Olympus Stylus 1030 SW

Compared to other compact digital cameras, the Stylus 1030 SW color performance lags behind most of the competition, including the Panasonic that sells for less than half as much. Only the Pentax Optio Z10 scored lower in our testing.

Resolution (7.45)
There’s significantly more joy in Olympus-land when it comes to resolution testing, where the 1030 SW delivered a very credible performance. To test resolution, we shoot an industry-standard resolution chart (below) at several focal lengths, then analyze the images with Imatest software to derive a resolution reading in line widths per picture height (lw/ph). This figure indicates the number of individual, progressively thinner horizontal and vertical lines the camera can pick up before the pattern deteriorates into an undifferentiated grey splotch.

The industry-standard resolution chart we use for testing

The 1030 SW managed a top score of 1688 lw/ph horizontally and 1497 vertically, with slight undersharpening, in the middle of the lens’ zoom range. The scores at the wide-angle end of the range were not far from this result, though higher telephoto settings sank resolution scores by a noticeable 12-13%. While this kind of performance would be unimpressive for a digital SLR, it stands up very well against the point-and-shoot competition.

As seen in the comparison chart above, the Olympus outperformed three out of four of our comparison cases, barely nosed out only by the Nikon Coolpix P5100, a camera designed for sophisticated imaging performance.

Noise – Manual ISO (6.66)
For film photographers the problem was grain, the random texture caused by the distribution of fine metallic particles on the film stock, which grew more noticeable the more you pushed film to handle low-light shooting situations. For digital photographers, the problem of random noise remains, though the name, and the source are different. The undesirable texture in digital photography is called noise, caused by imperfections in digital image sensors compounded by processing variables in turning the captured light into digital 1s and 0s. As with film, the texture is most noticeable in shots taken in low-light situations, with long exposure settings and in areas of flat color, where minor variations are more noticeable.

We test noise performance by shooting the standard color chart at a range of ISO settings, then running the results through Imatest to determine the noise imperfections present at each illumination level. These results are graphed to reveal the rate at which noise increases as ISO setting rise. These results are shown in the graph below, with the percentage of noise shown along the left axis, the ISO levels along the bottom.

The slope of increasing noise shown here is less than ideal, with a noticeable jump after ISO 200 and a fairly rapid rise from ISO 400 on. However, the noise performance at the more commonly used ISO settings of 80, 100 and 200 start out quite low, leading to a strong overall score. It's worth noting that the camera is equipped with digital noise reduction processing, but the user has no control over its function: it kicks in automatically for exposures longer than half a second in night scene modes. 

As seen here, the 1030 SW manual noise scores surpass all of the other contenders except for the Panasonic Lumix LZ8, which frankly surprised us with its superior noise performance given its sub-$200 price.

Auto Noise (2.98)
For our auto noise test, we use the automatic ISO mode, letting the camera’s metering system choose the optimal setting in our well-lit studio. While our auto noise test measures the same image parameters as the manual test, the deciding factor separating the winners and losers here is almost always the ISO setting the camera chooses. When the camera chooses an appropriately low ISO, the auto noise scores are generally high. In this case, the 1030 SW decided to shoot at ISO 200, leading to a good score when compared to the Canon, Nikon and Pentax, surpassed only by that consistently strong Panasonic noise performance.

White Balance (5.68)
White balance adjustment proves to be a particularly difficult challenge for digital cameras, particularly point-and-shoot models. We don’t ordinarily notice the different colors of light produced by difference sources, since our minds adjust to perceive the reddish-yellow color of sunlight and the green-tinged fluorescent glow as white. When capturing a photo, though, the camera’s digital processing has to make the adjustment for us, shifting the balance of colors to recreate the white color we perceive.

To test white balance performance, we shoot our standard color chart under four different types of illumination: flash, shade, fluorescent and tungsten (light bulbs), testing the resulting images using Imatest software to compare the results against the original color chart values.

Auto White Balance (4.23)
We set the 1030 SW to automatic white balance, allowing the metering system to determine the appropriate setting, and shot at the camera’s lowest ISO setting. Imatest analyzed the resulting images and produced the charts below. Note that the images shown here intentionally exaggerate the differences in white balance to indicate the type of color shift you’d experience rather than the amount of color shift you’d see in your own photos.

