Im looking into getting a new point and click camera before I continue my travels up the coast in a couple months and been looking at the Olympus tough range, not the latest one as its a tad out of my budget but some of the older models (still 1.5m shockproof and 3m waterproof).

Anyone got any opinions on them? Would be nice to not have to care about the camera as it gets battered while traveling, would also be nice to be able to take it in to the water. Also if all goes to plan Ill be doing quite a bit of off-road motorbiking and shockproof will really come in handy then

Ive finally got my 1030SW.

A very brief review from the limited time Ive been using it:

Image quality is ok/good for an "Action camera". Solidly built, the only niggle I have is that it is 100% auto, theres very little in the way of manual settings. However theres so many auto features that theres bound to be something for every eventuality. Its only a niggle to me as Im used to having the camera in "P" mode and being able to set everything the way I like. Bearing in mind that I bought the camera for field work and hiking and taking out with me, this isnt a problem as itll force me to point and shoot rather than fiddle with settings for 5 mins beforehand.

The only other disadvantage, which shouldnt bother most people, is that the lens is fairly deeply inset into the body, making photography through a microscope (or telescope) difficult.

Only other thing is the depth rating on the camera is always advertised as 10m, but its actually 10m for up to 1h (Not an issue really, but considering the still fairly shallow depths its easily possible to dive in 10m of water for way over an hour.

Overall, Im happy with the camera. Its the smallest Ive had, its not that heavy even though its solidly built (when its in a pocket its not like having a wallet full of change etc). Im taking it out today to do some vegetation surveys and its due to rain. Itll be nice to not have to worry about getting my camera in my dry bag, and excellent that I can still use it in the rain!

Just to add to the pseudo review, having had the Mju 1030 SW for a while.

Pictures tend to be a little soft, but using unsharp mask in photoshop actually helps a sh*tload, making pictures pretty good tbh. Ok, you shouldnt have to do that on the computer, but thats the cost of the toughness.

I think ultimately, yes, the cameras are a little more expensive than youd expect for the specs, but the toughness helps out. Not many other cameras I know of are small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket, and yet are durable enough that you happily can take it out, and shove it in a pond to take a picture of a submerged diving beetle.

Neither would you be happy shoving any other camera underneath a water feature that birds drink from, in the hopes of video-ing them. That didnt work (no birds), but I did get a starling on the bird feeder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvEyZeCUS2A). So what if a bird knocks it off, itll survive. so what if a bird craps on it, I can chuck it in a bucket and wash it off!

Pictures tend to be a little soft, but using unsharp mask in photoshop actually helps a sh*tload, making pictures pretty good tbh. Ok, you shouldnt have to do that on the computer, but thats the cost of the toughness.

On the contrary, a really good camera should always under-sharpen a little bit (or not sharpen at all)

This is because sharpening is more of a black art than a science, the correct amount of sharpening on one image might be oversharpened on another. Once you have oversharpened an image, you cannot go back, so it is best for the camera to be cautious.

Well having sung the 1030s praises in several threads, I am saddened to have to report it has developed a fault 12 months after purchase!

Its now got a vertical grey strip running down the right side of the screen . For a tough camera, its not actually been abused all that much.

At least on the plus Olympus has a 24 month warranty so it should still be covered. Im just dreading them saying its out of warranty conditions for whatever reason and charging £15 for it to be returned if I dont agree to repair costs.

It looks battered from the paint flaking from the front, but this is a known problem. THey will also be able to check the info on the camera to see its not been deep in water etc. Its never even been dropped! (and if it was, certainly not from 3+ metres!)

Do you really think yours took really hard abuse though? I mean, above the norm, in terms of any normal camera would be in pieces?

Mine...I dont think so. Ok, so I did whack it in puddles and ponds, and left it outside in the elements to film things, but this in the scale of things would be the most minor of minor abuse, 0.5m depth, rather than the max 10m etc.

Yeah it got chucked in my pockets and got sat on a few times, but I think many normal compacts would have tolerated this. The main thing was piece of mind, which obviously isnt there any more Ok so I could just be unlucky and have gotten a unit which was destined to break early, but Im starting to get the impression they may not be as tough as made out to be!

Stupidly though if this camera couldnt be fixed I am pretty sure Id end up getting the newer olympus tough 8000. I do love my camera, but this is a bit of a bugger. I need it for work too so things might be interesting for a few weeks!