Olympus Stylus Tough-6000 10 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Blue)
July 21, 2009 by Digital Master
Filed under Digital Camera Reviews
From the ManufacturerThere’s really only one word to describe the new shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof, crushproof and shakeproof Stylus 6000 from Olympus: Tough. Built to withstand some of the harshest environments on earth, the Stylus Tough series builds on the impressive specifications of the renowned Stylus SW Series by adding Dual Image Stabilization. Now, when the Stylus Tough-6000 arrives at the windy mountain peak or dive into choppy waves, it stays steady and ready to ca (more…)
The Stylus Tough 6000 is the second Olympus waterproof camera I’ve got. I got the original 720SW, it survived quite a few adventures and continues its faithful service with a friend. I was ready for an upgrade.
There were two main reasons I upgraded from the 720sw. One was the wide angle lens 28mm vs 35-38mm on it. The other was hopefully longer battery life. I found the 720sw’s battery life to be anemic at best.
I considered the 1030sw but decided to try out the new generation of sensor, CCD image stabilization and tap control. The Stylus Tough 8000 was also a contender but I didn’t need the extra hardened casing or expense. This has the same rating as the 720SW which survived everything I threw at it and now comes in three attractive colors. I got the blue one.
Overview
Pulling the camera out of the box and playing with it there were several notable improvements over the previous generation. It’s not quite as heavy and uses more plastics than the 720SW, more similar to the 760SW. The lens has a larger more reinforced housing probably to accommodate the wider angle.
The buttons have been improved. They stick out more from the surface and have a very positive “click” to them. There is much more clearance with the shutter release which is nice. Your less likely to turn the thing off instead of trying to take a picture.
There is the welcome addition of the control wheel. It is quick access to major features. Starting from the blue triangle (play) and going clockwise you have:
iAuto – Intelligent auto, camera attempts to guess what scene mode (if any) to use or just use the automatic modes.
The picture of the camera (which might be mistaken for play) is now the traditional automatic mode which oddly enough gives you more controls (like the tap control).
SCN – Lets you select from a variety of scene modes
Beauty Mode – Takes longer to boot up, mainly used for portraits. Requires face detection to work properly. After you take the picture the camera spends about 10 seconds processing the image applying a smoothing and contrast routine to make skin look nicer.
Movie Mode is next and that brings us back to play.
The other buttons are pretty standard, looks like you have three ways to access your playback now. The play setting on the dial, the play button on the back and the tap control (more later).
The DISP button has been beefed up, you can now access basic shooting info (WB, FSTOP, Shutter speed), push it again and you get the histogram.
The screen is vastly improved. One of the real weak points on the 7xx series was the screen wasn’t sharp. You could take a great picture but couldn’t tell if it was sharp or not. This was especially maddening because you really didn’t know before you took the shot what your shutter speed was so you didn’t know if it was just the screen or really a blurry picture. With the new screen its much better. For a bonus your shutter speed and Fstop get flashed when you do the focus lock.
Tap Tap
Something new is the Tap control. If not in iAuto mode you can change commands by tapping on the camera. Tapping on the left hand side brings up the macro options, macro, super macro or super lighted macro. I didn’t think people did serious macro photography with sports cameras…
Tapping on the side again cycles through the settings. Double tapping saves the setting you have selected.
Tapping on the right lets you control the flash (auto, fill, none, redeye).
Tapping on the back lets you enter play mode which is cool. You can then tap left or right to scroll through your pictures. Tap the back again to get out of play mode. Very nice.
Easily accessing flash controls (to force a fill flash or cancel a flash for ambient only) and play by tapping is a excellent feature.
Going Diving
Not in the pool (though you could) but menu diving. Olympus has improved the menus to a degree. At the end of the day they are pretty much set up the same, they just now have pretty 3D icons and transitions between screens. On the old OLY you had the impression the processor was not current generation, now you have the impression they have CPU cycles to burn.
One area that is notably different is the panorama function. It now has its own icon in the main setup. There are several new options for shooting panos to have them combined in the camera as well as a new onscreen guide. When you use the new in camera 1 feature you get a dot and crosshairs to line up to guide your picture taking. In camera 2 and in PC modes still give you the old horizon and boxes as your guide.
Get your Light On
A nice feature is the inclusion of the LED flashlight. If you hold down the display button for a few seconds it kicks on a LED light about the same as keychain lights. It runs for around 20-30 seconds. Once on its not that easy to turn off, you have to hold the button a few seconds.
Shooting performance
Shooting performance seems to be improved. It locks onto targets faster (but still not as fast as others). The face lock is now integrated so it automatically detects and focuses for faces. Even has a smile detector where it won’t fire till it gets a smile.
Image quality aside from adding a few megapixels in resolution (no big deal) is improved. Images are sharper, noise is better controlled (key for small cameras). Seems to have a bit more dynamic range in the photos.
