Olympus Stylus 850

Olympus mju 850SW Review | Compact Digital Cameras | CNET UK

by feedback@cnet.co.uk (Mark Harris)

The arrival of multi-gigabyte memory cards at pocket-money prices has meant that many of us now shoot everything and ask questions later. So if you want a camera that can go (almost) anywhere you can, and keep on shooting, Olympus's ultra-toughened mju 850SW is a £200 temptation -- it's waterproof, freezeproof and shockproof.

Strengths
If you've yet to use one of the Olympus ruggedised SW cameras, you might need some shock-proofing yourself. The mju 850SW is no heavier, fatter or harder to use than any comparable style compact, with none of the awkwardness of, say, Ricoh's waterproof models. The case combines matte metal and smooth plastic, eschewing the metal rivets of previous SW cameras for a simple, reassuring solidity.

The camera is fully waterproofed to 3m, which is fine for swimming pools and the surf, but keep it on its wrist-strap in deep water -- it doesn't float. It's also drop-proof from at least 1.5m (though expect a few scratches if you regularly let it fall) and freezeproof for sub-zero snapping.