Olympus Stylus 770SW Digital Camera Review

Model Design / Appearance (8.5)
The Olympus Stylus 770SW looks like something pulled straight from a construction site. It is a sturdy and hefty chunk of metal with bolts visible on almost every side. This Stylus isn’t meant to be aesthetically gorgeous. It is meant to be functional despite a dunk in water, freezing tempertures, a dust storm, or a fall from 5 feet. The camera is “proofed” of just about everything: water, shock, crush, and freeze. The sales team at Best Buy is going to have a hard time selling insurance plans for these things; the insurance is practically built into the camera. With its bolts and metal shell, the 770SW makes other digital cameras look like preppies. Despite functionality being its main selling point, the Stylus 770SW comes in three body colors: silver, bronze, and royal blue.

Size / Portability (7.0)
The Olympus Stylus 770SW may be hefty, but it isn’t big. It measures 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.8 inches and has only one major protrusion off the rear right edge of the camera, where a plate that acts as thumb rest and wrist strap eyelet adds another 0.15 inches across. The camera can fit into a pants pocket easily, mostly because of its flat surfaces. Better still, if the camera is in your back pocket and you take a seat, you’re not going to hurt the 770SW (unless you weigh more than 220 pounds). The palm-sized 770SW weighs 5.5 ounces without the battery and memory card, and feels hefty for its size. That weight may be helpful when snorkeling, but it will cause users to juggle it hand to hand. 

Olympus sells a carrying case in six different colors. The Stylus 770SW is rugged enough that it doesn’t really need one, but trendsetters may still want to tote it around. After all, they come in chocolate suede and red leather.

Handling Ability (6.5)
The body design of the Olympus Stylus 770SW doesn’t have protrusions, and this is mainly to keep things from breaking off when tossed, crushed, etc. The design makes it sturdy as a rock, but it also has the handling of a rock. It does have a few subtle handling features: a tiny black ridge in the front for a finger grip, a chrome plate on the back as a thumb grip, and a cradle on top around the shutter button for the index finger. This hefty camera requires a firm grip, so users will probably have to hold it with both hands. If using one hand, the camera is most comfortable to hold when the right thumb is cradling the bottom of the camera, the pinky stabilizing the right side, and the other three fingers clutching the top. This is not very dainty, but it works when snapping pictures on the move or when carrying groceries and a squirmy toddler at the same time.

Still, the 770SW is not comfortable to hold. Perhaps the biggest handling mishap isn’t one of discomfort but of placement. The zoom lens is located where the left fingers naturally rest so users will have to take care to keep fingers from blocking the poorly positioned lens.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (6.0)
With the exception of the shutter button, the buttons on the Olympus Stylus 770SW are too small. All of the buttons are properly labeled, although the icons on the multiselector can be difficult to see in sunlight. The labels on the preproduction model were printed in black, red, and green. This changed on the final production model, where the labels appeared in a much less readable white color. The labels may still be easy to see on the royal blue model but were difficult to see on the silver model we reviewed. The placement of the buttons is just fine, but the size and faint labeling is sub-par.