Olympus Stylus 770 SW

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Olympus Stylus 770 SW Performance

Timing and Performance

Slower speed for a consumer camera.

Mode switching
Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	1.5 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy.
Shutdown	1.5 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens and stow in your pocket.
Buffer clearing time	3 seconds (2.5 seconds buffer clearing in LF JPEG)	Worst case buffer clearing time. This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Play to Record, first shot	0.8 second	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to play	0.9 second	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture.
Display recorded image	0.6 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	1.7 seconds	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	1.6 seconds	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.095 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	2.53 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	2.62 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	1.05 seconds (0.95 frames per second); 3 frames total; 3 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG	0.90 second (1.12 frames per second); 1 second to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Flash recycling	3 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	884 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High

The Olympus Stylus 770 SW's performance is a bit slower than average here, beginning with the start-up time. Shutter lag at both wide angle and telephoto zoom settings is quite slow, though "prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are better, with a shutter delay of only 0.095 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are also quite slow, at about 2.53 seconds for large/fine JPEGs. Continuous-mode speed is on the slower side as well, at a bit under one frame/second, for only three shots in succession. Flash recycling time is probably the best overall, at three seconds after a full-power shot. Connected to a computer, download speeds are reasonably fast, so you can get by without a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Stylus 770SW is great for average snapshots, but won't be fast enough for action photography or fast-moving kids.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Modest battery life with the rechargeable LiIon battery pack.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
LiIon rechargeable battery	220

The Olympus Stylus 770 SW uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery pack for power, and comes with a charger. Given the modest runtime, I strongly recommend picking up a spare battery and keeping it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Stylus 770SW accepts xD-Picture Cards, though no card is included; 18MB RAM is built into the camera.

Image Capacity with 18MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal
3,072 x 2,304	Images	4	9
3,072 x 2,304	File Size	3.5 MB	1.7 MB
2,560 x 1,920	Images	-	13
2,560 x 1,920	File Size	-	1.2 MB
2,304 x 1,728	Images	-	16
2,304 x 1,728	File Size	-	944 KB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	-	20
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	-	785 KB
1600 x 1,200	Images	-	24
1600 x 1,200	File Size	-	657 KB
1,280 x 960	Images	-	38
1,280 x 960	File Size	-	417 KB
1,024 x 768	Images	-	58
1,024 x 768	File Size	-	272 KB
640 x 480	Images	-	90
640 x 480	File Size	-	176 KB

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity xD memory card at least a 512MB card, preferably a 1GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so there's no reason to skimp.)

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Note: For details, test results, and analysis of the many tests done with this camera, please click on the tabs at the beginning of the review or below.