I just bought the Olympus 850SW. I have tried it every way it can be set up, and the bottom line is the photo quality is poor at best. I want to return it but somehow lost the Olympus Master 1 CD that come with it. Without that they wont take it back. Does anyone have the CD they can give me? Once its loaded on your computer you have no more use for iut - unless you want to return your camera

Can't help ya...I've got the old school POS Pentax Optio...:)

Want to fish on Friday, Dave?

Fish on...

Todd

Sorry to hear that Dave.

I mean REALLY sorry.... because that's the camera I've been waiting for them to come out with befor my next upgrade!

DAMN! I really didn't want to see you post, but thanks for sharing that.

I went to their website and saw that they had a 10 MP model available as well. Wonder if it will have similar problems?

Dave:
I know one guy that has that one, I will ask him. He has trouble as well.
I have had the Optio for a few years and it has worked great, no problems, but I know Bob had a problem with his on vacation so who knows!

Have you tried asking the store where you bought it how to get a new CD? Sometimes they can help with something like that....I have the Olympus 820 stylus and love it.
Good luck.

WOW,Bummer to hear as I was looking to up grade also.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

That sucks.

I'm about to upgrade my photo equipment as well. My wifes Canon Elph digital is falling apart and I'm sick of paying out the ass for my 35mm Photo Processing.

Let me know what you change over to.

I feel the same way about my 790, this thing takes crappy shots and assures me no more magazine photos until I am rid of it.

<--taken with an Optio W10...

Now that I've got mine dialed, that old school POS Pentax optio W10 is taking some great pictures lately. It's fully waterproof and I've recently started using it for video and it's doing a pretty damn good job for a compact. Take a look at the Optio's down the hill at Costco Dave.

I'll join the choir on this one. I gotta shoot about 8 shots of something to make sure I get a crisp image due to a crappy autofocusing issues on the Optio. And I was gonna upgrade to the 850. I guess I'll wait another year or two before I tank this thing. Good luck with yours though,

fb

We ought to send a copy of this thread to Olympus' customer service.

Anybody else have something glowing to say about their cameras?

Seems like a month ago everyone was singing the praises of the 770/790 SW's.

Seems like the Pentax Optios went thru the same kind of thing when they upgraded their line-up of waterproof cams to the higher megapixel capacities.

Been very happy with my 4 MP Optio 43WR but it seems like the clarity and focus went to hell with the cams boasting 5 MP and higher.

I like my 770sw for what it's worth. most of the reviews said that the 790 took a step back from the 770.

All I know is that if you get the Optio to focus on the right thing when it locks in on auto focus, the pictures are great, but you got to make sure it grabs the right thing to focus on or it can jump to something you don't care about and the thing you want is fuzzy.
I am sure that can happen with any auto focus unit.

i know that i got mine for Christmas...my pic taking has dropped way down...im not happy with mine...i think my Sony Cybershot took WAY BETTER pics...way more clear, the 790 seams very grainy...maybe we will think about sending it back too...the prob is is that i want something for underwater...i dont like mine, but everyone was raving about it so i thought i would try it...c

My 770 is OK. Not great. It's slow to focus and the photos do have that "grainy" look to them.

That's why I now carry 2 cameras with me. If it's wet outside, I'll use the Olympus.

If it's dry outside, I'll use my FujiFilm F40. The F40 is quick, fast, sharp, and takes awesome photos.

Not so, with my Olympus 770.

I've come to conclude that all the newer waterproof cameras pretty much SUCK.

"I've come to conclude that all the newer waterproof cameras pretty much SUCK. "

I think part of the problem is that the camera buying public thinks that it must have more megapixels, and more megapixels...and the industry went gung ho on giving the public what it wanted, but without the concurrent growth in technology on all the other parts of the camera...too many MP's, and not enough technology behind them to take advantage of 'em.

That being said, I wanted to have a waterproof camera so I don't kill it (which I've done too many times to non-WP's, film or digi ), and the Optio does fine by me...like with all digis, I wish it would take pics faster, and would focus faster and better, but so long as you know how to use it and are patient, it usually does all right...I'm actually quite impressed with the video it can take, too.

Fish on...

Todd

We talked about this on the river, but yeah, you are correct, IMO.

I bet cost plays a big role in it. I'm sure the nice CCD's and sensors are expensive. Consumers are not willing to pay that for a camera that is waterproof.

Gotta figure most people who use these cameras are people taking a vacation at the beach, or the pool.

Not die-hard steelheaders who beat the living crap out of their equipment, drown cameras at a fast and furious pace, buy yet want the quality of a photo to put on a magazine cover.

You guys with the older cameras are lucky. I'd hang on to them for as long as you can.

I don't forsee anything better coming our way any time soon. The trend to put out cheaper and crappier cameras is only getting worse.

If you don't believe me, look at how fast Pentax and Olympus change or add too their product line.

That's why I now take 2 cameras with me. Sucks, but at least if it's not raining out, I know I'll get a good shot. If it's raining out, I'm hosed.

Well just make sure you bring that Fuji camera with you to the Kenai, Parker.

But only if you want me to snap the pic of your mega-hawg.

Yes and yes!

I have gone through a handful of digital cameras over the last few years and have had the opportunity to use and observe many more. I definitely don't claim to know much about this stuff, but I have learned a few key lessons from some bad choices in the past.

