• Olympus µ [mju:] Stylus 790 SW camera
• £149.99
• www.olympus.co.uk

Mountain biking is a challenging activity to photograph in a number of ways, but not least of the challenges is the environment. Dirt, dust, mud, water and if you’re really lucky, snow and ice are all things that bikes can take in their stride but most cameras don’t take too kindly too. Step forward, then, the Olympus µ [mju:] 790 SW, which looks like it could be just the ticket.

Some compacts are splashproof, some are ruggedised – but this particular 7.1megapixel compact takes these properties to the extreme. It’s waterproof enough to pass IEC 529 IXP8 standards (which means it will survive being up to 3m underwater) and shockproof to MIL-STD-810F (which means a US soldier could drop it from a height of 1.5m onto the roof of a Humvee and still salute it). The battery/xD card slot and the USB port are all hidden behind weathersealed – but not double-locked – doors too.

All of this means that if you’re worried about getting your camera wet, if you are concerned about carrying a camera for those 362 soggy days the UK gets every year, or if you are frightened about getting sand or snow in your parts the Olympus µ [mju:] 790 SW is the only option this side of an underwater housing. On a more down-to-earth level, this is the one camera that you can take everywhere, put in the same pocket as your keys and know that your keys will come off worst. It also doesn’t feel like a camera deliberately designed as a rugged model; it just feels elegant. Okay, the limited edition lime green finish isn’t to everyone’s taste and the 2.5in LCD might be a bit small by today’s standards, but it doesn’t feel compromised for the sake of the build.

Side-stepping the robust nature of the camera, the functionality and basic operation is standard current Oly compact fare. This means the thumbwheel control has a ‘Guide’ option to allow the user to perform 14 ‘out of the ordinary’ photographic tasks, such as compensating for backlighting or reducing red-eye effects. Okay, all of these ‘guide’ options can be addressed from the conventional menus, but it takes the onus off the user to know when to use these functions. It’s like having a little photo instruction book built into the Olympus µ [mju:] 790 SW. There are also 23 scene modes – for everything from Portrait to Undersea Macro.

Image stabilisation is also an option, as per most current Mju models. Usually, this is accessed from a button on the top of the case, but to keep the camera extra butch, this is also on the rubber-edged thumbwheel. One thing to note, because of the anti-shock, anti-sploshy design, the lens does not extend from the body when powered up. This has two downsides; it limits the zoom range to a humble 3x optical zoom, and makes the Olympus µ [mju:] 790 SW wide angle setting not wide enough – the lens gives the equivalent of a 38-114mm range on a 35mm camera. It also means it’s surprisingly easy to end up waggling the smaller fingers of your left hand in front of the lens.

You can abuse this camera. You can treat it like a tortilla chip and dunk it in a pot of salsa and then wash it off under the tap if you like. You can just about try to play keepie uppie with it and still nothing will go wrong with it. But the bad news is that often what makes the camera so rugged seems to get in the way of the picture quality. We can’t help wondering if the protection in front of the lens is softening the image it makes, because the picture is not as crisp as that of its peers. That said, the images do sharpen up in post-processing. Exposure is a bit tricky, though; underexposing in low light and over-exposing flash. Also, the colours seemed washed out when using fill-flash, which is entertainingly ironic given the Olympus µ [mju:] 790 SW is the one camera that can survive a good washing out.

High ISO performance is not that remarkable either, with the camera doing fine at the lower ISO regions from ISO 80-ISO 400, but beyond is beset by blotchy colours and above ISO 800 is a very noisy place.

So on the one hand, the performance of this camera as a run-of-the-mill point and shoot puts it low down the list of products to commend. On the other, it allows you to take pictures in circumstances that would quickly kill other cameras. It depends on what you are using the camera for; if your photography never once strays outside the comfort zone, you don’t need anything more than splashproofing, if that. But for a “stunt camera” to take out riding, there’s a lot to be said for it.

Ups and downs

Positives: Genuinely rugged camera, waterproof without the bulk, elegant body shape, guide mode is like a photo-tutor, well-saturated low ISO images

Negatives: Rugged wins over performance, under-exposure in low light, over-exposure with flash, blotchy high-ISO images

Verdict

It might not deliver the best picture quality, but for documenting often-filthy MTB rides the Olympus µ [mju:] 790 SW fits the bill perfectly. Just one question remains – why does the special edition have to be lime green?

Ratings

Performance: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4/5