Popular Photography Underwater Camera Shootout: Pentax Optio W20 and Olympus Stylus SW 720

Fri - February 23, 2007

Popular Photography Underwater Camera Shootout: Pentax Optio W20 and Olympus Stylus SW 720

There are only two options for a compact waterproof digital camera: Pentax Optio W-series or Olympus Stylus SW series. It seems that Pentax is a more popular camera among paddlers. I have posted my comparison of Pentax Optio W20 and Olympus Stylus SW 720 from a perspective of kayak photography. Canoe and Kayak Magazine included both cameras in their camera review.

Recently, Popular Photography Magazine compared these two cameras focusing on underwater photography. Here are their conclusions:

Pentax Optio W20

What's Hot:

Higher quality video mode of 30fps at 640x480
Waterproof to 5 feet for 30 minutes
In-water ergonomics

What's Not:

High ISO noise and resolution
"Underwater modes" simply add blue cast

Olympus Stylus 720SW

What's Hot:

Waterproof to 10 feet for 60 minutes
Shockproof enough to handle drops of up to 5 feet
Truly useful underwater shooting modes

What's Not:

High ISO noise and Resolution
Small, slow video mode of 15fps at 320x240
Confusing menu navigation

And the Winner of the Underwater Shootout Is...

The Pentax Optio W20, hands-down. The combination of lower street price, larger video capture, low ISO image quality, and most importantly, ease of use in the water make the Pentax Optio W20 the winner of PopPhoto.com's first underwater digicam shootout.
The Olympus 720SW has its charms, and brings some very interesting features to the table, such as truly useful underwater shooting modes, along with a greater depth rating and shock-proofing. But the shortcomings of this camera, particularly the small and slow video, slow processing and focusing speeds, combined with an extremely confusing menu and navigation scheme, all at a higher street price than the Pentax Optio W20, means that the upstart Olympus just doesn't bring enough to unseat Pentax as the King of the Seas.

New camera models are coming both from Olympus in Pentex. Olympus is releasing Stylus SW 770 in late March this year. The new camera can be used up 33 feet under water, but there are no significant changes in the camera features including 15 fps in a movie mode.

Also the next waterproof model from Pentax is coming. The new Optio W30 has a redesigned camera case with an auto-lock mechanism for a battery cover and enhanced underwater capabilities up to 10 feet for 2 hours (5 feet and 30 minutes for the W20).

I would like to see some review of all weather (splashproof) cameras from Olympus. Not every paddler needs a fully waterproof camera.