In buying a camera, and more importantly trying to determine what to look for and the "quality" of a given model, there are a handful of things to consider. As FNP said, in general folks are way too hung up on megapixels. For high end print purposes, 6mp is more than enough for that cover shot everyone hopes for. More mp's are actually a disadvantage in many ways as they make bigger files (read less storage space and more tedious editing, etc.). Computer monitors can’t display more than 72dpi, so a good looking photo the web usually has nothing to do with mp's.

From the hip, here are a few things to consider when shopping around for a digi point and shoot (PAS).

1. The lens
2. The body and buttons
3. The processor
4. Features and functionality

Bear in mind this is all based on my rudimentary understanding of these things. Those that are more knowledgeable on the subject could probably write volumes on each of the topics, but I will try and share a quick summary of what I have found in doing research and using products in the past.

The lens. Consider the quality, and also the angle of the lens. 35mm has been the standard for point and shoot for a long time, and I think this really limits you in a lot of situations. For outdoor shots where you want to get a good close-up of the subject as well as some of the spectacular background in the photo, the 35mm lens makes that pretty hard. A lot of companies are offering models with a 28mm wider angle lens, and I would highly recommend that size/range. With regard to quality, Carl Zeiss ad Leica both make good lenses for PAS cameras. The stock lenses on most of the Canon models also seem to go a great job. Many companies use proprietary or mass produced lenses that are really a hindrance in taking good photos. Think of the lens as the filter or screen that every image must go through, if it is dirty, fogged, or generally sucks, you are never going to get a good image regardless of how well the rest of your camera works.

The body. Not much to say on this subject other than just make sure you like the way it feels, that the buttons are conveniently located and easy to use (gloves, cold, wet?), and that the body is fairly durable and not going to fall apart the first time you drop it or stuff it in a bag. Being able to hold a camera well is also fairly important in taking good photos. A lot of the newer cameras are using these super low profile designs that make it damn near impossible to hold the greasy little thing. Everyone wants compact certainly, but think of functionality as well. Body is a lot bigger issue when you get into the larger SLR camera's, but it should be a consideration with the digis.

The processor. I am pretty ignorant on what makes a good processor and what doesn't. I know that there are a ton of camera geeks out there that love to write volumes on what they think about the various processors out there. I always check out the reviews of a given camera and pay close attention to what is said about the processor. The most common complaints with processors are that they are slow, and that they are too noisy. Noise in an image often appears in photos with low light, or lots of consistent colors/large areas of one color like black. This often makes the image appear fuzzy and/or granulated. This is a hard one to overcome in fishing, as you are usually dealing with low light conditions (rainy and/or overcast) and darker subjects. I don't mean to say all of your fish are boots, but rather rivers and fisherman are known for their vibrant colors. In smaller point and shoots, Canon by far has the best processor I have seen.

Features and functionality. This category can go as deep as you want to take it, and many of the finer points on various features can be debated endlessly. Most folks will be able to get by without a minimum of extra features like the ability to set aperture and shutter speed manually. Once you get the basic of pointing and shooting down so that you are taking consistently decent photos, some flexibility in these things can be very helpful in taking even better photos. Personally, I like to have full manual control over the camera, to have a small flash that I can control (turn off and on as appropriate), and to have an array of pre-set’s for various situations.

A few other tips and tricks for point and shoot digitals.
-Always get the highest quality (not necessarily size, but that too) memory card that you can get. These affect the speed that your processor can write which affects how fast/slow your camera takes photos.

-If your camera allows for exposure correction, bump your exposure up a point or two in low light situations.

-In low light situations, try auto-focusing on the darkest area of the subject as in a similar depth of field as that of your subject. This will set the exposure to the darkest image and most everything else will be brighter. Do just the opposite in high light situations or when looking directly into the sun. It is a common misconception that you can’t take a good photo while looking into the sun, not true. Auto-focus on the sun and then get a pic of your subject.

-Try to get by without the flash whenever possible. The flash can light up the subject or surrounding atmosphere before or beyond your intended focal point and goof the picture up.

-If using AA or AAA batteries, always go with a Lithium for optimal performance/speed/longevity.

-As has been said a few times here, take a lot of photos and experiment with distance/angle/light conditions, etc. AKA the shotgun effect.

-Get a small lens cleaning cloth that can be kept in your camera case and use it regularly.

-Take the time to consider framing and composition. Look at the image from a broad perspective and try hard accurately represent all interesting visual features. For some this may mean cutting out that obvious bridge or tree that gives away your favorite spot or zipperlip. For most this will mean not lopping off a head or tail and getting some decent “setting” in the background.

-Consider using a “macro” setting when taking close-ups. This is a pretty standard feature on most PAS’s.

-Never, ever, ever, under any circumstances use the digital zoom. No weight should be given to this feature when comparing models.

-Adjust your white balance whenever possible. This tells the camera how to define the rest of the colors based on the color white. Depending on the light and your situation, an improperly calibrated white balance can make things look dull and drab.

With regard to the waterproof cameras, I have wanted to get one for a while, but it doesn’t seem like the current models offer a quality combination of the things described above. They seem to be slow and have average or below lenses and processors. I am guessing that with a little work and experimentation you can get them to perform well consistently, but they are far from the brainless quality most would hope for in a PAS.

I have personally been very happy with the Canon line, specifically the SD800 which has a 28mm lens, and also the Panasonic DMC-LX2 which has a 28mm Leica.

Good luck and happy photog’ing