Friday, May 23, 2008

Olympus 770 SW died?




My water proof Olympus 770 SW camera is not working right anymore. Zoom stopped working. All menu buttons are dead. It still takes photos, but only on the setting it is stuck on.

This is my second water proof camera to die. Previous it was the Pentax W20. The Pentax had lots of water in it. The Olympus appears to be dry inside.

Maybe its time to go with cheaper cameras and a water proof housing. At least with a housing you can see water entry. Another bonus is I'll be able to use a camera with a optical eye piece. I'll actual know what the hell I'm aiming at. You can't see anything with those LCDs on a bright day.

Has anyone got some advice for me? Anyone have good and bad experience with Canon water proof housings?

Check this housing and camera out. I'm running out of options.

4 comments:

srfnff said...

DW,

As you probably know, I've been using the Oly 790SW for a while now, seven months. I've taken quite a few pics and the camera has failed me only once. It gave me an error message to "clean" the chip terminal. I did this with a "hi-tech" t-shirt and it was all good again. The only maintenance I do on the camera is to pour clear water over it after each session to wash off the salt water. So far so good.

The Oly has a better rep for durability than the Pentax. Jason over at Daily Bread uses this camera consistently. Not many problems and he takes some great shots.

Maybe you might consider having it serviced before sixing it?

NC Paddle Surfer said...

I'm torn about what to do. When the camera worked, it was OK, but didn't thrill me. I think all cameras should have an eye piece to supplement the LCD screen. LCD screens stink in bright sun.

Canon's are smart, most include the eye piece for shooting when the LCD just doesn't work well.

My concern with using the water proof housing on a Canon, is whether the eye piece is usable. Another concern is whether the housing might come unlatched during a huge wipeout.

Lots to think about.

srfnff said...

The Olympus, Pentax and GoPro Digital Hero 3 are the only three self-contained point and shoot waterproof cams out there. None of them takes high quality pics that I've seen. They all take OK pics that I put in the "snapshot" category.

To get really good high quality water shots I think you have to go with better equipment all around: camera and housing. When you do that though you lose the mobility, flexibility and ease of use of a camera you can just tuck back into your wetsuit. Anything else in a case would be too bulky. Also, to get the really good shots you have to be up close and in the water, not worrying about a board, paddle or anything else.

So for my purposes the three slim cameras with "built-in" waterproof case fit the bill. I'm sure I'll be doing some servicing on the Oly but I figure that just comes with the territory. If I wanted to get more serious about the photography I'd start looking at a better camera (SLR type probably) and a good waterproof case.

My 2 cents.

Anonymous said...

I've been using a Canon A85 with a housing made for a A550 since Feb. PonoBill broke his A550 and had replaced it with a Xacti. We found the case fit my A85 with some slight mods (just some duct tape in the right places).

Other than the bulk factor and the limitation of 30 secs for video it does what I need. The LCD is actually bright enough for most shots and the eye piece is functional if not.

I'll continue to use the Canon when I want good shots. All the shots I've posted on the zone were taken with the Canon. I do want to get something less bulky for convenience. I'm thinking of the digital hero 3 for video and its price.