Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Digital Camera Review - Olympus Point and Shoot and Non-DSLR

External Reviews
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Connectivity
Software (6.50)
The camera comes with versions of the Olympus Master 2 suite for both Windows and Mac, and a measly 15-day trial of Muvee, an automated movie editing program for Windows. Unlike the usual bundled software, Olympus Master 2 will actually be worth using for many people. It's image organizing and viewing functions are attractive and well designed. You get support for automated photo email creation and YouTube uploading, along with extensive photo editing options including automated and manual adjustment of brightness and contrast, color balance, hue and saturation, image sharpening, and even lens distortion correction. You still can't undertake the kind of pixel-by-pixel and area-by-area corrections available through Photoshop Elements or other sophisticated image editing programs, but on the full-photo-fixing level, we think Olympus Master 2 has merit.

Jacks, ports, plugs (2.00)
There's a single IO port for connecting to a TV, a computer or an optional DC power adapter and, while the compartment is well sealed against the elements, criticism can still get through the waterproof barrier. Specifically, Olympus uses proprietary cables for these connections, hard to replace and tough to leave behind when traveling; your laptop probably has an SD card reader, but the 1050 SW uses the less popular xD card format, meaning most of us will cable up to the USB port for image downloads.

If you lose the proprietary cables you'll find it's a significant problem.

Direct Print Options (4.00)
The direct print options are superior to the minimum-requirements implementations we usually see. Connect the 1050 SW to a PictBridge-compatible printer via USB and, in addition to outputting standard full-sheet photos, you can print several images on a single sheet of paper, create pages of thumbnail-sized images to serve as index prints, and crop images before printing. The camera menus to choose all these goodies are nicely organized and simple to use. Easy Print mode simply outputs a single picture using the printer default settings. Custom Print lets you choose paper size, specify bordered or borderless printing, choose from single or multi-image printing, set up an index print, determine the number of prints for each image and decide whether or not to overlay the file name and/or date taken on the print.

You can also create a DPOF print order, a file on your memory card that tells a photo printing service what you'd like without messing with paper order forms.

Battery (5.00)
The slim LI-42B lithium ion rechargeable battery provided is supposed to last for about 200 shots, according to Olympus, and while this seems a bit optimistic based on our experience testing the camera, it's not wildly out of line. It's also not particularly impressive, especially if you like turning on the camera and showing off your photographic feats of derring do to your admirers. We'd say a spare battery is pretty much an essential, and thankfully it's not a horrifically expensive one: Amazon has the Olympus-brand version for under $35.

What bothered us about the Olympus battery more than short life, though, is how perfectly simple it is to insert it into the camera the wrong way. Flip it backward or forward: it fits just fine. Even turning it around so the contacts are pointing away from the camera doesn't stop you from slipping it into the slot and closing the cover. It's not that you're going to hurt the camera if you make a mistake (the right way, we should mention, is with the word "Olympus" facing the front of the camera), but particularly if you're wearing gloves (this is the tap-feature camera, right?) or hanging out in harsh environments, a little additional idiot-proofing would go a long way.

Memory (2.50)
The 1050 SW relies on xD memory cards, which are not our favorite format. The top xD capacity is just 2 gigabytes, versus the maximum 32-gigabyte capacity of SDHC cards. The xD cards are also harder to find, and cost more per gigabyte than either SD cards or CompactFlash. We recently shot with a Fujjfilm camera that accepted both xD and SD cards in the same slot, which struck us an ingenious solution, but not one Olympus has adopted to date. The camera does ship with an adapter for using microSD cards, the format typically used for cellphones, but that doesn't solve the pricing and capacity issues.

The camera also includes a smidgen of built-in memory (41.6 megabytes, to be exact), but this is here basically as storage for the favorite photo feature.

The battery and memory card share a waterproof bottom compartment.

Other features (8.50)
Torture and Abuse Resistance – The primary reason to purchase the Olympus 1050 SW is its ability to stand up to harsh environments without flinching. Thanks to a combination of metal construction, waterproof seals and design smarts honed over a line of weather-resistant cameras stretching back several years, the 1050 SW offers these hardy specs:

- Waterproof to a depth of 10 feet (3 meters)
- Freezeproof down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius)
- Shockproof to withstand a 5-foot (1.5-meter) drop

While our testing budget wouldn't cover a fact-finding trip to a snorkeling destination, we did have an alternative body of water at our disposal (OK, so it was a bathtub), and even vigorous handling below the surface failed to find fault with the camera's seals. We used refrigeration to bring the camera temperature down to around 14 degrees (measured with an infrared thermometer) and, here again, the Olympus claims held up: even the feel of the buttons remained constant as the temperature dropped. As for shockproofing, that was easy to test, and we're happy to report that our review unit will be going back to the manufacturer unscathed.

Voice annotation - You can set the camera to record a 4-second voice clip after taking a picture, which can prove useful if you're on the go and want to remember something about the circumstances under which the picture was taken: the address, for example, or which of your friends was buried under the avalanche you photographed while skiing. You can also go back in playback mode and add a 4-second voice annotation.

Alarm clock - We hear you scoff, but if you've ever stumbled into a hotel late at night and found the alarm clock was as difficult to set as the trigger mechanism of a thermonuclear device, you'll understand the advantage of having your own easy-to-adjust alarm clock in tow. And why carry a separate travel alarm when your camera can do the job?

Image Parameters Page 11 of 15 Overall Impressions
Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Digital Camera Review Navigation

Intro

Physical Tour

Color and Resolution

Noise and Video

Speed and Timing

Components

Design / Layout

Modes

Control Options

Image Parameters

Connectivity / Extras

Overall Impressions

Conclusion

Sample Photos

Specs / Ratings

Image Parameters	Page 11 of 15		Overall Impressions
Olympus Stylus 1050 SW Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Physical Tour	Color and Resolution	Noise and Video
Speed and Timing	Components	Design / Layout	Modes
Control Options	Image Parameters	Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions
Conclusion	Sample Photos	Specs / Ratings