Casio just announced a new compact superzoom addition to their line of compact Exilim digital cameras. The 12.1-megapixel Casio Exilim Hi-Zoom EX-H10 digital camera has an ultra-wide10x optical zoom lens (24-240mm - 35mm equivalent), a 3-inch LCD, and an estimated 1000 shots per battery charge - very impressive for a camera that will actually fit in your pocket!
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Sophisticated design and intuitive touch-control operation over a versatile set of advanced functions bring new delight to the eyes and the hands

Tokyo — Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce the introduction of the COOLPIX S60. Representing the cutting edge of elegant design and intuitive operation, this stylish new compact camera introduces an entirely new touch screen interface that places all controls at the fingertips. And it does so in a delightful new way that makes picture-taking and playback more fun and exciting.
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The Casio Exilim EX-Z77 is a pocket-sized, point-and-shoot digital camera offering 7.2 megapixels of resolution, a 2.6-inch LCD and a 3x optical zoom lens. Part of Casio’s Exilim series, the EX-Z77 packs a surprising amount of features into a camera the size of a deck of cards. It also features MPEG-4 video recording.

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Casio Exilim EX-Z77 Studio Test Images
	ISO 50 Sample >> ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >>

Pros Very small and lightweight — perfect for carrying in a pocket or small purse 7.2-megapixel resolution for excellent prints to 8×10 Extensive menu settings and “Best Shot” exposure modes “Easy Mode” for pure point-and-shoot photography Built-in flash includes a flattering soft flash setting Self-timer includes a 3x option $159 price tag!	Cons LCD quick-review makes photos you’ve just taken look blurry Image quality suffers in poor lighting conditions Battery charger has a long, awkward cord

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Latest Waterproof & Shockproof Digital Camera From Olympus

We’ve got the latest Olympus Stylus SW camera in our hot little hands!

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Panasonic LUMIX FX35 - Real Wide-Angle Point-and-Shoot

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The 12-megapixel Canon PowerShot SD950 IS is Canon’s current top-of-the-line point-and-shoot digital camera. It has a 3.7x optical zoom lens with image stabilization and a 2.5-inch LCD display as well as an optical viewfinder. All this is housed in a handsome, pocket-sized titanium body.

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Canon PowerShot SD950 IS Studio Test Images
	ISO 80 Sample >> ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1600 Sample >>

Pros Pocket-sized Great image quality for a point-and-shoot digital camera Optical viewfinder Optical image stabilization Excellent battery life Sexy, titanium body	Cons Lens isn’t wide enough No live histogram display No sports scene mode No shutter speed or aperture control A little slow

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A pocket-sized, 7-megapixel digital camera, the Casio Exilim EX-V7 distinguishes itself with a non-telescoping 7x optical zoom lens, sensor-shift image stabilization, and a full range of exposure controls.

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Casio Exilim EX-V7 Studio Test Images
	ISO 64 Sample >> ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >>

Pros 7x optical zoom Sensor Shift Anti Shake system Manual exposure modes, including full manual Pocket-sized! Very good Auto ISO Good high sensitivity image quality Very quick response	Cons Tends to blow highlights Cradle battery charger No optical viewfinder Minimal aperture settings

Introduction
I’ve had good experiences with Casio compact digital cameras and I looked forward to testing the Exilim EX-V7. I’m always looking for a good, pocket-sized digital camera that can deliver good image quality in all kinds of conditions. With sensor-shift image stabilization and a 7x optical zoom lens, this camera has a lot of promise - especially since it fits in your pocket so you can keep it with you all the time.

I’ve had the Casio Exilim EX-V7 for about a month now. I took it on a mountain bike trip to Italy, a bunch of local hikes and mountain bike rides, and to a couple of family get-togethers. I think I’ve given it a pretty complete workout.

Features
Casio has a range of compact digital cameras. I’m partial to their higher-end Exilim cameras because they offer full manual exposure controls as well as auto, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and scene modes. The EX-V7 is one of those cameras as you can see from the options on the mode dial (photo of dial). The options are aperture priority, shutter priority, metered manual, Best Shot, Easy Mode, Snapshot, and two video modes. Best Shot is Casio’s term for scene modes, of which the EX-V7 has 34. It’s got all the usual scene modes like Portrait, Scenery, and Sports, as well as some more interesting ones like Soft Flowing Water, Splashing Water, ebay, Whiteboard, Old Photo, and Register User Scene, which you can program yourself. Each Scene Mode has an explanation that can be accessed by using the zoom control.

