Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 Waterproof Camera Review
If there’s a tougher waterproof camera, I haven’t seen it before. That’s not to say its perfect, but its pretty much the point and shoot I’d take to cover an Aquaman vs Red October brawl.
The Price
$US379
The Waterproofing and Toughness
It’s rated to 10 metres without a case, making it just as pressure resistant as the Powershot D10. And there’s a 30-metre case available for deeper excursions, too, which the Canon doesn’t have. It is the only periscoping internal zoom lens with a mechanised metal cover. Like the Pentax W80 and Canon Powershot D10, it can operate at down to -10C, making it ideal for winter sports. It’s shock rated to a drop of 2 metres and crushproof to 100kg. It’s heavy and almost completely metal. The screen and lens are coated with a water resistant substance, keeping droplets from getting in the way of clean shots. It’s a monster. All it needs is a damn turret and you could send it into a warzone.
The Pictures
Now for the slightly sad part. Relative to other test shots by other waterproof cameras, the photos were, well, middling and grainy. I don’t believe that picture quality is necessarily a main concern on waterproof cameras—water quality is a bigger determination here—but as an above water camera, there are better choices. I did find the multiple underwater modes for surf/snow on the ground (pumps exposure), the high speed and landscape under the sea, and video modes to be a nice touch. The camera is also dual stabilised using optical and high ISO to reduce shakes. The biggest problem I had was the focus lag which caused plenty of missed action shots. That was a negative thing for me in an otherwise great user experience. Oh, there’s a beauty mode, which combines face detection with softening algorithms on camera—there’s a cool animation with sparkles that it plays while it renders—that take wrinkles and shadows out of faces. Kind of works!
The Video-ooh No
What the shit: The 640×480 pixel video looked kind of jittery at times and was washed out all the time and—the worst part—limited to 10 second clips. This, for me, is somewhat of a deal breaker. When you’re outside, motion shots are a given. I need better video on this camera!
Quirks
Yes, it uses XD cards, and a variation of ye old mini and micro USB, so I had to hunt for some gear to transfer shots.
The Bottom Line
As tough as it gets, but photos are a little underwhelming and video fall way short. I’m definitely conflicted here.
The toughest point and shoot in the world
Video sucks
Photos a bit soft
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I have the uTough 8000, which I think is the exact same camera, maybe just my local version (Australia). It takes clips over 10 seconds no problems. Maybe old firmware on your test unit as mentioned above.
Also mine came with an xd adapter, that you slide a micro sd card into and it accepts it just fine. Much much better than being stuck with crappy expensive xd.
Picture quality is fine for non enthusiasts, but I bought it more for the fact that my cameras constantly get dropped on drunken nights out … it’s still going strong after 6 or so months of operation!!
That µ is pronounced “mju.” Great cameras normally, haven’t tried one myself but one of my colleagues has one of the older µ 1050s or µ 895s. Got an awesome clip of a seal she met while snorkling. Picture was vibrant and clear, but admittedly that was only seen on the actual camera’s LCD.