Review on Olympus Stylus 850SW 8MP Digital Camera With 3X Optical Zoom (Yellow) by Marquel Floyd

We bought this 850SW camera from Revain in November 2008. We bought this to replace the Casio Exilim that my wife dropped/broke at a friends party. All of my old digital cameras eventually got out of the hands of my two children or my wife. This time I figured I'd have to be realistic and buy something like a camera tank that (like me) can withstand abuse from my family members. I also like to keep my cameras small so I can easily carry them around in my pockets (more pics). As such, there doesn't seem to be many digital cameras that focus on shockproof features, which is what prompted me to buy the 850SW. We've all been using the camera for the last 3 months (including my 6 year old son) and here's my opinion so far: Pros: - Durability. Shockproof / waterproof. My family hasn't broken this camera yet. That was my #1 most important feature. - Small size. That was my #2 must-have feature. The best cameras are the ones you have. - Picture quality. So far I think the photos we've taken with this camera are of decent quality. Except that I seem to be getting more red-eye shots from this camera than usual. My cons: - Battery charge. Terrible process. The battery must be removed from the camera and placed in the bulky charger that comes with the camera. Then he put it back in the camera. My wife complains a lot about this (especially when she puts the battery back in the wrong way). My Casio Exilim was significantly better in this area, where you never take out the battery, but just put the whole camera in the stand. - Battery life. I think this is the worst battery life I've had of any digital camera I've owned. I only seem to get about 30 shots on a full charge, even with a second battery I bought with a higher capacity. My last Casio Exilim battery lasted many days. My wife complains a lot about this new camera battery, especially since she can combine it with the latest Exilim. Now complicate this issue with scam #1 (removing the battery for charging). - Unusual memory card. I don't have any other xD cards, so I had to buy a high-capacity card just for this camera (and it's not as cheap as standard memory cards). Although this 850SW came with a microSD card converter as an afterthought, I had to use that (but ordered an xD card at the same time as the camera so I didn't know until it was too late). Also, due to the unusual type of memory card, it is difficult to find a memory card reader. - Image results. Too many red eyes. My overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars. I give 5 stars for durability. Other "cons" of the camera that I mentioned above, I give 1 star. I reckon with 3 stars. My old Casio Exilim was better in everything than durability. I'm really surprised that this 850SW still has these usability issues after so many generations of models. If this is still the only range of good and durable digital cameras in the future I will buy them again, otherwise I will look for other options next time. I hope this review was helpful to you.