Casio Exilim EX-V7 scene mode menu and Portrait scene mode description

The Exilim EX-V7’s standard movie mode uses the H.264/AVC MOV format and can be played back on a computer using QuickTime 7. It captures 30 frames-per-second and records sound in stereo. There are ten Movie Best Shot modes, including Portrait, High Sensitivity, Backlight, Night Scene, and more. The mechanical Anti Shake system also works when shooting movies. Movie file sizes are limited to 4GB, or about 9 minutes of video at normal resolution and highest quality.

The most important features on the EX-V7, in my opinion, are the sensor-shift image stabilization and the 7x f/3.4-5.3 zoom lens. The 7x optical zoom is equivalent to a 38-266mm zoom on a 35mm camera and is non-telescoping. In other words, when you turn on the camera and use the zoom, the lens doesn’t open up and protrude from the camera. This means the lens is more protected and won’t open in your pocket. The sensor-shift image stabilization system makes it easier to take pictures in low light and helps keep photos sharp when you’re using the full, 266mm equivalent, telephoto end of the zoom lens. Long focal lengths magnify any hand movement so the image stabilization is critical with a long zoom lens like the EX-V7 has.

Camera sensitivity is very impressive with a maximum sensitivity of ISO 1600. And image processing has been much improved as you’ll see from ISO 1600 samples in the Image Quality portion of this review.

The 2.5-inch LCD has an optional live histogram and composition grid displays. There is no optical viewfinder.

Camera Menus

Casio Exilim EX-V7 capture mode with image info, histogram, and composition grid displayed		Casio Exilim EX-V7 playback with all info and histogram
Casio Exilim EX-V7 menu display

Design
The 7x non-telescoping lens is as much a design element as an important feature of the Casio Exilim EX-V7. That’s because the internal lens design allowed Casio to keep this camera pocket-sized even with a very powerful 38-266mm zoom range. The body is a variation on a clamshell design with a sliding lens cover that turns the camera on and off. Since the lens doesn’t protrude when the camera is on, if you accidentally open and turn on the camera when it’s in your pocket, you aren’t going to damage the lens.

The all-metal body feels substantial and solid and makes for a good-looking camera. Controls are simple with many settings accessed via menus. Besides the shutter release button, there are very few external controls. The large 2.5-inch LCD means there’s no room for an optical viewfinder. I found the zoom control, a two-way sliding control on the back of the camera, a little hard to locate sometimes. But placing it where they did helped Casio keep the camera slim, clean, and compact. And that’s what the Exilim EX-V7 camera design is all about.

Camera Experience
I enjoyed using the Casio Exilim EX-V7. I love having a 7-megapixel, manual exposure camera, with a 7x zoom lens, and image stabilization, that I can carry in my pocket. It’s a lot of camera in a very small package and I took it with me everywhere. It was available on the plane to take pictures out the window, it was in a small case mounted on the shoulder strap of my backpack when I went hiking or biking, and it was in my pocket most all of the time. And a camera that’s with you all the time gets a lot of pictures.

I am a manual exposure kind of guy. I like to choose the aperture and shutter speed myself so I have complete control over my exposure. With compact cameras I usually compromise for speed and use aperture priority or shutter priority. The Exilim EX-V7 offers all kinds of exposure options for all kinds of photographers. They’re easy to access and the only problem I had was the mode dial is easy to move. So sometimes when I took the camera out of my pocket it wasn’t on the exposure mode I’d left it on. Besides the manual exposure modes, I also used the High Sensitivity, flower, and food scene modes (Casio’s calls their scene modes Best Shot). The V7’s highest selectable sensitivity setting is ISO 800, but the High Sensitivity Best Shot mode will go as high as ISO 1600. And I was generally pleased with the results at ISO 1600. Sure, there’s some digital noise. But it’s not too bad and I got photos without using flash where otherwise I would have had nothing.

