Finally found (and got) my perfect P&S

TiJean · 07-22-2008, 11:44 AM

I love, love, love my DS and my K10 (and my pile of Pentax and non-Pentax film cameras) but there are some places I just don't bring them, even if I should. Work is a good example. I already lug my gym clothes, my purse, and a bag of food to work everyday. All that plus a camera bag usually just doesn't happen, particularly since the odds of getting a picture out of the deal are pretty slim.

So I started eying the Pentax 43WR, which was announced in March '04 according to its dpreview profile. What a marvelous idea! A pocket camera you don't have to worry so much about! I've since lusted over every subsequent model up to the new W60 but heard such bad reports about everything from image quality to case leakage to deplorable customer service when the case did fail. I read and read and took it all with a grain of salt, understanding how irrational some people can be. I've looked at thousands of sample pictures - all of pBase's, all of flickr's, and a bunch posted on message boards.

I know that there are a lot of happy people with these cameras, but I just couldn't gamble with that much money. The reports of Pentax refusing to do warranty repairs for water damage on a "waterproof" camera were really what I couldn't accept - and SO many reports of it over such a long period of time. The Olympuses aren't perfect, but Olympus seems to be much better about performing warranty repairs.

Anyway, my intent isn't to bash Pentax at all, but to announce that I FINALLY have MY camera! I picked up an Olympus 770SW from Amazon for $200 and it came today. It is waterproof to 33 feet and shockproof to 5 feet. It may just be ME-PROOF!

I finally have a pocketable P&S. I took a couple of quick snaps during lunch and it seems to be a top notch little performer. I will post sample photos when I have them and I will get to test out the waterproofing this Sunday when I go canoing - a trip spent mostly in the water, swimming beside the canoe.

Here's a link to its spec sheet on the Olympus website, cheesy videos and all. [link]

jmdeegan · 07-22-2008, 04:35 PM

Have not handled the 770sw, but I got my wife the 850sw for the waterproof and shockproof features, and I agree, the camera performs well, its easy to use, and most important, she likes it.

As I look for my new P&S, I lean toward cheaper options but always get drawn back to the olympus options because they seem so well put together. The only drawback I have is the xD cards, but I can use microSD without too much pain.

One thing I did find, as my wife used it yesterday at a kiddie amusement/water part...I set the setting to beach/snow, and I think some of the colors were too saturated, so i will need to work in PSE to fix those (pinks were too pink, reds were too red, etc). I think had I left it alone, it would have been fine, but I am a tinkerer!

*LaRee* · 07-22-2008, 05:11 PM

I look forward to seeing your photos with your new p&s. I've wanted a waterproof p&s myself and looked into the Oly line which does have much better reviews than the Pentax line. If I could just get past those dang xd cards!

*hwblanks* · 07-22-2008, 05:14 PM

It's an older Nikon model--Coolpix 5400, but it has everything I want on it and then some--manual control, RAW, and even a hot shoe.

I picked it up on a Fleabay auction for a BIN price of $99.99 + $12.95 shipping. According to the seller, it was used maybe 10 times, so it's practically brand new and it comes with everything.

Nikon Coolpix 5400 5.1 Megapixel, excellent condition! - eBay (item 300243716426 end time Jul-22-08 09:27:14 PDT)

Here is Steve's review:
Steves Digicams - Nikon Coolpix 5400 - User Review

Images taken with this camera from pbase:
Nikon Coolpix 5400 Digital Camera Sample Photos and Specifications

To sweeten the deal, I went through the MS Live Search engine and got 25% off simply by using BIN and Paypal. I'll get $25.00 back in about 60 days, deposited to my Paypal account. At this point, I'm leaning towards using the MS Live Search cash back deal to buy my next lens, hopefully within the next month, in which case I will get back at least $100.00 if I buy through Fleabay.

The way I see it, the only real difference between this camera and the currently produced cameras with similar features (besides price) is the number of megapixels. As long as I don't plan on printing any pics bigger than 11x14, then 5.1MP is plenty. I figure, why pay $350+ when I can get what I want for $100 or less? If it dies, then I'm not out too much money, so it won't bother me that much.

Once I get it and play around with a little bit, I'll be posting pics and entering the p&s contests.

