Hey there guys.

Will be getting a new digi camera at some point and we've been looking at this one:

Olympus Mju 850SW

Seems like a good all-rounder really with the added advantage of being able to use it in wet conditions which could come in handy when we go to austrailia at christmas and visit the waterpark etc!

Anyone have any other suggestions? Our absolute maximum budget is about £180 i think really and it has to be pretty small and portable.

Thanks guys.

Phil

Well... we're going to get one of these anyway!

We really like the idea of it being a bit more robust.

We spoke to the guy in jessops and he said they had a guy that brought one in that he had really abused and has cracked the screen so water had leaked in... they sent it off and they replaced it free of charge under the warranty!

Phil

Does it use a lithium ion battery? A lot of these latest digital cameras really eat up the batteries, so check on which type it uses.

Yes comes with a lithium-ion battery.

I have a friend with a MJU camera. She wanted something robust as well and the MJU range seem not only to be rugged and a quite waterproof, but also take nice pictures as well. She is more than happy with it.

Honest opinion - thought digital was way tio go - but at work - we get top class digital - to record evidence etc -but I've got late dad's Canon --and the diferance is outstanding - no digital can match the quality - son's ex (possibly her fancy man , hit my grqandson --digital - all blurred - canon - is being used as evidence by soliciter -shows finger marks etc )

Sorry - but I'm a techie freq - but for pics - go back to the old ways .

Top Digital DSLRs are outstanding. I think the Gadget Show are doing one of their ‘not very scientific tests’ on the difference between film and digital this Monday. If Scuff appears he can give a professional view of the differences.

I vote Digital obviously:D

SORRY - we use 8 / more M/pixals at work - but this is not (AND I SAY NOT )equal to the quality my son's ex partner is being done for with my late dad's canon ---tried my works digital - no sign of fingermarks - , but on canon prints- whoops there they were -much to ex daughter in laws upset ,and Social Services's total surprise .(And her total surprise at being caught out )Legal case now proceeding - sorry - as a an exponant of digital stuff - felt -well - wel stuffed .

Each to their own. Some of the newer high end digitals are sporting well over 20 mega pixels and have very good low noise figures to boot. But from what I have seen, a digital camera needs more setting up as ther are so many more things that can/or need to be adjusted. Even my lowely 40D has several degrees of things like sharpness, Dynamic range adjustment, Colour balaence, Noise reduction etc etc and that is before you consider the traditional Av, Tv ISO/ASA settings.

The pro snappers I talk to at footie matches and the like, all prefer Digital, but there are many reasons for this, not just image quality. When I have asked them about Studio work they seem divided more so. Some preferring the ‘look’ of film and others preferring the ease of post processing and some very very sharp IQ images from Hassleblads etc. Mamiya are introducing a 28 mega pixel medium format studio camera which has good pixel size too, this could be the daddy of studio cameras from what I have read, but I am unlikely ever to try one or even understand the completeness of it’s technical abilities.:(

I watched the Gadget shows comparison between the F5 and D700 Nikon film and Digital cameras. They blew the pictures up to cover the side of a high rise building…….HUGE!!!.. and the winner……….

……Digital by some margin. Surprised me with the difference to be honest. I think the film perhaps hadn’t been processed as well, but it shows that a cheapish FF Digital camera is reall that good. The shots wee taken by a pro in a studio and using the same lens. It backs up what the pros have been telling me, Digital is up there with film and quite possibly past it. It will only get better too.

On a personal level, even though I prefer Digital, I can understand why people like Film more. It’s the same in my area of expertise, Audio, with Vinyl and CD/Digital sound. I hate the rumble and Sig/noise of vinyl, but I can appreciate that there is a ‘sound’ to vinyl that is ‘sweet’.

I feel I should add, this was the Gadget Show, not a proper test by any means, but I feel it shows that the two formats ar at least in the same ball park and the same seem to be so for medium format too.

Film cameras can only do so much, then it becomes reliant on improvements in film stock and Scanners (drum or otherwise) where as DSLRs are improving in all areas at the moment and there is huge invest in them. Sensors and low noise photocells, amplifiers and digitisers and so on are all being improved with very breath we take. I think that film sadly will soon be almost redundant, except for a few aficionados and the odd pro or two. :(

I too saw that amanda.

Those prints her f-in huge!

There certainly was a noticeable difference in the images but whether or not it was all done fairly etc I don't know.

We've found the mju waterproof for £120 odd at dixons tax free so we will probably ring up and reserve it before we get to the airport and grab it on the way to austrailia (which is when we want it for).

Phil

Hi Phil,

Probably too late, but have you looked at the Optio W10?

T

Is this actually any better than the Mju though?

It has a lower resolution 6.0 megapixels vs 8.

My friend with the MJU has taken hers to the Lakes several times this year and so far she hasn’t broken it…………left it in a café… yes, but broken it…...no. It must be tough, she gets through cameras like Newcastle United gets through managers.

Right... change of plan!

We've just ordered a Pentax Optio W60 to pick up from the airport. Got it for £148 which is a fair bit cheaper than elsewhere.

Its a slightly better spec than the Olympus and we can use SDHC cards (already got a 16gb one) instead of those silly XD thingamys!

Dixons Tax Free

Right... change of plan!

We've just ordered a Pentax Optio W60 to pick up from the airport. Got it for £148 which is a fair bit cheaper than elsewhere.

Its a slightly better spec than the Olympus and we can use SDHC cards (already got a 16gb one) instead of those silly XD thingamys!

Dixons Tax Free

Oops, I meant W60, glad you got the right one! I got confused with the W10 which was my old one. Having had both a waterproof Olympus and a couple of Pentaxes, I much prefer the Pentax range so I think you made the right choice. Good price!

Well.. heres a test shot from today...

Went swimming today and took the camera for a dip... fealth rather strange dunking the camera under the water!

AAHHH!!

We're going to need a bigger boat! :P

Turn the datestamp off, please. It's the most annoying thing on photos ever invented.

You have EXIF if you need the date, or you can write it on the back of a print - but removing it from a photo you really like is a huge bother.

Aside from that, looks cool. Though I've never been able to open my eyes underwater, so I don't think I'd manage anything similar

Agree with Mort, date stamps are awful. I've got some photos of a trip to Switzerland/Austria ruined because I didn't realise the date stamp was turned on.