Olympus Tough-8000: A Disappointing Purchase
LyttleBryan June 22nd, 2009
I know I’m not a tech site, but this camera falls in the realm of this site. It’s a camera that is designed to be waterproof, shockproof (7′ drop), dust proof, freeze proof (-14 degrees), and curshproof (220 pounds). This is definitely the kind of camera I would love to have at my hip while outdoors, unfortunately it just didn’t get the basics right. I really want to give this camera a positive review, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Over the three weeks of use this camera saw (ranging from backpacking trips to picnics) I took some really awesome shots. However, in the end I just couldn’t justify keeping it when it seemed to get all the basics wrong. I am not a photography expert. I don’t know what aperture means and if you start talking about spot metering you’re likely to lose my attention to something shiny. Of course, those things are the reason that I purchased a point-and-shoot camera in the first place. I read some of the early reviews (this camera premiered in April 09) and thought I had found a camera to fit my very active outdoor lifestyle. A friend has the 790 SW and I really liked it, but it seems they made some mistakes when upgrading.
When I first started taking pictures with it I thought maybe it was my own doing. I, admittedly, don’t know what I’m doing so I thought maybe I’d set some funky settings. However, simply putting it on “iAuto” and focusing/shooting resulted in photos that only seemed good if the person(s) in them was standing completely still. I gave it the benefit of the doubt though and tried it a few more times. Unfortunately the result was consistent. I was throwing out 3/4s of the pictures I was taking. Those numbers are unacceptable when some of the places you go take days of hiking to get to. For an example of what I’m talking about please see the photo here. I asked a friend to simply walk across the room while I took a picture with the Intelligent Auto feature on. This is not a cool shot, AT ALL. I repeated the process only using some of the scene settings (action specifically) and the result was a washed out noisy photo that I wouldn’t think of posting.
http://ageekinthewoods.com/upload/P6190335.JPG
I decided to give the camera two stars because it does do some things really well. For instance, it survived a couple of drops, my chalky hands while rock climbing, and a river swim in the Smoky Mountains (with complete submersion). However at the end of the day it’s supposed to do those things AND take good pictures. I have returned my camera to Amazon (awesome return policy) and will purchase another rugged style point-and-shoot soon. I’m considering the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 or even considering “downgrading” to the Olympus 1030SW. I will post reviews when I have made a decision and tested the cameras out.
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