Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Wide Angle Zoom (Black)

I've had great fun with this camera in pools, rivers, lakes, hot springs and oceans for just over a year. Yep, just long enough for the warranty to run out. I researched this camera quite a bit before buying it and at the time the main problems mentioned in online forums seemed to be about accidentally leaving the card covers open before or while submersing it. I bought the silicone skin to be sure the card covers couldn't be accidentally opened and thought everything was good.

Then I was in the water with it and got a "Card-cover open" error. I held it out of the waves, got to shore, the card covers were NOT open but yes, there was a tiny drop of water in there. I dried out the camera, the card works fine in other cameras. But the error won't reset and go away.

I called Olympus and the tech said that it's well documented in the manuals that ALL the seals on ALL waterproof cameras must be changed out every 6 months! Olympus will do this for $29.95 and you pay shipping both directions. I usually read manuals pretty thoroughly and I never saw any mention of this at all. The tech said that now that it's damaged the repair bill will be $107. and that will include fixing everything and replacing all the seals.

It's a fun camera but new seals every 6 months? Makes an underwater housing sound like a better deal.

I bought this camera, and honestly I used to love it. Strong construction and supposely Water proof. While snorkeling I got a "Card-Cover Open" message and the camera was dead. Google for this error message and you will find hundreds of frustrated user with the same dissapointing experience. Do not waste your money on this model for now, or at least get the Water-proof case.....

I bought this for a trip to South America since I had a relatively good experience with an earlier model of Olympus's tough cameras (the 720SW). About 2 weeks into the trip the lens cover jammed open and the lens was immediately scratched. All of my pictures from that point on had a smudge from the scratched lens. The waterproofing didn't work well. On a couple of occasions water entered the battery compartment - once while rafting (and being submerged no more than a foot at any given time) and then once while snorkeling in the ocean. The snorkeling finally killed the camera. Despite catastrophic failure of one of the camera's selling points the customer service has been almost worthless. The camera did take good quality pictures and was easy to use, just don't expect it to stand up to the elements any better than another point and shoot. I won't be buying Olympus again.

This is quote a tough camera. Handles more than what is reasonable to digital cameras (drops, water, shaking etc.).
Picture quality good up to A3.
One thing to be aware off. Make sure to check the seals in battery compartments regularly as the slightest dust/dirt will let water into the camera (this could have been better constructed).

I love this camera, it is easily the best electronics purchase I have made in the last two years. I have dropped it off a moving bicycle onto asphalt, where it got run over by another bike, and only had a few scratches on the case for the experience. The waterproofing is great, it uses real rubber seals, unlike the junk Pentax I had before. I love this camera, and can't recommend it enough... One of my friends bought one on my revommendation, and she feels the same about hers. This is about as bullet-proof as a camera gets, and its a great value, too!