[MrBill]

This is a fisherman's camera. Olympus Stylus 770SW. It's small, fits in any pocket, and is manly proof. It's totally waterproof down to 33 feet. It's shockproof for a drop of 5 feet to concrete. It's also freezeproof and function at 4 degrees below zero. Not a problem in Texas!! It's still 81 degrees right now at 6:00pm on Nov 20th.

It can shoot up to 7.1 megapels. I bought a 2 gig card. It can hold up to 12,000 photos at 640 x 480. I can also shoot MPEG videos with sound up to 1 hour with the card. The best thing is you can drop it, spit on it, drop it in the water, shot pictures underwater, get tuna blood all over it. Just stick it under the hose or place it in cold fresh water in the ice chest to clean off.

I was drinking on the beach this summer with a buddy who had one. I told him he was full of it when he told me it was indestructible. He was sipping on a highball and tossed it into the surf. After about 15 minutes he got up to retrieve it. Not only was it still filming video, the playback was awesome. It shows the surf breaking from down below. He then opened up his cooler and dropped it into the icy water for a few minutes. It still worked.

There was a guy surf fishing next to us. He gave him a case of beer to borrow his surf rod. He tied the camera on and cast it to the third sand bar. Cranked it in like a bottom weight with sand and saltwater. He then took a leak on it and left it there in the sand. He paid some kid five bucks to pick it up later on as the sun was settling. I drooped it into my margarita shaker and shook it hell out of it with ice and tequila. It still worked.

So, I bought one.

 

[tunacrazy]

Thanks Mr.Billfor the info on the camera, I've been thinking of getting a better camera for taking on the trips. It loks like just what the dr. ordered. Thank again Bruce

 

[DeepBlueGulf]

Thanks for the info on the camera! Was wondering if you've been using that unit to post your rod test pictures? Those have come out really well!

Tom - DBG

 

[MrBill]

Thanks for the info on the camera! Was wondering if you've been using that unit to post your rod test pictures? Those have come out really well!

Tom - DBG

Yes, the last batch was taken with this camera. I've only had it a couple of weeks. I've experimented with the video and it works very well. I'm an old 35mm guy. I've used Nikon's and Hasselblad's for over 20 years. Buying all those nikkor lenses can run into some money. I'm used to using a viewfinder. My other digital camera is a Sony with a viewfinder.

This camera does not have a viewfinder. You have to use the screen to view what you see. I'm not used to taking pictures that way. This camera also has a macro feature also. I have yet to use it. The best thing about this camera is that it is built like a brick chit house. It's also very small. Perfect for field trips. I'm hard on things. I can drop it, step on it, get it wet and not worry about it.

It's also not very expensive. I got it on ebay for about 300 bucks. I'm a real ebay nut. I probably buy two or three items a night. I hate it when the sellers insure the item. The Post Office will not leave it at your door when some idot insures it. Try to make a insurance claim with the Post Office. You will never get a dime out of them. I also bought two extra battery's and the 2 Gig memory. There's no way I could ever fill up that 2 Gig.

 

[STx Fisherman]

Thanks for sharing Mr. Bill....pretty cool.

 

[Sportfisherman]

Hi Mr. Bill ,

Just for your information , Olympus just released a newer model dubbed 795SW , saw it a KLCC mall three days ago .

Jon .

 

[bighead]

Mr. Bill, that thing does look small IN YOUR HAND, lol. After trashing my wifes good Sony camera fishing I'll be needing two of these. One for me for fishing and one for her for when I loose mine.

 

[Mitchw123456]

I have one and love it. I've been abusing mine for awhile and really only use it while fishing out of my kayak. It is pretty interesting to tie a float to it and let it float beside the boat and let it take underwater video of the fish coming up to the yak. Mines been through hell and still works. Wal-Mart sells a littel deal you can put over the view finder of it which in bright sunlight makes it much either to see the screen. Thats my only complaint with the camera and that $5 plastic deal fixed that.