Exaggerated White Balance Errors

Auto WB - Flash Illumination

Auto WB - Fluorescent Illumination

Auto WB - Daylight illumination

Auto WB - Tungsten illumination

Compared to our other test cameras, the Stylus 1030 SW underperforms the pack, only slightly exceeding the score turned in by the Panasonic. In real-world photography, this means you're more likely to notice a slight color cast in your photos when shooting with the Olympus.

Still Life
To provide a consistent basis for comparison from review to review, we always shoot two still life setups, our happily married couple and Rosie the Riveter and friends, under standard fluorescent lighting with the camera set on full auto, at each available ISO setting. Click on the images below to open the full-resolution originals in a separate browser window, but be prepared to wait: these are large files, and can take a while to download.  

ISO 80
ISO 100
ISO 200
ISO 400
ISO 800
ISO 1600

Low Light (7.39)
The ability to shoot without flash is always valuable – we often find ourselves in situations where flash would ruin a candid situation, wake the baby, and/or result in harsh, unattractive lighting. This becomes especially important with the 1030 SW, with a small, underpowered built-in flash and no way to attach an external flash unit.

We ordinarily undertake two kinds of low-light testing. In the first, we shoot the color chart at four illumination levels, ranging from 60 lux (roughly normal room lighting) down to 5 lux (the illumination given off by a single candle), shooting at ISO 1600.

Low Light Tests
60 Lux	30 Lux
15 Lux	5 Lux

As seen above, the 1030 SW performed well under a range of lighting levels, with only minimal shifts in color captured under different conditions.

Our second low-light test requires long exposures at ISO 400. Unfortunately, with no manual shutter or aperture control, it was impossible to control exposure times (which ordinarily stretch from 1 second to 30 seconds in our testing) for the 1030 SW. We did shoot under test conditions at ISO 400, allowing the camera to pick the shutter speed (1/2 second). The resulting image showed good color accuracy and an acceptable level of noise.

Overall low light performance for the 1030 SW was in line with the better results we’ve seen in previous compact camera testing. That means you'll have good luck shooting without flash indoors, and is especially welcome in a camera designed for underwater photography, where light levels are always muted.

Olympus 1030 SW Low Light Scores

The chart below shows the 1030 SW delivered dynamic range performance when compared to all four of our other examples. Combined with high scores in our resolution testing, this bodes well for the camera's ability to take richly detailed images.

Video Performance (5.52)
Movie capture is available at two resolution settings, 640x480 and 320x240, each at either 15 or 30 frames per second, captured in storage-hungry Motion JPEG format. You also have your choice between Non-Water Movie and Underwater Movie mode, the latter offering three custom white balance settings for different hues of briny blue. We chose not to flood our labs, though, and tested on dry land, at the highest resolution and frame rate. The results weren’t awful, but the 1030 SW is certainly no substitute for a family camcorder.

Bright indoor light – 3000 Lux
We illuminate our color chart very brightly using two large studio lamps to help the camera achieve its optimal video performance. Still frame grabs are then analyzed using Imatest to judge color accuracy. On balance color accuracy here was roughly in line with the performance we saw when testing the camera in still mode, albeit working here at a faster frame rate and radically reduced resolution. Not great, not awful.

Low light – 30 Lux
Interestingly, when it comes to color reproduction, this camera seems to like low light settings, whether in still or video mode. Color accuracy dipped very little as we dimmed the lights, though color saturation tumbled from noticeably oversaturated at nearly 120% to distinctly undersaturated at just under 80%, making the video look dull overall.

Resolution (1.27)
While the 1030SW did reasonably well in color performance, the resolution of captured video was poor, topping out at just 376 lw/ph horizontally and 306 lw/ph vertically. At this level fine details are effectively lost, edges are imprecise and the video displays an overall murky look.

Motion
To test for motion performance we head for the nearest busy street and shoot cars as they drive by, trying to look as much as possible like we’re holding a speed gun to discourage misbehavior among motorists. On a sunny day the moving cars appeared distinct and well defined, without visible blurring. However, looking more carefully at the video to try and pick out details like license plates, bumper stickers and even the heads of passengers inside proved frustrating. This lack of detail isn't surprising, though: video from a point-and-shoot camera just can't compare to a dedicated camcorder (not yet, at any rate).

Physical Tour	Page 3 of 13		Components
Olympus Stylus 1030 SW Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Physical Tour	Testing/Performance	Components
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