First the negative: Yes, there is some lag after pushing the shutter button, as well as inbetween photos. I knew that going into the purchase, though it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

I can live with that, however, because otherwise this camera is amazing. I had a Nikon Coolpix 550, which gave me the dreaded "lens error" message after only 3 months, and it never worked again. Having young children in the house and enjoying taking pictures on all kids of trips in all kinds of conditions, I can't afford to have a camera that needs to be treated like a decorated egg.

That's where the 1050SW comes in. The durability of this camera is nothing short of awesome. I love having a camera that can be dropped and get soaking wet and still work perfectly. The sliding lens cover keeps junk out of the lens area when the camera's not in use. Genius all-around design.

As far as the photos themselves, there are TONS of settings that can greatly improve picture quality. Leaving the setting to "auto" 100% of the time will not always provide the best photo quality, but making a change in the easy-to-use photo menu can make a huge difference in the end result.

A 3x zoom has its obvious limitations, but for an everyday/every condition camera that will last and last, this is a superb all-around camera.

I use this camera at sea (caribbean). Yesterday it survived four hours in very rough water when hurricane was a few hundred miles north, through crashing waves and the like while I mostly tread water and watched to keep from being carried out to sea. However, there are three things which are troublesome. First, when you click to take the picture, there's a delay in its taking the picture so if you want to get something that's gone quickly, you can't judge things too well. Secondly, the digital display is hard to aim with a moving target, and it can't be seen in heavy sunlight. Third, movies seem to be limited to about ten seconds, and there is popping noise in the video at somewhat regular intervals. So, it's fairly rugged for shallow depths, and the size is great, some pictures are not too bad, but the above criticisms create problematic results under certain circumstances.

Whats Great: durability, picture quality is great so far too...I have 3 small boys, so I needed to buy something that could handle them. I have always purchased olymupus cameras becuase of the picutre qauality, but my boys seem to always manage to throw my cameras out a window, or into water...this was my only choice. There are no other's like it on the market in this price range.

What's not so great: shutter delay..i hate it. I absolutely hate th delay, i'm trying to get used to it. I almost have to guess what's gonna happen...not easy with a 1,3 and 5 year old! Thre are other settings you can use to try and make it better, but i just have to get used to it, again, durability is the most important thing to me ..i have gone through-i think-3 cameras alredy...I cant keep buying them, too expensive. the other not so great feature is the strange lcd screen. when you make the slighest movement it gets blurry..i really dont use it, when i'm taking a picutre, i just look at the subject..i iwll peek to make sure what i'm taking is in frame but that's about it. I'm not a huge fan of the slider that opens and closes the lens..it does open easy, sometimes when it's in my bag, it opens on me. the last thing i'm not too crazy aobut is that it takes a while to turn on...if sometihg is happening that i want to shoot really fast, between the delay of it turing onn nd the dely on the shutter, i usually miss it. I also think all cameras should come with a case-only some do, this one doesnt..that annoys me...the card, and extra battery costs enough..

All in all, it's ok. If durability wasnt the most important thing, i would hve returned it and gotten something different.

Hope that helps!

I wanted to like this camera. I wanted to like it so very, very much. The design and the features sounded amazing. The camera looks great, it's light, feels sturdy, and I fully believe that it would do great underwater or survive the kind of fall that would cause other cameras to disintegrate. Frankly, I was drooling over the prospect of having one to use. Seriously; it sounded like the 007 of cameras.

Unfortunately, I am not capable of taking ANY good pictures with this camera. That's right...absolutely no good pics. This wasn't due to lack of trying. Because my other digital camera is an Olympus, I wanted to stay within the family to keep the acclimation to an updated operating system simple.

After thoroughly reading the manual, testing the camera in snow settings, indoors with high, average, and low illumination, with objects up close and far away, moving targets, night settings, static objects, and food shots; I found that I could not for the life of me take a decent photo. I adjusted light levels on the camera, I tried different modes, different qualities of picture, anti-shaking mode, a fixed camera position, and of course I tried the AUTO mode. God help me, at one point I am pretty sure that I sacrificed a live chicken. All the while, I had my older Olympus taking shots in the sames settings on AUTO. The older camera took great shots. I must stress, I took well over 200 test shots with each camera. The 1050SW was returned for a new camera from a different brand...which is taking great photos out of the box with no time spent on the manual yet.

