OLYMPUS STYLUS 1030 SW

The Stylus 1030, a snap-shot camera from Olympus, comes with a great reputation of being one of the toughest and sturdiest cameras around in the market. It can survive a fall from 6 and a half feet, can work perfectly under water till a depth of almost 30 feet, can work flawlessly even in the chilly temperatures of around 15 degrees Fahrenheit and can also survive 220 pounds of pressure. There is just one word to describe this camera: impressive. The kind of atrocities that this camera can survive, makes this camera un-parallel able.

Now, as we are listing all these features about the 1030 being really sturdy, it will come to mind that it will be an ugly looking thing, but that’s where the imagination should be cut-short, as the 1030 is designed rather attractively.

Features:

• 10.1 MP CCD sensor
• LCD- 2.7 inch 230K-dot LCD with a wide view angle
• Dimensions- 3.7×2.4×0.8 inches
• Weight- almost 7 ounces
• Modes- Auto, Program AE, Movie, various Scene modes and the very special Under-water mode
• Option of seeing the Preview of the photo you are about to click, so that necessary changes to the white balance, etc. can be made
• Also, present is the Auto-Focus feature with face-detection
• The simple control/function buttons ensures that the settings can be worked upon with relative ease 
• ISO Rating- Auto (80-1600), 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 
• Upto 5x of digital zoom
• Aperture Range- F3.5 – F5.1
• Flash Modes- Auto, On, Off, Red-eye reduction
• Storage- 14.7 MB (internal); External- xD Picture Card
• High-speed USB port

Final Word:
Beyond ISO 200, the camera shows a few signs of bad handling as sounds appear and the Picture quality starts de-grading. This is about the only major drawback of the camera. Priced somewhere in the range of $315 - $370, maybe you can say that for that much of money you can get a camera which will have a slightly better picture quality and performance. But, the USP of 1030 lies in the fact that when it comes to how water-proof, shock-proof and freeze-proof there is no much for this camera. The ability to handle extreme terrains and deep waters and at the same time giving decent picture quality, makes the 1030 an ideal camera for those who like to capture every single moment of their lives.