Olympus Stylus 1050 SW

Movie Mode (7.50)
Video can be shot at 640x480 (VGA) or 320x240 (QVGA) resolution, each at 30 or 15 frames per second. The results are stored in a Motion JPEG (MJPEG) file. White balance and metering mode can both be set in movie mode,while digital zoom, shadow adjustment and digital image stabiilization can be turned on or off. Sound is always recording while shooting movies, and (no doubt as a result) optical zoom is prohibited, though you're free to use digital zoom.

Drive / Burst Mode (6.0)
There's good news and bad news on the burst mode front, corresponding to the two available modes. The regular sequential shooting mode works at any image quality setting you choose, but it works slowly: we got only one shot every three seconds shooting at full resolution without flash. On the other hand, there's a high-speed burst option that cranks out the shots with impressive speed. We got over six shots per second in this mode, up to 24 sequential shots at a time, though the resolution is limited to 3 megapixels. Even at that reduced resolution, though, this high-speed burst should prove very useful when trying to catch the perfect moment while snorkeling or snowboarding.

There is also a basic self-timer function. It's preset for 10 seconds (most cameras offer a choice of 2- or 10-second interval, at least) and has to be reset after every shot, inconvenient if you want to take with a series of photos using the timer. One positive note: the self-timer is conveniently available via the bottom button of the four-way controller, rather than having to dig through camera menus.

Playback Mode (8.75)
Playback mode offers four screen variations based on the DISP button. One provides date and time, image quality and file name, with shutter speed and aperture, exposure compensation, ISO and white balance settings added if you press DISP once. A second button press removes all distracting overlays, while a third press provides a thumbnail view of the photo over a histogram, with the shooting data displayed on the right side.
 

  

Auction mode takes three sequential shots with varied exposures at a web-postable 640x480 resolution, but the exposure difference between the shots is minimal, rendering this option uninteresting. The two Shoot & Select choices are burst-mode variations. The first uses high-speed continuous shooting mode (at 3-megapixel resolution) to fire off a string of shots and when you're done shooting, displays the results on screen to let you choose which images to save and which to discard. The second Shoot & Select mode sticks with slower, full-res images, even firing the flash if needed, then offers the same keep-it-or-kick-it display. Pre-Capture Movie is dedicated to creating teeny-tiny videos, constantly keeping 2 seconds of video in a buffer, then adding an additional 5 seconds after you press the shutter and ultimately saving the completed 7-second sequence. The pre-capture part is a clever idea, but the 7-second time limit makes it just about worthless. 

The manual does a poor job of explaining what each of the scene mode settings mean. On-screen help is available, either by pressing the DISP button or just lingering on a particular choice for a few seconds, but even here more precise explanations would be helpful.