Maybe it's me. I hope it's just me. Bottom line: if you're like me and want a "point and shoot", this may not be the camera for you. An advanced user might have a better go of it...but 10.1MP and a sexy design won't be of much help if you can't easily take a photo.

I bought this camera as my first digital to use while fly-fishing and skiing - I love it - all the different settings and functions helps me get good shots regardless of the light or conditions I am in - and I don't have to worry about getting it wet or dropping it - I wasn't sure if I would like the slide on and off lens cover but I do - it is an easy way to turn the camera on and off and protects the lens face - I like the pocket size and weight - I like the ability to plug it into a TV monitor to see a big version of my pictures and/or play them back as a slide show - I bought 3 extra batteries very cheap here on Amazon and never worry about running out of power - all in all, I don't see how any amateur, outdoor photographer could go wrong with this amazing little camera.

First, the downside. There is a lag time between photos. I've experienced it most often in Auto mode at sunset, due to the shutter remaining open longer. In bright daylight, this is not as much of a problem.
The upside: huge. I've had plenty of point and shoot cameras. One fizzled out when a single raindrop hit it. Another froze up every time we were in the snow. Spent one day on a sandy beach, and its back to camera shopping. The Olympus is different. It's a fantastic family camera.
All the places I like taking family photos are precisely the environments that will ruin most cameras. Not this one.
This camera has taken crisp, high-quality photos underwater (it was strange, dunking my camera in freezing water, taking a photo, then continuing on our hike--the camera still worked!)at the top of a ski run in gusting freezing wind, on the beach at sunset, and also indoors.
My past experience w/point-and-shoots is that they advertise loads of features, but once I had the camera, I never used them. The olympus features and the different modes for sunset, snow, portrait, close-ups, etc. are easy to find.
This Olympus is a go-anywhere camera. Its design is simple and straightforward. The battery held its charge for a long time and recharged quickly. Using the features and settings results in better photos.
My friend has a 12 mp Canon Digital SLR, and we've taken comparable photos of sunsets, etc--but he's had to leave his camera at home when its snowing and raining.
In short, a well-rounded moderately priced camera that you can occasionally drop, get wet, and expose to dirt and real life.

Olympus Stylus 1050SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)
Bought this for my son to take on a 1000-mile sailing trip over open ocean, and couldn't have made a better choice! Intuitive user interface, superb pictures, and absolutely the right device for that environment. We will enjoy the record of his trip in fine quality photos for decades to come.

This little camera went skiing in the Alps with me and impressed me tremendously. I've been a fan of the Powershot series due to their compactness, skin tones, sharpness and feature set. I was worried about switching with so much success from my little Canons. However, the camera has shined in many situations and will now replace the Canon. Additionally, I get a panorama mode which I adore, underwater capability and some other features that are absent from nearly every other point and shoot on the market.
I have a Nikon D200 and D300, Powershots SD690, SD 320 and the hybrid TX-1 (awesome). I recently purchased a Lumix G1 for a compact SLR style. I am very fussy and need a camera to work well. This one does with other perks that are hard to find.

I bought this camera thinking my wife and I had lost our Fuji E900. The first one I got a few months ago seemed to work well but while showing the features of the camera to my parents (prospective buyers) I did a "drop test" from about 3' into a child's car seat and the camera broke after having it for 1 week. I sent it back and got another one, the same model, and have not had anymore problems. I have taken it down waterslides in video mode with excellent results although the sound quality is only OK due to the occasional "clicking" noise. Not sure what that noise is but it could be the wrist strap clanging against the camera which is attached too close to the internal mic. The picture quality is only average though. The greens seem a little washed out and reds don't seem as true as they should be - even with some bright outdoor pictures in ideal conditions. We have subsequently found our 9.0MP E900 (in our 4 year old's closet hiding) and now I use it for most of the pics I take, while my wife uses the Olympus and prefers it. One note- the video mode is limited to 10 seconds on a regular "M" XD card so after buying a new "M+" XD card I was able to take unlimited length clips. A little disappointing when you already have 3 2GB cards of the regular type. For being a 12MP camera it was a little disappointing but if you include the cool features it makes it a decent all around vacation type camera for beaches (I have lost 2 cameras due to sand), snow, and water. Overall fun camera to use - just not for the professional photographer.

Nice little camera that is easy to use. Drawback is the s-l-o-w shutter.
Miss some shots due to the shutter lag.