Olympus Mju 1030 SW

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By Leonard Goh
Mar 24, 2008

Building on the success of its previous weatherproof cameras like the Mju 790SW, Olympus introduced the Mju 1030SW, a point-and-shoot designed to withstand extreme conditions. Unveiled together with the Mju 850SW, the 1030SW is a more rugged version with crushproof feature and has better shock, freeze and waterproof tolerance. If you're not the sporty type, its counterpart, the Mju 1010, is an alternative with 7x optical zoom and dual-image stabilization.

Upside

The previous SW-series of cameras could only absorb shock from fall of 1.5m and go underwater to a depth of 3m. The 1030SW, however, ramps up on these features and even incorporates a crushproof body. All these, without sacrificing on the thickness of the camera body, which remains the same as the older 790SW, at 21.3mm.

The Mju 1030SW takes what's good on the previous SW-series cameras and makes it even better.
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This point-and-shoot is shockproof from a fall of 2m or less. Unless you are leaning over a railing to shoot, the usual drop from eye-level probably won't damage the camera, which is built from metal compliant with military standards. Together with the scratchproof metal body, this camera can handle more than the usual knocks-and-bumps in your bag.

Although seawater is the number one killer for most cameras, the 1030SW is rugged enough for your diving trips. Take note that the camera is waterproof only up to 10m. Beyond that, the pressure will depress all the buttons, rendering camera operation impossible. If you are looking to dive deeper, consider the optional underwater housing PT-043. This will let you dive with the camera down to a depth of 40m. The camera comes with a set of proper cleaning procedures in the user manual when it is used in saltwater.

This compact is functional even in extreme cold temperatures of up to minus 10 degrees Celsius. However, like most portable devices, it is always a good practice to keep the camera warm at all times as the battery's performance tend to deteriorate in low temperatures.

Another extreme feature of the 1030SW that sets it apart from the rest of the SW-series is its ability to withstand pressure of up to 100kg. So you don't have to worry about the camera being at the bottom of your bag when packing other gears into your bag.

The Mju 1030SW comes with a 28mm wide-angle lens ad 3.6x optical zoom.
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This compact comes with a 3.6x optical zoom lens with a 28mm wide-angle lens. This will be very useful for capturing scenic underwater shots. The 1030SW boasts face detection feature as well, but Olympus said that this feature doesn't work underwater, which we assume is probably due to the diving goggles breaking the facial features that face detection algorithms usually recognize.

This point-and-shoot camera houses a 2.7-inch LCD, which is pretty decent especially if you are wearing goggles and trying to frame a shot underwater. The 10.1-megapixel sensor should be enough for the majority of divers looking to snap some underwater shots.

Downside

At a hefty 173g (excluding memory media and battery), the 1030SW is definitely not your typical ladies' camera. We guess this is the price to pay for its water sealing properties and a hardier camera body.

The camera is equipped with a measly 14.7MB internal memory. This lets you take only about five pictures at the highest resolution and quality setting.

The 1030SW uses proprietary xD-Picture Card format, which maxes out at 2GB. While it may be sufficient for day-to-day shooting, it would be wise to pack a couple more for holidays.

Bottomline

So far, it seems there isn't a point-and-shoot on the market that can handle extreme situations as well as the 1030SW. The 28mm wide-angle lens will be useful for capturing more within space constrains, although it's a shame that the face detection feature doesn't work underwater. If you are looking for a camera that can outlast you in the wild, there's non other than the 1030SW. However, be prepared to invest in the more costly xD-Picture Card memory media.