The Olympus Stylus 710 is among the slimest weatherproof and scratch proof cameras. Unfortunately that is its only distinguishing factor and it is not enough to compensate for its mediocre image quality. Even in the usual 64-200 sensitivity range, the Stylus 710 produces noticeably noisy images with a distinct lack of details. Above ISO 400, its images are so noisy they do not even produce acceptable 4"x6" prints. Outdoor colors are acceptably over-saturated, but indoor color is noticeably bluish.

There are much better ultra-compact cameras out there such as the Fuji Finepix F10, the Canon Powershot SD550 and the Canon Powershot SD500. Still better than the Stylus 710, both the Pentax Optio WPi and the Pentax Optio WP are waterproof up to 1.5m deep for 30 minutes and are superior in terms of image quality and features.