Slimline

Available in black or silver, the Mju 1030 SW is the first in the 'Tough' series with a 10-megapixel image sensor. Waterproof to 10 metres, it is also capable of withstanding a drop of two metres and can tolerate temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius and pressures of up to 100 kilograms, making it the 'toughest' in the range. The new camera's feature set has also evolved since the original 795 SW model, making it even more attractive to photographers who enjoy water sports, skiing and similar adventurous activities.

The Mju 1030 SW is also the first model with a lens that provides a genuinely wide angle of view (equivalent to 28mm in 35mm format) and its 3.6x optical zoom range covers most subjects that appeal to everyday photographers (including portraits). Another new introduction is an Underwater Movie mode that brings the capabilities of the previous underwater still modes into movie clip recording.

Although it's marginally larger and heavier than the Mju 850 SW, not unexpectedly, both cameras' menus are identical and most of their controls and functions are the same. Both models support the same shutter speeds and exposure compensation settings and their white balance settings are identical (no manual adjustment is provided). The 1030 SW also has the same 24 scene presets as the Mju 850 SW.

The main similarities (indicated in red) and differences between the 1030 SW and the 850 SW are outlined in the table below.

As with all Mju digicams, image files are recorded as JPEGs and the Mju 1030 SW offers two compression settings. The table below shows typical file sizes for still images. 

Movie clips are recorded in AVI Motion JPEG format with sound. Typical clip lengths with a 1GB memory card are shown in the table below for the resolutions and frame rates supported.

The Mju 1030 SW supports the same movie modes as the Mju 850 SW and also lacks a widescreen mode for playback on widescreen TV sets. High-definition video recording is not supported. Playback modes are the same as other Mju digicams. 

Performance
Pictures taken with the test camera appeared very similar to test shots from other Olympus digicams we've reviewed recently. Saturation was generally well controlled, although reds were a little emphatic. Exposure metering was generally reliable in each of the modes supported. Autofocusing was reasonably fast and accurate in bright conditions but slowed down  noticeably in dim lighting.

Imatest showed the test camera's resolution to be only slightly higher than the Mju 850 SW we reviewed, which is well below expectations for a 10-megapixel digicam.  However the difference between centre and edge resolution was not as great, indicating the 1030 SW's lens has a flatter field. Resolution tailed off sharply at high ISO settings, as shown in the graph below.

Colour reproduction graphs were similar in both cameras, although the drifts in hue in the 1030 SW were less than in the 850 SW. Lateral chromatic aberration ranged from 'low' to moderate, depending on the focal length setting. (CA increased with focal length.) We found some coloured fringing in outdoor shots taken with the widest focal length.

Digital zoom shots were soft and artefact-affected. In contrast, close-ups were remarkably good and the ability to focus down to 2 cm when shooting small subjects produced some impressive results. Auto white balance performance was good under fluorescent lighting and the camera produced better-than-average results under incandescent lights. Unfortunately the manual pre-sets tended to over-correct and introduced unacceptable colour casts with both types of lighting. No manual measurement is provided.

The flash was only able to illuminate an average-sized room when sensitivity was at ISO 200 or higher. However, flash exposures were well balanced from ISO 200 up. Low-light shooting without flash was limited by the camera's restricted shutter speed range and the fact that the longest exposure (4 seconds) is only available in night mode. Test shots taken with this setting were noise-affected and had a yellow colour cast, while shots taken at ISO 1600 were too noisy to be usable.

The test camera powered up and shut down almost instantaneously. We measured an average capture lag of 0.45 seconds, which reduced to less than 0.1 seconds with pre-focusing. Shot-to-shot times averaged 3.8 seconds and it took 3.6 seconds to process and store each high-resolution JPEG file.
The standard continuous shooting mode recorded high-resolution shots at intervals of just over 1.1 seconds. It took 8.8 seconds to process and store a burst of 10 high-resolution shots. In the high-speed continuous shooting mode, which reduces resolution to 3MP, shots were recorded at intervals of 0.2 seconds.

IMATEST GRAPHS

Lateral chromatic aberration at the widest lens position.

Lateral chromatic aberration mid-way along the zoom range.

Centre-of-frame resolution.

Edge resolution.

SAMPLE IMAGES

Auto white balance with incandescent lighting.

Auto white balance with fluorescent lighting.

Digital zoom.

Close-up shot with the macro setting.

Shots taken with the super-macro mode.

A shot taken with the Night mode.

The same subject photographed with sensitivity at ISO 1600.

Underwater snapshot mode.

Underwater wide mode.

Image sensor: 6.16 x 4.62 mm CCD with 10.7 Million photosites (10.1 megapixels effective)
Lens:  5.0-18.2mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens (28-102mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3.6x optical, up to 5x digital
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.21); Movies – AVI Motion JPEG with sound
Image Sizes: Stills - 3648x2736, 2560x1920, 2304x1728, 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480; Movies - 640 x 480 at 15/30 fps, 320 x 240 at 15/30 fps
Shutter speed range:  1/2 sec. - 1/1000 sec. (up to 4 sec. in night mode)
Image Stabilisation: Digital only
Exposure Compensation: +/- 2 EV in 1/3 step increments
Focus system/range: TTL iESP auto focus with contrast detection; range 50 cm to infinity; super macro to 2 cm
Exposure metering/control: ESP/Spot metering; Program AE plus 24 scene mode settings
ISO range: Auto, ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
White balance:  Auto, Overcast, Sunlight, Tungsten, Fluorescent (x3)
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, red-eye reduction. Fill-in, off;  range 0.1-4.1 metres
Sequence shooting:  1.0 fps (6.9 fps at 3MP in high-speed mode)
Storage Media: 14.7MB Internal memory plus xD-Picture Card expansion slot
Viewfinder: n.a.
LCD monitor: 2.7-inch HyperCrystal II LCD Screen (230,000 pixels)
Power supply:  Li-50B rechargeable lithium-ion battery (approx. 260 shots/charge)
Dimensions (wxhxd): 93.2 x 61.4 x 21.3 mm
Weight: 173 grams (without battery and card)