 

[Gunsmoke]

I was drinking on the beach this summer with a buddy who had one. I told him he was full of it when he told me it was indestructible. He was sipping on a highball and tossed it into the surf. He then opened up his cooler and dropped it into the icy water for a few minutes.

He tied the camera on and cast it to the third sand bar. Cranked it in like a bottom weight with sand and saltwater. He then took a leak on it and left it there in the sand.
So, I bought one.

You need to find some new friends.
That guy sounds a little wacko!

 

[gman]

Its in saltware sportsman this month

 

[MrBill]

Update:

Just an update to say this Olympus 770SW is now history. Not made for manly men or rough seas. Just tossed it in the trash can after finding out that it would cost almost as much to repair as a new one. It lasted 10 fishing trips before failure.

If you're a avid offshore fisherman that fishes in rough seas, don't buy this piece of junk. I think its really made for little girls and pansies.

 

[Bret]

Have you tried the pentax dig cam?? I have one of the optios and its pretty cool, However I havent put it through the Mr Bill or Gunsmoke confidence course.. but it has held up to my abuse..

 

[MrBill]

Maybe I'll give the waterproof Optio a try for my next fishing camera. I did check them out before buying the Olympus, and most people thought the Olympus was more rugged. I thought after receiving the Olympus, that it looked pretty heavy duty. It worked fine until the last outing. I have a bruise on my thigh the exact size of the camera.

I was thrown from the port side all the way over to the starboard side and the only thing that stopped me was a fiberglass wall that holds up the flying bridge. The camera was in my pocket and almost turned into a pancake. I guess it's not made for 265 pound men that go crashing from one side to the other. I'm probably being a little to critical about the Olympus. I was a good camera until it got crushed.

 

[Bret]

The cool thing about the optio is it will do under h20 video.. I havent taken fish vid with it yet, but it does well in the pool.

 

[thenewkid]

LOL Mr. bill idk if you pancaked it then i cant imagine what i would do to it (375 lbs)

 

[Fishhead56]

So,

the camera named Fred can not hold up to a180 grain bullet @ 3900 fps
nor a higher weighted slower moving object?
This is an example of poor design for an item intended to be applied to adverse conditions.
Why don't such manufactures understand the needs of the consumer?
Just asking ...

When dealing with LA Toolpushers & Drillers offshore in the 70's when
drilling went from Mech drive rigs to electric drive rigs I learned that you
could break a bowling ball with a dusting mop if you try hard enough.
Just saying...


Kev.

Tonight I sould be offshore.............Not here.........

 

[Mitchw123456]

love my 850sw.. its been offshore several times and lives in my kayak. Very tough little camera, the pentax I had before died after 3 trips...

 

[hatidua]

The problem with most consumer cameras these days is they tend to attempt being all things to all people. Just as a 2-6# bluegill rod isn't appropriate for chasing blue marlin, a tiny $200 "waterproof" camera isn't really suitable for banging around on sport boats. Sure, a certain percentage will be happy with them, but they are a long ways from being really acceptable if your images really matter to you much.

Just my tiny opinion on the matter, but the most durable/waterproof/affordable solution is to get a small Canon digital camera and put it in a Canon water housing. The housings run about $150, the cameras run anywhere from $100-$500. While not as compact as an Optio or similar camera, it's FAR more durable and generally has far better features (adjustable fill-flash, to name but one that the Optio and similar cameras absolutely SUCK at).

I've dropped housed-Canon's from 8' up, picked them up, and keep on shooting. Just all depends on what you're after, but if long-term durability and waterproofness (is that a word?!) matter, a housed camera will beat out those all-in-one wonders time and again. Again, merely one persons opinion.

 

[STx Fisherman]

I bought an Olympus Stylus 1030 SW because of your original post on Fred.
Now you're comparing Fred to a cheap 80 year old whore....(except you probably wouldn't dump the whore).

I have liked my camera and even drop it on occasion to show friends how the camera is guaranteed to withstand a fall onto concrete from over 6 ft. high. I haven't tried putting a bullet through my camera, but it seems to be working very well.

I hope that my camera outlives Fred....

 

[Snagged]

I've had a Stylus for a couple of years with no complaints.