Not to mention that leaving expensive cameras around is a hazard with a house full of kids and their rowdy friends. I love the fact, that its a zoom camera and all action happens in a close weather sealed chamber. No possibility for dust leaks inside. The lens ring on the TG-6 is only cosmetic and has no effect on the waterproof or dustproof ability of the camera. Underwater mode enables you to take underwater pictures in appropriate settings by selecting a sub mode best suited for the subject or scene. The TG-6 camera is waterproof up to depths of 15 meters without a separate sold underwater housing.

In addition to lighting your subject while the image is taken, the LG-1 also assists in composing your image, as the constant light source illuminates the subject. When using the LG-1 the camera's closest focusing distance is 1 cm, allowing the camera to lay flat on the subject and still focus.The 4x zoom 25-100mm lens offers an f/2 aperture at the wide end – great for darker conditions – dropping f/4.9 at longer focal lengths, which means the shutter speed will decrease and ISO increase to balance this out. It can take some amazing pictures, it’s a great size, and you simply never have to worry about breaking it. The IQ is gloomy. It hardly qualifies as what it name says...camera. 15m depth rating is not enough, its showerproof. The android app is horrible. No bluetooth? Gorry looking design. The sensor is old. The camera is past its design life. The only major advance from previous Tough model is arguably the ability to shoot video at up to 4K resolution at 30fps, although there are also new underwater modes (three choices, rather than just one), macro photo options (allowing captures as close as 1cm), plus an improved LCD screen resolution at 1.04 million dots. We also noted that the images are slightly softer at the furthest reaches of the zoom lens losing detail on the edges of the subjects. It’s not a deal breaker and won’t be as noticeable for those viewing on social media, but it’s there if you know what to look for.

Where the TG-5 only had one underwater white balance mode, the TG-6 has three, for shallow, mid-depth and deep water. Two additional underwater shooting modes were added: macro and microscope. What stands out? The TG-6 is known for its aggressive anti-noise filters. You can see them in action here. (No sharpening or noise reduction was applied in post-processing.) At the end of his review Jeff Kellers conclusion is "Not good for those who want smartphone IQ or better...", completely agree. But when I leave my cameras lying around, my wife doesn’t like the clutter (even though she loves the photos that result from the clutter).The zoom lens in use here sports a 35mm equivalent range of a modest 25-100mm, with an impressive f/2 maximum aperture at the wide end, dropping down to a less impressive f/4.9 at maximum telephoto. Nevertheless, we do get a TruePic VIII processor, as found in Olympus’s OM-D E-M1 Mark II, and the Olympus Tough TG-6 can capture 4K video at 30fps, or shoot Full HD clips at high speed 120fps. With its Tough performance and its high-quality lens, the TG-6 gives you the freedom to explore underwater worlds to a depth of 15 m. Utilising the wide range of accessories, you can go as deep as 45 m. At 100mm you start to lose fine detail in the edges. Olympus TOUGH TG-6, at 100mm 1/250 sec. at f/6.3, ISO 100. Image credit: Kirk Schwarz. Choose an ISO of 100. Choose an aperture of f18. This will effectively choke out the light and force the TG-6 to slow down the shutter speed to let more light in. The slow shutter speed will produce a silky waterfall. Like a wilderness travel guide, the TG-6 pulls you into the micro world, under the water, and down deeper trails than you would ever take your clunky DSLR down. You can trust the Olympus Tough TG-6 out in the wild because it’s built strong and made for adventure. It’s even tough enough to let your kids use it.

Optimized for underwater photography that uses natural light. (e.g. in swimming pools or shallow waters) That being said, the fact that the TG-6 is a bit hefty means the ergonomics are much better than smaller compacts. The weight makes it easier to compose with less handshake. Combined with the lens stabilization, getting sharp photos in regular light is quite easy.The TOUGH TG6’s 4x zoom can extend to 100mm equivalent – which is long enough to take head and shoulders portraits and to get you a little closer to the action if you’re in the snow or on the water. When you zoom all the way in the maximum aperture closes to f4.9; so when both models are fully zoomed in the TOUGH TG-6’s lens is no brighter than the Finepix XP140’s – except that the latter’s 140mm reach will get you a little closer to your subject. It may sound like we’re down on the Olympus TG-6 – but that’s really not the case. Having an f/2 lens puts it ahead of basically any other tough compact in terms of low-light performance and versatility, and its optical zoom lens and ergonomic form factor give it solid advantages over a GoPro. It’s just important to view the camera in context. It won’t produce incredible, mind-blowing images that can be blown up on billboards, but it will do exactly what it’s designed to do – produce decent-looking images in challenging conditions for a fairly reasonable price. Olympus Tough TG-6 review: video Indeed a 1/2.3" sensor is somewhat small. Modern smartphones have a larger one (1/1.7"). But, as others say, smartphones miss the 4x optical zoom and the ergonomics. Smartphones are overrrated for photography use. At the maximum zoom setting (100mm), the aperture is f/4.9 at its brightest. There's a dip in resolution, 1,872 lines, but it's still a good result for this type of camera. You should avoid using the f/6.3 and f/18 apertures, as diffraction softens images to a not-so-great 1,577 lines. Lastly, the TG-6's host of close-up features not only allow for capturing subjects 1cm (0.4") away: the 'digital microscope' mode lets you zoom in up to four times more, though with a reduction in image quality. Olympus sells a ring light and flash diffuser to add flexibility to your macro photography.