Olympus Stylus Tough 100-Megapixel Digital Camera - Orange

If you happened to see the commercial of the little boy who uses an Olympus Tough camera as a “throw and fetch” stick for his dog, you might wonder if a camera could be that durable. Well, I am here to tell you that it can. While I might not be as careless as that little boy, I put the Olympus Stylus Tough-6000 through some pretty rugged testing and it took everything I threw at it without blinking. It is waterproof, shockproof, and basically — very tough!

The most amazing feature, might well be the “tap” feature. When it is turned on you can tap the right side of the camera to adjust the flash mode. Tap the left side and the camera will cycle through the Macro modes. Tap on the screen  to switch to  the Playback mode and tap on the top to confirm the selections. Everything is pretty well thought out. You can even tap twice on the top to turn the tap feature on and off. This feature alone makes the camera great for working in cold conditions when you want to wear gloves, It is also great under water. The LDC screen is one of the best I’ve seen in bright sunlight.

The camera is small and will easily fit in your pocket. It has a 3.6x optical zoom and is a 10-megapixel camera. It takes good pictures with good color representation. For a retail price of $279, it does a lot. It’s a great camera for outdoor scenery in cold, wet, or bright conditions. It’s also perfect for harsh conditions and klutzy people.

Conclusions:

This is not the most expensive waterproof  and shockproof camera, but it performs admirable for the average outdoor enthusiast at a very reasonable price. Picture quality is good. The screen is fantastic in bright sunlight. And the waterproof and shockproof qualities live up to their hype. The tap function works quite well making the camera good for cold weather or underwater photography. The camera is good-looking and easily pocketable.

Pros:

• Well priced for the features
• Compact and very portable
• Good level of waterproof/toughness
• LCD screen is excellent in bright sunlight
• Good macro ability
• Distinctive tactile feel to half-press of the shutter
• Good dual image stabilization
• Great Tap Feature

Cons:

• Slow flash underwater
• Relatively slow to start
• Slightly slow shutter response

My more detailed review with pictures can be found at Hardware Secrets.

Click the link below to read some owner’s reviews and/or to buy the camera at Best Buy.
Olympus Stylus Tough 100-Megapixel Digital Camera – Orange