Olympus STYLUS Tough TG-4 Compact Camera 16MP 1/2.3" BSI CMOS 4608 x 3456pixels Black - Digital Cameras (16MP, 4608 x 3456 pixels, BSI CMOS, 4x, Full HD, Black)

Product Information

The TOUGH TG4’s built-in flash has four modes – auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in and off and has a maximum range of 7.9 meters at the wide angle setting at 1600 ISO. Above left: 100% crop, 4.5-18mm at 18mm, 1/10, 100 ISO, IS off. Above right: 100% crop, 4.5-18mm at 18mm, 1/10, 100 ISO, IS on. An in-camera JPEG of our laboratory resolution chart revealed fairly sharp, distinct line patterns up to about 2,400 lines per picture height in the horizontal direction, and to about 2,300 lines per picture height in the vertical direction. Some may argue for more, but aliasing artifacts start to interfere at that point. Complete extinction of the pattern didn't occur until about 2,800 lines in both directions. Adobe Camera Raw produced similar results, though with a lot more chromatic aberration and noise at default noise reduction settings. Use these numbers to compare with other cameras of similar resolution, or use them to see just what higher resolution can mean in terms of potential detail. Never had unexplained fogging or leaks with mine, but I live in a warm climate. I understand that when first going outside from a cold air-conditioned room I have to let it warm up before shooting (same with my other cameras).

Olympus Tough TG-4 Review | PCMag

There are 7 ISO settings available on the Olympus TG-4. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and RAW. Each time the shutter button is pressed, the camera takes a series of photos, varying exposure with each frame. Olympus states that the TG-4 can go as deep as 50 feet. I wasn't able to test that personally, but the camera worked fine after spending time submerged in my kitchen sink. It also survived numerous drop tests from as high as seven feet. I did my testing in the summer, so I wasn't able to take it out in freezing weather, but after spending a few hours in the fridge it performed admirably. Another feature unique to the TG-4 is the ability to wirelessly control an off-camera flash, includes those in underwater housings. It works with Olympus' RC system, which offers TTL flash metering with the company's external flashes, such as the FL-50R and FL-600R (it can also trigger a generic slave flash). One thing worth pointing out is that the TG-4does not let you adjust any settings on the externalflash.Only problem is that in raw you only have a single frame each time. This is not mentioned in the advertising description. Beach, Cuisine, Documents, Fireworks, Night, Night landscape, Night portrait, Panorama, Portrait, Self-portrait, Snow, Sports, Sunset, Underwater, Landscape (scenery) grafguy: it's not about the seals, it's about air being present already, and if you put it into a very cold environment, that air might give you condensation. it might also depend on whether they were assembled in winter or in humid season. The battery is same LI-92B used in the earlier TG3 and provides enough power for 300 shots, not as good as the 370 you’l get with the COOLPIX AW130, and if you make extensive use of the GPS or Wifi that number will reduce significantly. Remaining power is shown on screen by a three segment battery graphic. The battery is charged in the camera via the A/V / charging port. There’s a supplied A/C charger and a cable with a USB connection at one end and a proprietary connection to the camera at the other. so you can plug in and recharge from a laptop, car adaptor or any other convenient source, but you’ll need to remember to take the Olympus cable with you. It’s the same arrangement on the Nikon COOLPIX AW130, except with a standard USB port on the camera, making it a little more flexible. Examining the front of the Olympus TG-4 – complete with a couple of screw heads to signify industrial levels of strength – reveals that the camera’s reinforced lens is further protected by virtue of it being encircled by a raised metal surround or lens ring; this can be unscrewed and removed to allow for supplementary attachments. Lens aperture runs from f/2 at the wideangle end to f/4.9 at the telephoto end (maximum zoom), with closest focusing distance being a very respectable 1cm.

Rough and ready: Olympus Tough TG-4 review

Im looking to get an underwater camera and everybody seems to praise the olympus, even from last year's TG-3. Judging by the samples, the quality is terrible underwater. No definition and lots of noise and haze... It is recommended to stabilize the camera using a tripod to prevent camera shake and to shoot with remote control using the wireless remote mode via OI.Share. AUTO, SCN (Scene), AP (Advanced Photo), ART (Art Filter), P (Program), A (Aperture Priority), S (Shutter Priority), M (Manual), Movie

Here’s where the TOUGH TG4 really shines. Its maximum aperture at the wide angle setting is a very bright f2, closing to f4.9 when fully zoomed in. By comparison the TOUGH TG-860 manages f3.5-5.7 and the COOLPIX AW130 f2.8-4.9. To put that in context, if you were shooting with the TOUGH TG4 and COOLPIX AW130 at the wide angle setting in the same conditions, you’d be able to shoot at 400 ISO on the TG4 where you’d need 800 ISO on the AW130, or over 1000 ISO on the TG860.

Rough and ready: Olympus Tough TG-4 review: Digital

From the front, the TG-4 looks seriously contemporary and muscular. It’s all hard edges and is almost industrial in its design. Despite the bog standard image sensor, there is no mistaking that this is a viable alternative than your smartphone or iPad for taking snaps at the beach or on the ski slopes. In other words, and this is important, it actually has a reason to exist independently. I've found that imaging-resource.com is far more useful for specs because they include all the relevant numbers" Some art filters have altered versions of the original art filter. (e.g. Pin Hole II, Pin Hole III) Color Filter and Monochrome Color options are available with some art filters. I did note a good improvement in over and underexposed areas in the RAW conversion of the old school bus photo and one of a tuber on a lake. One might have been able to work some of these improvements on a JPEG file as well, though. Coverage. Flash coverage was quite uneven at wide angle, leaving very dark corners and edges in our flash coverage test image, and you can also see some unevenness in illumination vertically as well. Narrow coverage at wide angle isn't unusual, though, and some of the corner darkening is likely from the lens itself. We no longer test flash coverage at telephoto, as it is invariably better, making wide angle the worst case scenario.FullHD video is recorded with stereo sound at 30fps, with optical zoom and image stabilisation. The camera has a number of high-speed video modes, recording at 240 or 120fps, although at a reduced resolution. Top right of the lens is recognizably an integral flash and combined AF assist/self timer/LED lamp window, the flash being controlled via a dedicated setting on the standard four-way control pad at the rear of the TG-4. Flash settings wise, we get the standard auto and forced flash/fill-in option, along with a red eye setting and one that activates the fairly blinding LED lamp (in conjunction with a holding down of the shutter release button), for when you need that extra ‘oomph’ in the illumination department – perhaps for shooting a short video clip. THE ZOOM MOTOR NOISE WILL RUIN ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS!!!! And, Olympus doesn't plan to do anything about it. You cannot zoom in or out while shooting video. THIS IS A TERRIBLE DESIGN.