Let’s face it, most rugged cameras can cope with being dropped, frozen or dunked in water, but few of them take good photos. This is why the newly announced Olympus TG-1 stands out: it’s based on the company’s amazing point-and-shoot XZ-1, only it’s toughened up for the great outdoors.
The thing is, most rugged cameras use a shockproof body that’s then stuffed with camera tech. Instead, with this one, Olympus took the XZ-1 and pondered on how to toughen it up.
The result is a camera with an impressive spec sheet. It has a 12MP CMOS sensor, an ISO range up to 6400, an f/2.0 lens with 4x zoom from 25-100mm and a 3-inch OLED display, making it almost as good as the XZ-1. Elsewhere, it has GPS, which is accurate to 10 metres and, uh, a compass.
Obviously, it’s tough, too. It’s shockproof, waterproof to 12m, dustproof, freezeproof and generally a sturdy little guy. It goes on sale in June for $US400, which seems like great value for a rugged camera that can hold its own photographically. [The Verge]