Shockproof. Waterproof. Freezeproof. Crushproof.
Olympus is good to divers, snorkelers and those who do not constantly want to baby their cameras. They have weatherproof models in their lineup that do not mind a bit of rain or an occasional splash. They also offer dedicated deepwater housings and they make cameras that you can take underwater without a housing at all. Last fall we reviewed the Olympus Stylus 720 SW that’s waterproof to a depth of 10 feet. I took it swimming and snorkeling with the Manatees at Crystal River, Florida, snapping pictures of those gentle creatures in the shallow water. Later, I put the 720 SW into its optional PT-033 deepwater housing for diving at Devil’s Den in Williston and Catfish Hotel sink at Manatee Springs State Park. It was great not to have to worry about getting the camera wet. It was great to have a waterproof camera and I appreciated the 10 feet depth rating, but for most scuba diving you still needed an underwater case.
Enter the Olympus Stylus 770 SW. You can take this camera down 33 feet without a housing. That’s diving.
The 33-feet depth rating changes everything. The older 720 could probably have handled 15 or 20 feet, making it suitable for drift diving in a shallow river but not much more. 33 feet, that’s another story. My log shows many dives that never took me much deeper, and some not even that. So if you plan to go diving in 30-40 feet water, no need for a housing with the Stylus 770. A bit deeper? I believe if the camera is rated 33 feet, it can probably handle 40 or even 50. And we put that to the test.
Being able to take this camera down to 33 feet is not all. Olympus made it tough all over. You can drop it from five feet and it won’t break (but it may get scratched and dented a bit). It can operate in temperatures down to 14 degrees, so no matter how cold the water gets, the 770 can handle it. Olympus also claims the 770 to be crushproof to 220lbf, which the promo materials define as pounds of pressure. That’s a bit hazier as “lbf” is really a unit of force. One pound-force means a one-pound mass pressing down on the surface of the earth. The question is, per what? Concentrated into a stiletto heel that’d be an awful lot. Applied via a large, soft mat it would amount to very little. I am not sure how much pressure the 770 can take per, say, square inch or onto one of its more vulnerable parts, like the LCD or a seal. Anyway, it’s quite crushproof.
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