The Olympus Stylus 720sw turns out to be an average ultra-compact camera with a very rugged body. Its sturdy shockproof design allows it to be taken into more strenuous conditions than models which are simply waterproof like the Pentax Optio W10. The camera itself is pretty basic with no manual controls at all and very few features. Image quality is good in terms of noise and metering but the lens shows more edge softness than most recent ultra-compact digital cameras. Due to white-balance variations, colors are mostly accurate outdoors but show a distinct warm cast indoors. Overall, this adds up to frequently disappointing images. The last major problems of this camera are a highly reflective LCD as its only viewfinder and a poorly placed lens which is prone to being blocked. If it was not for its rugged underwater build quality, this camera may have gotten itself a poor rating.

Fortunately for the Olympus Stylus 720SW, it does not have any direct competition, since no other camera is waterproof and shockproof. Several other Olympus models are splash proof. The Pentax Optio W10, Pentax Optio WPi and Pentax Optio WP are the only truly waterproof alternatives. Notably, the W10, WPi and WP models are all better in terms of image quality and feature set. Particularly, the Pentax Optio W10 is the better one of these cameras.