I’m on the hunt for a camera, and since the young heathen in our family can be hard on mom’s toys, I’m thinking a rugged-style camera might be a good bet for us.

So today, I’m looking into the Olympus Stylus cameras. Recently, Focus blogger Richard Schneider wrote about the Stylus 850 SW, a 7.9 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom. This one, according to Richard, is supposed to be “shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof, and dustproof.” Does that make it kid-proof too?

The company says its “shock-absorbing” technology can survive the impact of a five-foot drop. That’s good. My guy is still under four feet. So, unless he whales it purposefully across the yard, it should survive his terrestrial aerobics.

In the water, it has rubber gaskets and o-rings to keep out moisture. Plus, it’s supposed to be able to work under water to depths of about 10 feet. Since our kiddie pool is only about three feet deep, it presumably can withstand sudden submersion too.

Plus, it’s supposed to do well in freezing temperatures. That’s less of a problem. All my son wants to do when it’s that cold is build snow aliens. I’ll be controlling the camera, and keeping it warmed up in my pockets between shots.

But here’s where it really gets interesting: You can wash this camera if it gets dusty. Now, I don’t really know about dust permeating the casing and inner-workings. But I do know that sticky, grimy fingers can really muck up sensitive electronic equipment. This sounds like a winner to me for that feature alone. Next time, I’ll look at another Olympus camera, comparably priced, a bit heavier and a bit older. Why? Because it has user reviews attached, and those are worth gold when making a purchase.

Posted on May 29th, 2008 by dian