The Olympus Stylus 800 is the perfect camera for those who lead an active lifestyle.

The weatherproof design has really given me the piece of mind to take my Stylus with me everywhere I go.

I’ve always worried about bringing my camera with me when going to the beach or on a hike in the park. But with the Stylus 800 I don’t need to be afraid of ending up with a waterlogged camera.

Cool Features

Low Light Sensitivity

The Stylus 800 has the equivalent sensitivity of ISO1600 film. This means that you can take picture in very low light conditions without a flash. I find it particularity handy when photographing wildlife in the dim light or early morning or dusk without startling the animals.

Like all cameras however, taking pictures in low light conditions results in images that are slightly more grainy then flash picture. The Stylus 800 is better then most in these harsh conditions.

Weatherproof

While not waterproof, the Stylus 800 will withstand rain, snow and sleet.

Unlike most digital cameras, it has been designed with special seals that keep out water and dirt. That means you can take it with you even when it looks like rain or snow.

I actually had a camera ruined at a pool when it got soaked by kids doing cannonballs into the pool. By the time I got back to my chair the damage was done. The Stylus would have been just fine.

Panorama Mode

This is really a feature of the included Olympus software. It will stitch your pictures together to create one panoramic view. However, the Stylus 800 has an onscreen guide that you can bring up that will help you overlap your pictures properly so that the software can do its job.

3x Power Optical Zoom

I like optical zooms. The biggest problem I see with most snapshots is that subjects are too small. Unless it is a self portrait most amature photographers don’t feel comfortable getting in close.

A good optical zoom takes care of this. You can stand back far enough to be comfortable but zoom in nice and tight for a great picture.

The advantage of an optical zoom is that you don’t loose resolution. Digital zooms leave your pictures “pixely” if you zoom in too far.

Dislikes

There are two things I don’t like about the Stylus 800. The first is that it only supports the xD memory card. This certainly isn’t a deal breaker but I have found it to be a little bit of a pain in the butt.

I use a laptop computer for most of my work. Like most laptops it has built in memory card readers. But not one for the xD Card. In fact I haven’t run into any computer that supports the xD card without the adapter.

But to be fair, I bought a xD Card reader for about $10.

The second thing I don’t like is that the movie mode is only 15 fps (frames per second). That is half the speed of standard video. Because of this, the movies “jump” more than full motion videos.

Once again, it isn’t a deal breaker since I didn’t buy the Stylus to be a video camera.

Conclusion

Olympus has created a real winner with the Stylus 800. The rugged design has given the confidence to carry it around with me in places I would never bring other cameras. The 8MP images are sharp and clear. Just as you would expect from a camera manufacturer with the reputation of Olympus.