Olympus Stylus 720 SW
by Shawn Barnett
As with the rest of the Stylus line, the Olympus 720 SW design is based around a weatherproof body that ensures wherever you go, your camera will go right along with you, unhindered by rain, sleet, or snow that would see most digicams left at home or in a sealed case, unable to get that chance-of-a-lifetime photo. The "SW" in the model name hints at two more unusual features though: the 720 SW is shock-proof to the MIL-STD-810F standard (which means it can withstand a drop from 5 feet), and it's waterproof to a depth of three meters.
Despite its array of waterproof seals and shock absorption technology, the 720 SW remains pocket-friendly and relatively lightweight. It includes an Olympus-branded 3x optical zoom with a 38 - 114mm equivalent focal length range and F3.5 - 5.0 maximum aperture, folded by a prism to allow the lens to be mounted at right angles to the front of the camera. This allowed the camera's designers to protect the delicate lens components, as well as to completely seal the camera body with no need for a lens to extend out of the camera body when powered on. The lens is coupled with a 7.1 megapixel imager and 2.5" LCD display that has 115,000 pixels. As is common on many digicams these days, this LCD is the sole method of framing images, as the Stylus 720 SW forgoes any form of optical viewfinder.
I'm disappointed that I have to make excuses for the Olympus Stylus 720 SW. I'd like to say the images are as stunning as the camera. But this is a case where the camera is an excellent hardware design with somewhat mediocre image quality. But our printer tests show clearly that what I see onscreen doesn't really make a huge difference in printed output. Honestly, if you're like most shooters, you'll be happy to have this rugged beauty along for all your activities, getting images where you'd normally not risk having a camera of any kind. And a good majority of shooters are hardly using all those megapixels when they output their stack of 4x6 images (you only need 2 megapixels for a decent 4x6, people), so maybe Olympus is right with their strategy of building the camera not only for the rigors of the real world, but for how the resulting images will be used in the real world.
I don't get it. Olympus is capable of making excellent digital cameras. But the image quality coming from the 720 SW doesn't meet the standard. When I look at the resolution test chart, however, I see a whole different story, with the 720 SW pulling an impressive 1,400 lines per picture height, while the Verve and A520 manage only a conservative 1,000 and 900 lines respectively. So the camera excels at black and white detail, just not color. I don't know what's happening in the Olympus models, but the mush looks as bad on the Macbeth chart as it does in a vibrant shirt.
