The Olympus Mju 720SW “Shock and Waterproof” (aka Stylus 720SW) is a new 7 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.5″ screen and an ultra compact metal body that is waterproof and shockproof! As far as I’m aware, this is the only shockproof digital camera ever released! The 3x optical zoom lens is equiv. 38-114mm on a 35mm camera. The Olympus Mju 720SW is available from around £235, this makes it good value for money for an ultra compact waterproof, and shockproof 7 megapixel digital camera. The camera is enclosed in a sturdy metal body and is available in three colours: dusky pink (shown here), Steel silver and Polar blue – the colour is only visible on the front of the camera, the rest of the body is silver. The camera records videos at 15fps and with a resolution of 640×480. The camera is very compact and thin – the body measures: 91 x 58.7 x 19.8 mm (without protruding parts), and weighs approx. 149g.The first thing one would notice with the 770SW is its solid but surprisingly lightweight body. For such a small device (91.8 millimeters by 59.2 mm by 20.6 mm) it can withstand external forces most digital cameras its size and even bigger could not. Olympus makes several claims regarding the unit, particularly being shock-proof at a height of five feet, waterproof at 33 feet, freeze-proof at negative 10 degrees Celsius and crush-proof at 100 kilograms (that’s the weight of almost two men). Normally, no one would want to do extreme stress testing on any electronic device unless allowed by the manufacturer (in my case, distributor Axis Global) but I was tempted to do so — of course with a little control.

The Olympus Stylus / Mju 720SW has a LOT going for it, and would be especially suited to someone who wants to take their camera with them everywhere they go, especially if they’re prone to dropping things, getting things wet, getting things dusty. The shockproof and dustproof qualities, and the solid build of the digital camera is likely to make the digital camera last much longer than other digital cameras, this makes it excellent value for money compared to less solid digital cameras. Image quality was generally good, although slightly under-saturated for some people’s tastes, and images were slightly soft. Noise was quite well controlled. The camera is very easy to use and there were several features built into the camera to help get better results, such as the digital image stabilisation mode and numerous scene modes.Olympus Mju 720 SW digital camera and concludes with overall rating of 4 out of 5 that with a rock-solid build, large LCD screen and easy-to-navigate features, the Olympus 720 SW looks likely to kick sand in competitors’ faces. The good points are built like a tank yet compact and lightweight, waterproof and shockproof plus good image quality, while bad point is small controls.