Heather

jmdeegan · 07-22-2008, 08:42 PM

here is one thing that does drive me batty though....the 850 appears to replace the 790, yet they are both essentially the same price. the 770 seems a bit better off, though i would still expect more price differential for what is essentially at least a half a rev old, if not a full rev.

ah well....still very aesthetically pleasing cameras, i think

*LaRee* · 07-22-2008, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by jmdeegan

here is one thing that does drive me batty though....the 850 appears to replace the 790, yet they are both essentially the same price. the 770 seems a bit better off, though i would still expect more price differential for what is essentially at least a half a rev old, if not a full rev.

ah well....still very aesthetically pleasing cameras, i think

Here lies the rub there......
It doesn't matter if a camera is suppose to be the new revision, the new, the better, the improved. My old 2mp Panasonic fz1v2 is a great camera and often times I think better than the push 10mp in a p&s with a small sensor cameras of today. Slow, yes, outdated yes, but the joy is in the images. Sometimes older cameras breath life into themselves and are worth more than the new model.
btw, I have an image that I took with that camera that is my favorite image of all time. I have it on my business cards, printed 8x10 and it was projected up on a big screen in an auditorium and still looked great.

jmdeegan · 07-22-2008, 10:26 PM

fair point. i guess im so conditioned with so many other things of tech, that once the latest and greatest hits, its not long before the prior generation depreciates/sells at a huge discount. those are the deals i live for, especially when PCs are concerned.

in terms of cameras...damn if it doesnt just confuse me more! tho, as you say, the lower the mp count on the sensor in these lil guys...isnt always a bad thing.

eenie..meenie....miney....mo....

TiJean · 07-23-2008, 08:08 AM

According to the Olympus website, MSRP and waterproofing goes like this:
$400 - 1030 (new) waterproof to 33 feet
$350 - 770 waterproof to 33 feet
$300 - 850 (new) waterproof to 10 feet
$300 - 790 waterproof to 10 feet

Each model can be picked up for about -$50 on MSRP. However, I found the 770 on closeout for $200 - though I had to take a silver one. There are two real differences I can see between the 1030 and the 770.

The 1030 has 10MP and the 770 has 7MP. I rather the camera with fewer pixels into the same digicam-sized sensor, so the 770 wins this one for me.

The 1030 has a lens with an equivalent field of view (on the wide end of its zoom) of 28mm. The 770 bottoms out at 38mm. The 1030 wins this one.

I would take the wider lens (1030) except that it is not worth $150 and what I assume to be slightly more noise (an extra 3MP in the same size sensor). If the 770 wasn't on closeout, then it would have been a much harder decision to make.

jmdeegan · 07-23-2008, 08:19 AM

agreed. I still like any of the 4, though I still toss the lower end Nikon into the mix to confuse me.
And I can't justify spending 300+ on a point and shoot. 200 is about my limit i think. So the 770 could be it, but I have a hunch I will still end up with something lower end than that.

I don't need the waterproof/shockproof....just would be kinda nice to have....kinda like the seals on certain dSLRs....

jmdeegan · 07-23-2008, 03:17 PM

I think the question I need to ask myself is, is the crush-proof/waterproof/drop-proof functionality worth essentiall 100 dollars more?

I may have narrowed it down to the 770 or the CoolPix L18. Both seem to be basically the same camera, in terms of focal length covered, pixels (the Nikon is a bit more at 8 versus 7.1). The key differences I see quickly are: (from the Nikon perspective)
-AA batteries
-no "proofing"
-faster 2.8 as opposed to 3.0-ish in the Olympus

Otherwise, it's a wash, I think. The reason I say 100 is I am factoring in a 2gb card on top of the camera cost-either an xD or a microSDHC card. I am not counting in the floating strap or a second battery, 2 accessories I would want/need....

I am just trying to imagine circumstances where I'd wish I had one instead of the other...or a compelling reason.....

thinking I'd rather have the "proofing" than not....but all the same, would love to see some samples from your 770. Not sure if we have any on here shooting with the L18, so getting samples from that might prove more challenging....

jmdeegan · 07-23-2008, 07:01 PM

ti, you deserve an amazon or olympus credit LOL

I went to my local shop, they steered me away from the nikon. for whatever reason, the one guy thinks AA batteries are like the plague....but...I got home, and opted for the 770 from Amazon. figure worst case, they have a superb return policy, so if I hate it or see something I want more....back it goes with little hassle.