It’s a decent-looking camera that weighs less than 5 ounces also it is available in several other colors.
Olympus took several measures to shield the camera from harm. There’s a floating internal circuit board. The housing for all internal components was cast from one mold, as opposed to several separate pieces riveted together. That reduces the likelihood, Olympus says, of small breaches or fractures. Seals and gaskets are waterproof. And there’s a water-repellent lens coating.
What’s more, the lens is less likely to suffer damage because it doesn’t protrude, as lenses on many other cameras do. Even so, Olympus oddly sells a $15 optional silicone skin to protect it against bumps and scratches.
Important score! the 7.1-mega pixel model produced perfectly fine, if not exceptional, results. The camera did inadvertently snap at least one picture after hitting the ground, but as with any digital camera you can instantly dispose of duds.
Stylus has several useful features common to digital cameras nowadays, including image stabilization (to protect you from the shakes) and face detection (for properly focusing on your subjects’ mugs). It also has a fairly standard 3X optical zoom and more than two-dozen different shooting modes.
Still, some features are missing. I wish the camera had an optical viewfinder rather than making me frame the shots on its 2.5-inch LCD display, which is difficult to make out in direct sun. But I can’t hammer Olympus too hard, because a lot of other point-and-shoots are designed these days without a viewfinder.
I had other quibbles: I’m not crazy about the placement of the zoom controls on the upper portion of the camera’s back side. I’d prefer the controls to be on the top. The on screen menus could be more intuitive.
And Olympus (along with Fujifilm) continues to use a small proprietary memory card type called xD rather than the more universal Secure Digital, or SD, cards.
I heard a slight issue with shutter lag, the time it takes to capture an image after snapping a picture. The lag was a moment longer than on my compact Canon digital camera. That’s a problem when you’re trying to get your kids to pose.
The battery could also last longer. Olympus says you’ll get about 200 pictures on a charge, but battery pooped out after less than half that. It takes about five hours to charge the battery again.
Overall, the Stylus 790 is an excellent choice for people who tend to be hard on their high-tech gear. Though not bulletproof, it’s a good-looking and reasonably priced camera that should more than survive the rigors of an active lifestyle.
Source: usatoday