Olympus Cameras and Four Thirds System Digital SLRs Forum

Olympus Cameras Forum Discuss Olympus film and digital cameras as well as Panasonic and Leica Four Thirds System digital SLRs - forum moderator is Greg McCary.
Olympus E-System Digital SLR Reviews >>
Panasonic Four Thirds Digital SLR Reviews >>
Leica Four Thirds Digital SLR Reviews >>
Official Four Thirds Web Page >>
Olympus OM-System 35mm SLR reviews >>
Olympus Cameras History Page >>
Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Wilmington, DE USA
    Posts
    5

    Olympus Stylus 780: Reviews?

    I can't find where Photo-John's review of the Olympus Stylus 780 is. I expected it to be at this site under Pro Reviews. I am interested in any other reviews anyone has found out there for this camera since I want to buy it before a rebate offer expires if the reviewws are good.

  2. #2
    Captain of the Ship Photo-John's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
    Posts
    15,422

    Re: Olympus Stylus 780: Reviews?

    John-
    You can't find it because it hasn't been posted yet. I discovered something I wanted to test a little more carefully, and then I had to make a trip to Europe last week and ended up with no Internet access. So I'm wrapping it up right now and hope to have it posted today. Thanks for being patient. I think the review will be worth the wait - especially since I think I'm the only one who's doing one right now
    Photo-John

    Your reviews are the foundation of this site - Write A Review!

  3. #3
    Captain of the Ship Photo-John's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
    Posts
    15,422

    Review Is Live

    John-
    Sorry about the delay. But the review is complete and live. Hope you find it useful.

    Olympus Stylus 780 Pro Review >>
    Photo-John

    Your reviews are the foundation of this site - Write A Review!

  4. #4
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Wilmington, DE USA
    Posts
    5

    Re: Olympus Stylus 780: What Weatherproof to Buy??

    Since I went digital, I have been looking for a weatherproof or waterproof camera for my wife to move her to digital. The reason I want weatherproof is that I use her camera when the weather is bad rather than risking my SLR. Photo-John's review still leaves me wanting more than this camera delivers as far as lens quality. Everything else sounds so very good though for the 780. Since she is the main user for 4x6 grandchild snapshots, maybe I should be satisfied with this camera for my occasional emergency use in bad weather. The other cameras that seem to fit my needs are the Olympus Stylus 770SW and the Pentax Optio W30 but they also have different issues about them (especially high ISO quality which is not an issue for the 780). Why don't the digital leaders such as Nikon and Sony get into the weatherproof/waterproof market? Any suggestions on what I should do?? I have already been trying to find the perfect weatherproof for 2 years and am getting tired of looking and waiting.

    John (Pomona '77)

  5. #5
    Captain of the Ship Photo-John's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
    Posts
    15,422

    Buy It

    John-
    Considering your needs, I'd say go ahead and buy it. I'm sure your wife will like it fine. And for ocassional use in wet weather, I think it you'll be happy. You definitely don't have to worry about it when it's wet. I'm on a permament quest for the perfect pocket-sized point-and-shoot for outdoor photography. So when I encountered lens problems that meant I couldn't expect perfection in all conditions, I was disappointed. But for most people and most purposes, I think it will be ok. And as I said in my review, if you want weatherproof, Olympus is the only game in town. And you can use a higher ISO to try to get the camera to stop down. Stopping down does improve the image quality.

    Have you read my review for the Olympus Stylus 720 SW? I had similar mixed feelings about that camera. But it's even more of a case of "the only game in town."

    Pomona? Cal Poly or Claremont?

    Photo-John (Pomona 89)
    Photo-John

    Your reviews are the foundation of this site - Write A Review!

  6. #6
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Wilmington, DE USA
    Posts
    5

    Re: Olympus Stylus 780: Weatherproof Camera Choices

    I thought that Pomona would get your attention since I saw it in your profile; Pomona College in Claremont of course, but I was a chemistry major so photography is just a serious hobby.

    I just read your Olympus Stylus 720SW review and it sounded familiar so I am sure I read it 6 months ago when I was considering the 720SW. There is a review of the more recent Olympus Stylus 770SW (http://www.trustedreviews.com/digita...-mju-770-SW/p3) and they similarly were not excited about the image quality.

    But Olympus is not the only game in town since I have been following the development of the Pentax Optio W series. There is a review by the same reviewer of the Pentax Optio W30 (http://www.trustedreviews.com/digita...x-Optio-W30/p1) which allows me to get a direct comparison of the two by the same reviewer. Therefore, Cliff Smith of Trusted Reviews preferred the image quality and high ISO performance of the Optio W30 over the Stylus 770SW. It was based on this that I was about to buy the Optio W30 until I discovered the Olympus Stylus 780. That is when I started bugging you to get your review finished.

    What will I do? Well, it seems like the Optio W30 has better image quality and medium high ISO performance but only a 3X lens. The Stylus 770SW has lower image quality and lower high ISO performance so I have to exclude it. I think I will take your advice and get the Stylus 780 based on the great high ISO performance, mechanical image stabilization, great macro performance and the 5X lens. I will just have to be aware that I need to stop it down for the best image (but since there is no aperture or shutter speed read-out, how will I know it is stopped down?).

    Thank you very much for your help.

  7. #7
    Captain of the Ship Photo-John's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
    Posts
    15,422

    Re: Olympus Stylus 780: Weatherproof Camera Choices

    Quote Originally Posted by johndaub
    I will just have to be aware that I need to stop it down for the best image (but since there is no aperture or shutter speed read-out, how will I know it is stopped down?).
    That there is a damn good question, isn't it?
    Photo-John

    Your reviews are the foundation of this site - Write A Review!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •