Digital Camera -need some advice

[silverheels]

There is a digital camera that is posted under holiday shopping that I'm thinking of getting for my husband for Christmas. For all of you camera buffs can you help me out? The one I was looking at is the Olympus Stylus 790SW, waterproof with 3X optical zoom.
How does this compare with some of the cameras that you excellent photographers use? Would you recommend it or something else? Lots of questions but I know nothing about cameras. Thanks for any help you can give. Don't really need a deep water camera, maybe one for snorkling and definitely one to use to take pictures of our new yellow lab.

[Bug]

Hi Silverheels:

I just purchaed one before my trip two weeks ago and used it in STJ. I LOVE IT!!! It is so nice not to have to carry the big underwater case along. It took some really great pics. I have no doubt that you will love it!!

XOXO
Bug

[silverheels]

Thanks Bug,
It looks like you are the only one that has any info on the camera. Wondering what makes it different from some of the other cameras that people on the forum use for their fantastic pictures, underwater and land.
Did you buy it from the holiday shopping link?

[linne]

Hello Silverheels !

I can't help you with Olympus 790, but we bought a Olympus Stylus 770 SW on STT in July (350 dollars including a memory card). After a few days we only used this camera instead of our more expensive and perhaps better camera. So easy to have it in a pocket, and so easy to take it with you in the water. But I need to say that I have seen many beautiful pictures in this forum, which our pictures cannot compete with. Not sure if it's the camera, the photographer or the editing. But we are still very content with our choice. Use it at home too.

Linne

[silverheels]

Thanks Linne. From the looks of your pictures the camera is a winner along with the picture taker. Now all I need to know is if the camera takes videos. I really do wish that more of the forumites who take such wonderful pictures would pop in with some reviews.

[Bug]

Both the 770 & 790 take video. I have used it and it works well.

Hope this helps!

XOXO
Bug

[silverheels]

Thank you. That's all I wanted to know. Going to order it right now.

[linne]

Silverheels

I hope your husband will be glad for the camera.

Here is a short video from my STJ trip report (taken with our camera) :

http://family.webshots.com/video/302945 ... ost=family

But our underwater pics are not so nice, as I have seen others. Some of them are better now, because I have used Picasa to edit them with. Still I see much better underwaterpics. But sometimes I wonder because
even though the water mostly was clear on STJ, when we were there, I haven't seen fish or turttles in the strong colours as showing in these beautiful pics. So I don't know if it's a question about how you edit them.

Linne

[waterguy]

I have the 720 and love it wish had waited for the others with there deeper range

[silverheels]

Thanks everyone for responding. I really think that he will enjoy the camera. I know that he will want to take pictures of the puppy but will also probably take pictures of our boat. Probably will check out the hull to see if it needs painting again. Actually I like it when it does need painting because we haul out at Nanny Cay and I get to enjoy the great facilities there. Love Peg Leg's for dinner.
Now all I have to learn is how to post pictures here.

[linne]

Silverheels

Just a proposal:
Install the free program Picasa from Google, follow the instuctions and upload the pics to the webalbum. Remember to change the size of the picture to 400 px or 800 px (if you use 800 px it's more difficult to read the text because the picture become very large).

I like Picasa because it's so easy if you want to edit the pics.

Linne