Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 Pro Reviews

The Olympus Tough TG-4 offers a bright f/2.0 4x optical zoom lens, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, raw shooting and other features that other cameras don't offer, such as macro focus stacking / bracketing, as well as live-composite. The camera gives some level of control with aperture priority mode, although the number of apertures available is quite limited. You also have the option of adding accessories to the camera including a ring-flash adapter, wide-angle converter and telephoto adapter. There are also a large number of underwater accessories available including external flash units and underwater lens convertors, as well as several underwater scene modes designed to get the best results. Good battery life, and a 2 year warranty give extra confidence in the durability of the TG-4. Image quality is reasonably good, with good colour reproduction, however, images are a little soft, which is fairly common with folded optics lenses. The lens is brighter than most other waterproof cameras, with an f/2.0 lens, which will help in low light or underwater. Image stabilisation is also included in the camera, although this struggled when we were recording video hand-held. The Olympus Tough TG-4 is more expensive than other waterproof cameras, however, for those that want the extra features on offer, as well as the option to add additional accessories, the TG-4 could be well worth the investment.

Olympus' TG series of rugged cameras have long been some of our favorites, with the TG-2 and TG-3 both earning silver awards. The TG-4 isn't dramatically different than its predecessors. It uses the same 16MP BSI CMOS sensor and F2.0-4.9, 25-100mm equivalent lens and has just a few new shooting modes. The big new feature is significant, and that's Raw support. Gone are the days where you're stuck with the smudgy JPEGs commonly found on small-sensored compacts, if you're willing to spend some time in your favorite Raw editor. It's this feature which increases the TG-4's lead over its peers.