With almost every digital camera I’ve ever used I immediately bypassed the auto ISO setting. But I gave it a chance with Casio EX-V7 and I have no regrets. Normally, auto ISO programming will default to a higher ISO in order to freeze action. The result is more digital noise and compromised image quality. Not so with the V7. The V7’s auto ISO thinks just like I do - it tries to keep the ISO low in order to deliver the most detail and best possible image quality. There may be others, but this is the first digital camera that I allowed to choose the sensitivity and wasn’t let down. Good job, Casio!

Although it’s becoming the standard, I was disappointed that the Exilim EX-V7 has no optical viewfinder. Big LCDs are nice. But you can’t pan accurately with them. I like to take a point-and-shoot digital along on my mountain bike rides and an optical viewfinder makes it a lot easier to pan for good action shots. I might have to give up the fight on this because it seems like I’m one of the few people who still actually wants an optical viewfinder. I did get a couple of decent panning mountain bike photos with the V7. But it would have been much easier to do so with an optical viewfinder. I’d be happy to trade a little bit of LCD area for an optical viewfinder.

Casio Exilim zoom range samples. Red box in left image indicates maximum zoom area as seen in the right image taken at full zoom (Click on photos to see larger versions).

The Casio Exilim EX-V7’s most interesting feature is the completely internal 7x optical zoom lens. The lens doesn’t telescope out from the camera body when you turn it on. This isn’t a normal lens design and it’s one of the reasons the camera is so compact. With a lens design like this, I am concerned that there will be optical flaws. And I’ve seen problems with cameras that have much shorter internal zoom lenses. But I didn’t notice any problems with my Exilim EX-V7 photos. And when I took a hard look at all my EX-V7 images on the computer, I couldn’t find any vignetting, soft corners, or anything else that I might attribute to lens design compromises. I think Casio really outdid themselves on the V7’s lens. The only problem is that the combination of such a small, light camera and long zoom range means it can be very hard to handhold at full telephoto without getting some camera shake – even in bright sunlight. It’s important to keep this in mind when you’re taking telephoto pictures and either brace yourself against something, breathe carefully, and take a few photos just to be sure you get a sharp one.

Image Quality
Contrast, color, and saturation are pretty standard with the new Casio. I’ve never thought Casio had the best image quality and I don’t think that’s changed. The biggest issue is a normal digital one - highlights tend to blow out. It’s hard to hold sky, cloud, snow, and white flower detail. This isn’t uncommon with digital cameras and I generally shoot a little dark to hold those details. It’s easy enough to lighten up the shadow areas later. The EX-V7 provides plenty of tools to help you make sure your exposure is good and you have the information you want in your images files. I almost always use exposure compensation and I check the histogram display regularly to make sure I’m not losing shadow or highlight detail.

A couple of problems I noticed, besides the tendency to lose highlight detail, are obvious purple fringing, and some tendency towards banding in high contrast, tonal blends. This image of a lake high in the Wasatch Mountains is a good example of both problems. You can see the purple fringing in the silhouetted trees at the top right, and there’s obvious cyan banding in the lake reflections.

There has been real and obvious improvement in high ISO performance. In the past, most experienced photographers would draw the line at ISO 200 with compact digital cameras. At ISO 400 and above, images would get positively chunky with digital noise. That isn’t the case anymore. The sensitivity range of the Exilim EX-V7 is ISO 64 to 1600 and I think the image quality is usable through the whole range. See the photo below of Lela at ISO 1600 or my Heathrow self-portrait for examples of the V7’s usability at its maximum sensitivity setting. Of course, image quality will be better if you keep the ISO settings low. But I don’t think we need to be afraid of ISO 800 or 1600 with Casio’s Exilim V7.

Click on thumbnails to view sample photos.

Conclusion
I like Casio digital cameras. I don’t think they have the best image quality but I think they more than make up for it by designing super compact, wonderfully usable digital cameras with a great feature set. This camera lives up to that with a ton of exposure options, a really powerful 7x optical zoom lens, and sensor-shift image stabilization to ensure sharp photos in all kinds of conditions. And the much-improved high ISO performance combined with image stabilization means you can take much better pictures in low light – even without the flash. Put it all together and the Casio Exilim EX-V7 is a wonderfully powerful and usable camera that you can put in your pocket and take everywhere.

