 33 feet (10 meters) for an hour
- Freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius)
- Shockproof to withstand a 6.6-foot (2 meter) drop
- Crushproof to withstand 220 pounds of pressure
We shot two feet underwater with the 1030 SW,
though it's safe to use at 33-foot depths.
Since our staff lacks professional divers to take our test camera down to a 30-foot depth, we tried the 1030SW in more readily available environments (a pool, a bathtub and an unoccupied aquarium tank) with excellent results. After years of guarding our cameras against the elements, it seemed incredibly intimidating at first to dunk a camera in H2O. It quickly became clear, though, that Olympus had delivered on its waterproof promise. All seals held, even after violent jostling, and the camera emerged unscathed.
Temperature torment was also inflicted using the water bath technique. A cooler full of water, ice and salt was brought down to roughly the 14-degree mark and the camera was immersed. Again, it emerged, Houdini-like, none the worse for wear.
Shockproof was relatively easy to test. We started tentatively, with a fall to a carpeted surface, but finally graduated to a linoleum floor. The 1030 SW plummeted, bounced slightly, and continued to function.
Finally, a heavyset editor's back pocket was used to test grace under pressure. The 1030 SW survived the indignity unscathed.
Manometer: To be honest, we thought a manometer was something you bought from an ad in the back pages of Cosmo until we encountered it in the camera manual. Turns out it displays the atmospheric pressure and altitude/depth while shooting, ranging from -32.8 feet (-10 m) to 16,400 feet (5000 m). This would be a far more useful feature if you could actually record the reading along with your photograph, but it's still worth having.
| Page 9 of 13 | Overall Impressions | ||
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