Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)

Price: $379.95


Product Feature
- 12-megapixel resolution for photo-quality, poster-size prints
- Waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, crushproof and shakeproof
- 3.6x wide-angle optical dual image stabilized zoom
- 2.7-inch Advanced HyperCrystal III LCD screen
- Compatible with xD Picture Cards and microSD memory cards (not included)
Product Description
Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 Black Digital Camera Take your photos to the extreme. The STYLUS TOUGH-8000 is virtually indestructible. Whether you're kayaking downriver or skiing a double diamond, it's hard tohurt this camera. Breakthrough features like DualImage Stabilization and Tap Control provide the clearest images under the most challenging conditions. Features: * Durable metal body with an innovative shock-absorbing technology protects it from drops of up to 6.6 feet. * A revolutionary system of waterproof seals and gaskets keeps waterout so you can take pictures as deep as 33 feet underwater. * It's Freezeproof to 14 �F/-10 �C. Perfect for skiing, snowboarding, sledding and other winter fun, this camera is winterized to perform at below-freezing temperatures! * With its ruggedbody and reinforced LCD, the STYLUS TOUGH-8000 isdesigned to withstand up to 220 pounds of pressure so your camera and images are always protected. * Operate picture playback, shadow adjustment, flash mode and more just by tapping the top, back and sides of the camera. Tap Control is ideal for underwater use or when wearing gloves. * Smile Shot detects a smile on your subject's face and automatically fires off three consecutive shots to capture that perfect smile. * In-Camera panorama captures three images and stitches them together to create one amazing panoramic picture by simply pressing the shutter button and slowly panning acrossa panoramic scene. * Using a live, multi-frame window on the LCD, you can preview the effects of various settings, select and capture the perfect shot. * More than 12 million pixels in the high-resolution CCD create superior image quality. Create poster-sized prints without losing a single detail. * In addition to xD-Picture Card compatibility, the STYLUS TOUGH-8000 comes with an adapter for microSD memory card, an emerging electronic storage media for mobile phones, PDAs and HDTVs. * This large LCD features aOlympus Stylus Tough-8000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) Review
Let's be honest - I bought this camera specifically for the waterproof/dustproof/crushproof/freezeproof features. I anticipated that image quality and ease of operation might be sacrificed - and this is exactly what Olympus delivered. Additional questionable bonus is the "tap" feature, which allows to activate some of the functions by tapping the camera from the sides. This is a nice concept, but would be much more useful if it was reconfigurable and allowed the user to assign which functions are activated by tapping. The most important (at least for me) feature of this camera is that it's waterproof, and I can honestly admit that it works. I used this camera for a couple of hours while playing around in the swimming pool, and it worked beautifully. No leaks, no bubbles, and color correction for underwater photography is quite decent. The crushproof feature was also tested, since I dropped the camera couple of times, and it kept working. This camera is tough :) Unfortunately the image quality is far from perfect, in fact is merely average for a point-and-shooter.The good:
- waterproof and crushproof (tested!)
- good color representation
- good automatic white balance (AWB)
- built-in panorama mode (only 3 frames)
The bad:
- images lack sharpness, appear very "soft"
- poor low light operation (focusing)
- occasional focusing issues (focuses in center even in "face detect" mode)
- some operation modes ("scenes") are inconsistent, e.g. "portrait" mode switches focusing to "point" instead of "face detect"
- flash is too strong and there doesn't seem to be a way to adjust it
- the image stabilization doesn't seem to help - consider it non-existent
- heavy (but this is kind of expected)
- tap control not reconfigurable
The ugly:
- weird "ghosting" and flaring effects appearing in photos on some occasions when the flash was used (poor or no antireflective coatings on lenses)
- very poor sound quality in movies
Bottom line - if not for the "tough" part, this would have been a pretty average, all-around, point-and-shooter. If you need a true waterproof (not just "splash proof") camera or something that you can carry in your pocket or a backpack in all weather conditions or any situation that could otherwise damage your camera - this is the one to get. If you don't need the "tough" part - get another camera with better image quality.
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