Who Should Buy It
The Casio Exilim EX-V7 is a good digital camera for almost anyone. It makes a great pocket digital camera for a serious photographer or pro that knows and appreciates the manual controls. And beginners will like the compact size, big LCD, and simple, dependable auto exposure. It also makes a good all-purpose camera for those times when you want a camera that can do it all but you don’t want to pack an SLR and camera bag. The 7x optical zoom and wide sensitivity range make it a super flexible camera that is great for travel, family events, or taking out on the town.

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Contents of the Casio Exilim EX-V7 Box Casio Exilim EX-V7 Digital Camera LI-42B Li-Ion rechargeable battery and charger USB cable, Audio/Video cable Wrist strap Manual CD-ROM (OLYMPUS Master 2.0 Software) Warranty card

Other Resources:
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Casio Exilim EX-V7 User Reviews >>
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Casio Exilim EX-V7 Camera Specs >>
Casio Exilim EX-V7 Sample Gallery >>
All Casio Digital Camera Reviews >>
Casio Web site >>
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Digital Camera Buyer’s Guide >>
All Digital Camera Sample Images >>
Photo-John Profile >>

The most recent addition to Olympus Stylus Digital camera line, the pocket-sized 7.1-megapixel Stylus 780 has a weatherproof body, 5x optical zoom lens, and 2.5-inch LCD display. Mechanical image stabilization and a maximum sensitivity of ISO 1600 set the Olympus Stylus 780 apart from previous Stylus digital cameras. It’s a lot of camera in a very small package - and you can take it out in the rain!

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Olympus Stylus 780 Studio Test Images
	ISO 80 Sample >> ISO 100 Sample >> ISO 200 Sample >> ISO 400 Sample >> ISO 800 Sample >> ISO 1600 Sample >>

Pros Weatherproof Pocket-sized 5x optical zoom Real mechanical image stabilization! Live histogram display Great high-ISO performance Excellent macro options	Cons No optical viewfinder Weak flash No aperture or shutter speed display Soft spots in lens Slow shot-to-shot time

Introduction
I saw the Olympus Stylus 780 at the 2007 PMA tradeshow in Las Vegas and couldn’t wait to try it. It’s got all the makings of a great pocket-sized, outdoor and travel camera. The weatherproof body, Dual iS image stabilization, new TruePic III processor, a 5x zoom lens, and sensitivity up to ISO 1600 make for a powerful and flexible compact digital camera camera. Plus, I’ve enjoyed my experience with other Olympus Stylus digital cameras. So I told them to put me at the top of the list to review the Stylus 780.

I got the camera a few weeks ago and have used it almost every day, mostly for outdoor photos on hikes, mountain bike rides, and trips to the park with the dog. I’ve also taken a lot of flower pictures since my yard and the mountains are in full bloom.

Features
The Olympus Stylus 780 digital camera has a great set of features. Pocket-sized, weatherproof point-and-shoot performance is the name of the game with the Olympus Stylus line, which began back in 1991 with the Olympus Stylus/mju 35mm point-and-shoot camera. With a 5x optical zoom lens, 2.5-inch LCD, mechanical and electronic image stabilization, and a weatherproof body, the Stylus 780 has a pedigree and all the parts to make a great take-everywhere digital camera.

For me, the most important feature on the Olympus Stylus 780 is the image stabilization. (Learn more about image stabilization) The 780 uses what Olympus calls “Dual iS” image stabilization. It’s “dual” because the camera has both mechanical image stabilization (MIS) and electronic image stabilization (EIS). Olympus’ Sensor Shift image stabilization - the mechanical part of the system, helps compensate for camera shake when you’re taking pictures in low light. Electronic image stabilization uses high ISO settings to help freeze action. EIS is activated either by choosing the “High Auto” ISO setting in the Function menu or one of the three scene modes that use electronic image stabilization for action or low light photography.

The Olympus Stylus 780 doesn’t have advanced exposure modes like aperture priority or metered manual. It has a program mode that offers exposure adjustment via exposure compensation, an pure point-and-shoot Auto mode, and 22 scene modes ranging from standards like Landscape and Portrait, to more specialized modes like Underwater Wide and Auction. Each scene mode includes a description of what the mode is for and how it helps capture that type of subject. There’s also a Shooting Guide menu, which lists different types of subjects and photo problems with detailed instructions for how to best capture them with the Stylus 780.

