Ergonomics for the Stylus 790 are still very good. It's compact enough to be carried in the smallest pocket or handbag, while still large enough to fit comfortably in your hands. The various controls on the back are well placed and functional, with your thumb falling over them naturally. The Menu system is logically organized, and the Function shortcut menu is great for making quick changes to ISO, White balance, Metering, or Drive mode. One addition I have yet seen on any other digital camera, was both a Playback postion on the mode dial as well as a dedicated Playback mode button. I suspect this was done so you can quickly switch to review mode, without having to move the mode dial off your current shooting mode. However, it seems a bit "goofy" in my opinion, as the button alone would have been sufficent by itself. The large 2.5-inch "HyperCrystal" LCD worked well outdoors, but it would benefit from an anti-glare coating since there are still many angles that reflect the sun. When shooting in low-ambient lighting it "gains up" to help brighten your subject; this is a very useful feature considering this is the only viewfinder. Because of the way you have to hold the camera and the location of the lens, it is very prone to fingerprints and needs to be checked and cleaned frequently. You also need to be careful of letting your finger slide in front of the lens.

As with all Stylus SW series cameras, the 790 SW features a durable metal exterior and is made watertight by rubber gaskets on the inside to seal gaps and prevent moisture from entering the body. This allows it to be used in a gentle sprinkle or to be completely submerged up to 10 feet. If your picture taking leads to deeper depths, then the optional PT-041 Underwater Housing is required. It can handle water pressure depths of up to 40 meters. Add that with the 790's various Underwater scene modes, and you have one great little underwater point-n-shoot.

Shooting performance was good for a camera in this price range. From power up to first image captured measured just 1.9 seconds. Shutter lag was 1/10 of a second when pre-focused and 3/10 of a second including autofocus. Using single exposure mode, the shot to shot delay averaged about 2.1 seconds without the use of the flash and about 3-5 seconds with the flash, depending on subject distance and battery power. The Stylus 790 offers two sequential (burst) modes (Continuous, and High Speed Continuous.) Using the standard mode, I was able to capture 5 frames in about 3.2 seconds. With High Speed mode, the image size is reduced to SQ1, and I was able to capture 10 frames in about 2.5 seconds. When using both modes, the LCD briefly displays the last image captured, which makes following a moving subject somewhat difficult; this is when an optical viewfinder would come in handy. Our tests were done using a High Speed (Type H) Olympus 1GB xD-Picture card, SHQ quality, preview off, flash off, and all other settings at default (unless otherwise noted.) Times may vary depending on lighting conditions, camera settings, media, etc.

Image quality was quite good for a 7-megapixel consumer model. When shooting outdoors, the images captured were well exposed, and had excellent color saturation. With its TTL autofocus system and 3x optical zoom lens, the 790 produces sharp, clear photos with little edge softness. With a 35mm equivalent range of approx. 38-114mm most outdoor shots were in the telephoto end of the zoom range. The 38mm wide angle will allow good landscapes and small group portraits, however, there is some barrel distortion at full wide angle. Mid telephoto produces good portraits as seen in our samples page.

Our indoor portraits were good with proper flash exposure and natural skin tones. Olympus claims the flash has a maximum range of 12.5 feet. This is an average range for a camera in this class, but don't expect it to illuminate a large open room. I found shooting portraits from about 4-6 feet produced the best results. By using Olympus's new "Face Detection", I was able to track faces within frames and automatically focuses and optimize exposure for a sharp, brilliant photo. Like many of Olympus' newer models, the Stylus 790 features a special scene mode called Digital Image Stabilization Mode. It uses Bright Capture and digital stabilization technology to help reduce the effects of camera shake and subject movement (or blur) in your photos. While it is great for capturing images when you just can't use the flash, image quality does suffer.

Movie mode is better on the 790 then it's predecessor. You have the ability to record video at resolutions of 640x480, at 30fps for 10 sec. intervals, or use 320x240 or 160x120, with a fixed frame rate of 15fps for the length of your memory card. The optical zoom is locked in the Movie mode, like most other compact digital cameras, but the digital zoom is fully available. Our movie samples showed some amounts of compression artifacts and unimpressive resolution. While we did not test it underwater, I feel these results would have also been a mediocre movie.

The 770 is powered by a small 3.7v 740mAh LI-42B rechargeable lithium battery, which is charged by the LI-40C charger. Because the batteries are charged out of camera, this makes it easy to charge a second battery so you always have a fully charged one ready. You can't power the camera with any other battery type so we strongly recommend the purchase of a second pack. Battery life in published specs claim it lasts 220 shots. I was able to capture a large majority of our sample images (approx 150 files) and conduct some of our other tests before the camera posted a low battery warning. Exactly how many pictures you can capture is going to vary depending on how many are taken with flash, how often the lens is zoomed in or out and how frequently you review images. Lithium batteries hold a charge much longer than NiMH type batteries when sitting idle and can be "topped off" whenever desired without shortening their life span.

Bottom line - the Olympus Stylus 790 SW is a good digicam for the active user needing a weather resistant/water proof camera, and though Olympus claims it is also "Shock Proof" up to 5 feet, we opted not to test this feature. The 790's 7-megapixel SHQ images have plenty of resolution to create high- quality prints up to 13x19 inches or larger, however we had some issues with the poor position of the lens (my finger kept getting in the way), and I was a bit disappointed in the waterproof specs dropping from 33 to 10 feet. With an MSRP of $299.99, it offers an Ok value for a 7-megapixel underwater capable digicam.