Being Waterproof Doesn't Compensate For It's Failings. (Olympus µ[MJU:] 850 SW)

Member Name: boredindunoon

Product:	Olympus µ[MJU:] 850 SW
Date:	11/02/09 (205 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Waterproof, Shockproof, Freezeproof. Good Macro Mode. Good Build Quality.

Disadvantages: Generally Poor Picture Quality. Slow to Process Image. No Control Over Shutter Speed. Over Priced.

This is the "Olympus mju 850 SW" compact digital camera. It offers the user eight megapixels, a focal length of between 38-114mm, a face detection mode, and good macro capabilities. The camera uses XD memory cards, and an Li-ion battery. It also offers an ISO range spanning from 64 to 1600. Most noticeably however is the fact that it's waterproof, shock resistance from of height of approximately one and a half metres, and also freeze proof to a chilly minus 10 centigrade.

I've often found that this camera seems to get a lot of hype from both official reviews, and from other consumer reviews such as those on Amazon.co.uk. So I was curious to find out whether or not it was good, so when a friend bought one for himself I jumped at the chance to test it out for him. On paper the Olympus mju 850 seems like a reasonable compact camera, but as I was soon to discover all is not what it seems.

Officially the camera is waterproof down to three metres, which in theory you could jump into a body of water and take a few underwater shots of the surface beneath us. I tried this (granted in my local duck pond - and even then I was just hanging over the side with my arms stretched out under water.) While the camera was fine and continued to work perfectly the photographs I obtained weren't the greatest. To capture anything worthwhile I really had to up the ISO resulting in noisy and otherwise poor shots.

It's eight megapixel resolution isn't of much use unless it's backed up with a decent sized sensor and good quality lens. Sadly in this case the camera fails to deliver. Regardless of whether your using the camera on its auto mode or one's of its presets you'll almost always end up with photographs with flat colour's, noise, and even blow highlights. The photographs seem sharp enough, but sharpness alone doesn't make a good picture. The camera is somewhat slow at writing photos to the memory card. The official write speed given is 1.75 seconds but in reality it seems closer to nearly four seconds. What's a few seconds you might ask - it's the difference between capturing or missing a great photo, while you're waiting for your last image to be written.

The position of the actual lens most also pose a problem for some. It's located in the far left (camera's left) corner. This means it's all too easy to accidentally cover the lens with your finger when attempting to take a picture.

Also there seems to be no way to manually change the Aperture Priority or Shutter Speed. I say "seems to be" because I came across review that said it was possible. But I've been over every square millimetre of the camera and checked every menu option and feature twice and I can't find it. If it's there it's well hidden. But considering that I can't find it and there is no mention of it in the cameras manual I doubt it is. This seems like a somewhat serious omission considering the usefulness of both modes.

But it wasn't all bad. The camera is quick robust, and it has been built to a high standard. It's great not to half to worry about every speck of dust, splash of water, and accidental knock. The camera is quite good at capturing realistic skin tones, and retaining details in faces, especially useful if your thinking of converting to black and white. Navigating the controls and menus of the camera is pretty easy and straightforward thanks in part to a good 2.5" LCD screen. The camera's macro mode is also quite good providing that the subject is very well lit.

Sadly, overall the camera seems very hit and miss. Maybe I've become too used to DSLR's but I've still used plenty of compacts in my time and always had far better results than what I've had here. In fact my first ever published photo was taken with my 5.0 megapixel Kodak DX4530 compact.

An underwhelming and generally disappointing camera. Considering that you can get better for the same or a little more, makes this Olympus one to avoid. It's few redeeming features don't justify it's price tag, nor its inability to serve it purpose.

While it may offer some use to those spending a lot of time on the beach, or in a wet and rough environment, I can't really recommend this and I imagine that it's failings will result in disappointment after disappointment.

Current price on Amazon.co.uk is £253.38.

(I'm a reviewer on Amazon, and some my reviews are copied from there to dooyoo. Please feel free to check out my Amazon profile under my real name of Mr Andrew M Kerr.)

Summary: Thanks For Reading.

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