Olympus Stylus 780 - SCN Mode Menu

Olympus Stylus 780 - GUIDE Menu

There are two macro modes with a dedicated button on the back of the camera. One lets you focus at 7.9-inches/20 cm at wide zoom and 23.6-inches/60 cm at the telephoto end of the zoom. The other, Super macro mode, fixes the zoom and allows you to focus as close as 1.2-inches/3 cm - that’s close!

In the Hi drive mode, the Olympus Stylus 780 can capture 3.5 images per second for up to 11 frames. Flash and ISO settings are limited in the Hi drive mode, and the resolution is restricted to 2048 x 1536 pixels (3.1 megapixels). But the flash will strobe in the Hi drive mode and that’s very impressive.

The 5x f/3.5-5.0 optical zoom lens is equivalent to a 36-180mm lens on a 35mm film camera. That’s a pretty good range for a camera that fits in the pocket of your jeans. It’s capable of getting in pretty close to most subjects and works great for zooming in for landscape photos. However, the 36mm wide end isn’t really what I consider wide.

There are a couple of other features that should be mentioned: Shadow Adjustment Technology and the Panorama scene mode. Essentially, the Panorama scene mode is a built-in stitching system that helps the photographer create a panoramic image in the camera. You have to use an Olympus xD memory card and the included Olympus Master software in order to use the Panorama scene mode. Shadow Adjust has a dedicated button on the back of the camera that simply and automatically compensates for contrasty lighting or backlit subjects.

Camera Menus

Olympus Stylus 780 shooting mode display w. info and histogram		Olympus Stylus 780 Function menu
Olympus Stylus 780 menu navigation		Olympus Stylus 780 main menu
Olympus Stylus 780 playback mode display w. info		Olympus Stylus 780 playback mode display w. info and histogram

Design
The Olympus Stylus 780’s most important design element isn’t readily visible. In order to protect delicate mechanical parts and sensitive electronics, rubber gaskets protect all openings on the camera.

Two-thirds of the camera back are dedicated to the 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD. Like most compact digital cameras now, the Olympus Stylus 780 has no optical viewfinder. Camera controls are placed well, with everything in reach of your right index finger and thumb. I like the Function button, which gives quick access to often used controls like ISO and white balance. Dedicated buttons give even easier access to the most important controls - exposure, flash, macro and self-timer. There’s also a Mode Dial for choosing the shooting mode, viewing photos, using the Guide mode.

I like point-and-shoot cameras that actually fit in my pocket. And in spite of having some big camera features, the Olympus Stylus 780 will fit in a shirt or jeans pocket. That means you can have it with you all the time, ready to get the shot - no matter what the place or occasion.

Camera Experience
I’m always on the lookout for digital point-and-shoot cameras that can do serious trail duty with minimal compromise. The Olympus Stylus 780 is tiny and packs a lot of power along with excellent features. I was excited about it having actual mechanical image stabilization. In my experience, mechanical image stabilization is invaluable because it means I can shoot in lower light and use lower ISO settings for less noise, hence better image quality. I’m also a long-time fan of the weatherproof Stylus line. I am in the outdoors in all kinds of weather and a camera that can handle some moisture gives me a lot more confidence.

I didn’t have a real opportunity to test the Stylus 780’s weatherproofing because it never really rained while I had it. However, I gave it a couple of good blasts with the hose, just for a photo. It performed just fine after that. And based on my experience with other Olympus Stylus digital cameras, I am not at all concerned about using the 780 in the rain. Olympus has the weatherproof thing down.

