Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Apr 24, 2006 - By Emily Raymond
The Olympus 720SW takes the Stylus series to the next level of “all-weather” designs. While the Stylus line of digital cameras is known for its practicality in inclement weather, the new 720SW can stand up to a wide variety of rough situations. The 7.1-megapixel Olympus Stylus 720SW can be immersed in up to 10 feet of water and can survive a fall from 5 feet. Shockproof and waterproof, it’s designed to be ready for anything and, with its 0.8 inch thick body, is sized to go anywhere. The 720SW has a 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. It packs automatic and scene modes and comes with a built-in help guide to aid beginning photographers. The Olympus Stylus 720SW retails for $399.
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Model Design / Appearance (8.0)
The Olympus Stylus 720SW is designed for active folks who circumnavigate the globe on boating and snorkeling trips when they’re not backpacking or mountain biking in the wilderness. This model is waterproof and shock proof, but most of its design is internal, such as rubber O-rings and springs within the body to protect its contents from the elements. While the 720SW’s weight and the bolts on the front make it feel stronger than most compact digital cameras on the market, the small lens and 0.78-inch thin profile also make the camera easily portable. From the front, it greatly resembles a cross between a PDA and a cell phone; the matte silver center place and chrome framing are quite attractive.

Size / Portability (7.0)
While the Olympus Stylus 720SW may be the size of a deck of cards, it certainly has more heft. The camera measures 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.78 inches, but weighs 5.3 oz without the card or battery: not heavy enough to hurt anyone, but weightier than its dimensions would have the user believe. Size adds to the 720SW’s intended portability, as does the large panel and eyelet on its right side. The included wrist strap will certainly be needed if shooting underwater, where the camera is likely to slip.

Handling Ability (6.75)
The small size of the Olympus Stylus 720SW works against its handling for anyone with reasonably large hands. Furthermore, while the camera’s flat surfaces make it ideal for a pocket, they don’t provide much grip. A few subtle gripping features, such as the cradle around the shutter release button for the index finger and the zoom buttons and eyelet for the thumb, are not enough to keep the camera from slipping out of sunblock-slathered fingers and sinking the bottom of the ocean. Poor lens placement also means that users will have to pay attention when handling the Stylus 720SW or risk their left fingers becoming part of many photographs.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.0)
For a camera with such limited body space, the Olympus Stylus 720SW has an abundance of buttons. There are designated buttons for all kinds of things: changing the recording mode, entering playback mode, printing, opening the menu system, selecting menu items, and so forth. Many of these buttons are tiny and hard to distinguish because of their coloring and the fact that, while not entirely flush with the camera’s surface, they don’t protrude enough to be easily depressible. The zoom buttons, particularly, are set too deep in the camera and too close to one another: they’re hard to push, and it’s even harder to push just one. Another worrisome aspect of the controls is the fact that some of the buttons on the back, such as the playback button, the recording mode button, and the menu button, turn the camera on. While the power button itself is tiny and flush with the camera (clearly intended to make the Stylus 720SW difficult to accidentally turn on), these buttons thwart that intention. It’s easy to push them accidentally and suck the battery dry by the time a photo opportunity arises.

Menu (5.25)
One look at the menu system is enough to make any digital novice put the Olympus Stylus 720SW down and take up film again. The system is quite complicated and unlike that of any other digital camera – although it does have elements of other Olympus Stylus models. Pushing the Menu button in the recording mode brings up a blue screen with five options: Camera Menu, Setup, Image Quality, Reset, and Scene (“SCN”). When users enter the Camera Menu option and set the mode to Program, the following menu appears:
 
White Balance
Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Incandescent, Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, Fluorescent 3
ISO
Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Drive
Single, Burst, High-Speed
Metering
ESP Multi-Pattern, Spot
Digital Zoom
Off, On
AF Mode
iESP, Spot
Voice Memo
Off, On
Panorama
Off, On (Olympus xD card required)
 
Almost all of the options are expressed as icons and unfortunately, scrolling through the icons (unlike many other digital cameras) won’t bring up accompanying text explanations, so beginners won’t have a clue what each represents. For help, beginners will just have to consult the owner’s manual, which is inconveniently located on a CD-ROM. To further complicate the recording menu, some of the options are located in two different places. When the OK/Func. button is pressed, the ISO, white balance, and metering options appear. This is redundant.
 
On the bright side, there is always a “back” option available in the recording menu, so users won’t completely fall out of the menu system and have to re-enter it . In the playback menu, however, many choices dead-end and don’t offer a “back” option.
 
When users push the Menu button while in the playback mode, the blue screen shows the following choices: Slide Show, Edit, Print Order, Calendar, Playback Menu, Setup, Index, Erase, and Album. A short menu appears when the  Playback Menu option is chosen.
 
Protect
On, Off
Rotate
+ 90, -90, 0 degrees
Voice Memo
Records about 5 seconds once selected
Album Entry
Select Image, Set Calendar, Set All
 
The placement of menu items is somewhat baffling. While a designated Edit option is available in the 720SW’s initial playback choices, the rotate feature is only found in the traditional playback menu.
 
Users can access the setup menu from the opening screens of the recording and playback menus. The menu itself has four pages to it; users can scroll through by page or look at the long list of all options.
 
Format
Yes, No
Backup
Yes, No
Language
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Camera/Playback
Yes, No
Power On Setup
Off, On
Color
Normal, Blue, Black, Pink
Beep
Low, High, Off
Volume
Low, High, Off
Shutter Sound
Off, 1, 2, 3 (each with Low and High options)
Recording View
On, Off
File Name
Reset, Auto
Pixel Mapping
Start
LCD Brightness
+/- 7
Clock
Y/M/D, Time Set
Dual Time
Off, On (Olympus xD card required)
Alarm Clock
Off, On (Olympus xD card required)
Video Out
NTSC, PAL
 
Overall, the Olympus menu system is not intuitive at all. With its funky opening style, its redundancy, its strange option placement, and icon setup, it is perhaps the most convoluted menu structure on a digital camera we have looked at. Even SLRs seem to be more organized. This is quite unfortunate for the Olympus Stylus 720SW, as its many automatic modes show that it’s made for point-and-shooters.


Ease of Use (5.75)
While the Olympus Stylus 720SW makes a few attempts to be easy to use, it generally fails. Pros include a designated print button and a help guide that appears to make scene mode selections more informed. Among the cons are the convoluted menu structure, tiny control and zoom buttons, and non-intuitive placement of camera features like the movie mode (located near the bottom of the scene mode selections). Perhaps if users never entered the menu system and didn’t change any of the camera settings ever, the 720SW wouldn’t be so hard to use—but then they might as well use a pinhole camera.

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