For the most part, camera performance was very good. The new TruePic III processor is very good, making the camera quick, and delivering very usable images at high ISO settings. I was actually unprepared and happily surprised by the high ISO performance of the Olympus Stylus 780. I’ve come to expect mediocre to terrible quality from compact digital cameras at sensitivity settings over ISO 400. But Olympus has done a great job in this area. I’m a little uncomfortable about what I’m going to say next, because it goes against what we’ve all come to expect from compact digital cameras. But I’ve checked and re-checked and I believe that the 780 has absolutely usable ISO 1600. If you doubt, I suggest you download the full resolution version of the image above and print it to see for yourself. Normally I try to use the lowest ISO possible to minimize noise and optimize image quality. After using the 780 for a couple of weeks, I think I would actually try to shoot at ISO 200 or even 400 most of the time so that the camera can use a smaller aperture and faster shutter speeds. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, rest assured that the Olympus Stylus 780’s auto and scene modes will serve you well and you’ll get better photos in low light than you have with previous digital cameras. Olympus has done an amazingly good job with their TruePic III camera processor. Every type of photographer will benefit from the improved image quality and low light performance.

There were a couple of problems with the camera. One is that it doesn’t display exposure settings. It does have a histogram display to help judge exposure. But I like to be able to see the shutter speed the camera is using so that I know if I’m going to get a sharp photo. In my opinion, this is a major omission and it makes it hard for me to really get the most out of the camera. The average photographer might not care. But anyone who has a little camera experience is likely to want to know what shutter speed the camera is selecting. Knowing your shutter speed allows you to decide whether a photo is possible and the best technique to use.

Since the majority of my serious photography is of mountain bikers, I always take test cameras out on the trail. I had high hopes for the 780 as a mountain bike camera. However, like yours truly on the dirt jumps, it falls short. It’s really hard to take panning photos with only an LCD display. An optical viewfinder is more accurate and you pan better with the camera braced against your eye. And although it’s comparable to most cameras in its class, the 36mm wide angle zoom isn’t wide enough for tight trail photos. Finally, the flash is very weak. When shooting in the woods, the standard technique is to use the flash and follow the rider (pan). The lack of an optical viewfinder and a weak flash made it next to impossible for me to get a clean panning shot. Panning shots in the woods resulted in spookily dark photos of decapitated riders. Also, unless you’re using the Hi drive mode with its lower resolution, the shot-to-shot time makes it easy to miss a shot. It takes the camera a while to process and save an image. However, if you’re willing to use the Hi drive mode and shoot 3-megapixel photos, then the 780 is pretty quick.

The Olympus Stylus 780 excels at close-up photography. There are two macro modes that allow you to get pretty close. But the Super macro mode allows you to get within 1.2-inches/3 cm of your subject. There’s some distortion around the edges, but since depth-of-field with macro is so limited, it’s not that noticeable. And since the mountains and my yard are full of flowers, I found myself taking lots of close-up flower photos. In fact, I think these flower closeups - especially the ones I took after some rain - are the best photos I took with the 780. The mechanical image stabilization makes a big difference for a lazy photographer like me, too. Normally, a tripod would be necessary for these photos. But I did all right shooting handheld. If you like to take close-up pictures then this camera works very, very well. The mechanical image stabilization also makes it possible to take slow exposures of moving water, for that silky look. Normally, without a tripod, the image below would be all blurry because of my shaky hands. But the Stylus 780’s mechanical image stabilization, a few tries, and some careful bracing and breathing, made this come out very nicely, in spite of the super slow 1/13th of a second shutter speed.

Now the bad news. As wonderful as the design and features of the Olympus Stylus 780 are, the camera is spoiled for me by some hard to avoid lens problems. I took a lot of pictures with this camera. And I started to notice that many of them had soft spots that couldn’t be attributed to anything but a lens problem. Since I shot a lot of outdoor photos, I kept thinking the soft spots might be wind on leaves. But I did some very controlled tests to confirm the problem and discovered that the spots were there, in the same place, no matter what the subject. I then asked Olympus for another camera, in case I just got a bad one. The second camera had the same problem. Photos taken in low light, with the aperture wide open have soft spots around the middle of the frame. Click on the image below to view the high-res file and scroll around to see the soft spots. This would have been a very nice photo if it weren’t for the mushy areas.

There is a possible solution to the lens problem. Actually it’s more of a workaround, but it will help. Since the soft spot only occurs when the lens is wide open, using a higher sensitivity setting should avoid it. And since the Stylus 780 has such impressive high ISO performance, this is a realistic strategy for minimizing the problem. However, it’s a problem that shouldn’t be there in the first place. I like to always use the lowest sensitivity setting a camera offers, so I can get the best possible image quality. With the 780, I have to compromise ultimate image quality in order to avoid the soft spots. That’s a bummer.

Image Quality
Generally, I find that Olympus digital camera image quality isn’t quite as good as I’d like. That’s not to say it’s bad. I have tons of photos I’ve taken with Olympus digital cameras that I’m very pleased with. It’s just that Canon, Sony, Panasonic, and Nikon are usually a little better. The Olympus Stylus 780 is consistent with that experience. However, I was very pleased with the noise levels at high ISO settings. Olympus’ new TruePic III processor does a really excellent job at reducing noise and I have no problem using this camera at ISO 400, 800, and even 1600! The Stylus 780’s high ISO performance was a big surprise for me and I think it’s the most impressive part of the camera.

There’s a noticeable absence of purple fringing in Stylus 780 images. I’m not saying there isn’t any. But it’s much improved since the last Olympus Stylus digital camera I tested (Olympus Stylus 720 SW) and it’s not obvious enough to matter.

I almost always use auto white balance with point-and-shoot digital cameras. Olympus Stylus 780 color is pretty good, although there is occasional white balance wackiness, with darker images having a somewhat warm, reddish hue. Shadow and highlight details are preserved fairly well, although highlights have more of a tendency to blow out than with some other cameras I’ve used. Careful exposure, using the histogram will take care of this. Most point-and-shoot photographers likely won’t notice or care. But the camera does tend to lose some sky and cloud detail. And that’s always disappointing if you’re taking landscape or other outdoor pictures. Auto exposure metering is very good and aside from the highlight problem, I rarely had an exposure that really disappointed me. Most of the photos you see accompanying this review have had at least some adjustment in Photoshop. That being the case, they should be viewed as representing the ultimate potential of the camera and not what it delivers at the most basic point-and-shoot level. For pure, untouched image quality, it’s best to look at the studio sample photos.

Detail is very good. However, I often lost critical details in low light due to the soft spots I mentioned in the Camera Experience section. I checked and rechecked and neither focus nor noise was the problem. But there are distinct soft spots in many images, where important textural details like leaves, branches, and rocks are too soft. And what might have great photos are throwaways. Basically, a very nice camera has been seriously compromised by a lens problem.

Click on thumbnails to view sample photos.

Conclusion
There are so many good things about the Olympus Stylus 780. It fits in your pocket, it’s quick, it’s weatherproof, the image stabilization works great, and the high ISO performance is amazing for a compact digital camera. But no matter how much I want to like it, I can’t ignore the 780’s lens problems. The Olympus Stylus 780 might have been a great camera. But not with this lens. Aside from the weatherproof body, there are other cameras that offer a lot of the same features and functionality. Unless you’re a photographer that shoots in bright, perfect light, where the lens won’t reveal its flaws, you don’t care about small details, or you need the weatherproof design, the 780 is likely to disappoint you, as it did me. Hopefully, the camera designers at Olympus will read this and go the extra mile on the next Stylus digital camera. I want it all. And I know they can do it.

Who Should Buy It
Pardon me, but I’m going to backtrack a little here. No one makes an outdoor point-and-shoot camera like Olympus. If you spend a lot of time hiking, boating, fishing, biking, skiing, or doing anything where a pocket-sized, weatherproof digital camera will come in handy, the Olympus Stylus 780 may serve you well. The only caveat is you must be aware of the camera’s limitations. If you aren’t super picky about image quality and don’t plan on shooting masterpieces or printing larger than 8×10, then the 780 is a smart, worthy camera. There are so many good things about it that everyone will like. But if you’re an experienced, demanding photographer, used to looking closely at your images, then I would advise you to steer clear of the Olympus Stylus 780. Unless I happened to get two bad samples, I predict the lens will let you down.

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Contents of the Olympus Stylus 770 Box Olympus Stylus 780 Digital Camera LI-42B Li-Ion rechargeable battery and charger USB cable, Audio/Video cable Wrist strap Manual CD-ROM (OLYMPUS Master 2.0 Software) Warranty card

Other Resources:
Shop For Olympus Stylus 780 >>
Olympus Stylus 780 User Reviews >>
Write a Olympus Stylus 780 Review >>
Olympus Stylus 780 Camera Specs >>
Olympus Stylus 780 Sample Gallery >>
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