It is a noticeable improvement, even in good light. So the answer of “will this let me take better pictures than my old 7xx?” is “Yes”.
It’s got a wide variety of ISO settings and resolutions (10MP, 5MP, 3MP, 2MP). Not all ISO’s and resolutions are available in each mode. The high ISO modes have reduced resolution which is fine.
The CCD shift image stabilization gives you better performance than just the ISO boost. It’s still not magic but it does compensate some for hand tremors.
If taking the finest pictures possible with a compact camera is your goal then this probably isn’t the camera for you. There are cheaper/better/faster cameras out there. Its faster than previous generations but still pretty slow in starting up, locking onto the target and refreshing after the shot. This is one of the complains people have about point and shoot cameras and this camera is no exception. My 2+ year old Fuji F-40 blows it away in all speed departments.
The main reason you would buy this camera remains its toughness and versatility. If you need the go anywhere, do anything and not worry about it camera this is the one for you. I used mine biking, Kayaking, at the beach, climbing, hiking, swimming and in monsoon rains in SE Asia and its still works great. I expect this to be the same.
Video
Video performance has been improved to a good degree. The old camera often washed out in light and had a magenta cast to it. it was also limited to 15fps. Gave an old home movies quality to the video.
The improved sensor on this camera gives much better video qualtiy, you also now have the option for 15fps. But there is a catch. At full resolution (640×320) and 30fps your limited to 30 seconds of video. I think this is a limitation of the write speed of the card (XD strikes again). I’m using the type M cards. You may have better results from the M+. Anything other than full rez full motion will give you as much recording time as the card. However the compression routine they use is not as efficient as others. Compared to a Fuji I use it takes twice as much space for the same quality.
Accessories
One area of unexpected improvement was the manual. The layout and whatnot is pretty much the same but they have separate manuals for different languages. Not an all in one.
Alas when it comes to cables they have still yet to grow a brain. The video out and USB cables that plug into it have a proprietary tip on them, so don’t loose it. If your smart get a card reader for file transfer. Much faster and easier on the camera.
The media used still only half a brain. It primarily uses the XD format which is slow, small and expensive compared to other types. With an adaptor (not included) you can use the Micro SD cards from your cell phone, if you remembered the tweezers…
Why they couldn’t take regular SD cards + XD Cards like Fuji can I don’t know.
It uses the Li-50B which is a bit thicker than the Li-42 of the previous series. Claimed battery life is at least 1/3 greater. My initial observations are that you’ll get somewhere around 200 shots/charge in mixed use (some screen, some playing some flash). This is a lot better than the 7xx.
So in summary
PRO’s
Waterproof/Dust Proof/Freeze and shock and sand resistant.
Significant User interface improvements from previous generations
Tap Control
Better screen
LED flashlight
Better Image quality and stabilization than previous generations
Cons
Image quality/performance/speed not up to other cameras at the same price point.
xD/MicroSD cards only
proprietary cables.
Conclusion
My conclusion on this one is the same as the last. If you want a decent picture taker that you can take pictures anywhere with this is an excellent choice. The years have made some good improvements that reduced the previous generations shortcomings. A worthy upgrade if you can use some of the new features and an excellent buy if your getting this type of camera for the first time.
The Olympus Tough 6000 is a neat little camera which offers a host of very useful features, chief amongst them being a wide angle lens (28mm equivalent) and its robust ‘go anywhere’ feel. It’s fairly easy to operate, though one foible I am not keen on is the on/off button which needs to be depressed a bit too long for it to do it’s job – hey, mark that as a minor foible. That’s the good news.
Picture quality is so-so. If you take snaps, do a bit of basic cropping (just a little, mind) and limit your expecations of those of family viewing then the image quality is fine. The reticience on my part on the matter of image quality is that the Olympus Tough 6000 is no better than many cameras that cost half its price. The flash works but seems to do so with a single setting – it readily creates blown out highlights on too many photographs, the sensor produces noticeable noise, and the lag between pushing the shutter to taking the shot can be interminable. I admit that I haven’t bought a compact digital in the last couple of years and was hoping that these areas would have seen better performance. So as a camera, i.e. a device for taking photographs, my view is that the Olympus Tough 6000 is adequate (barely) and expensive.
On to the ‘Tough’ part. The major selling point of this camera is its ability to suffer knocks, operate immersed in water, operate in cold temperatures, etc. It is a rugged little device and handling it offers up a feeling of confidence. I am just back from a two week vacation in S E Asia – we have two little kids, the eldest of whom is starting to want to take photos (my main requirement for a camera therefore is something which is kid-proof – I don’t go snorkelling, haven’t skied in a while nor climbed a mountain in some time, I simply want something that can withstand the rough and tumble that a 5 year old offers). I found the camera offers a degree of robustness which should provide confidence in rough environments – that’s not to say it can be handled roughly, but if you find yourself in a place where an odd knock is inevitable then the Olympus should withstand it. However, I deliberately took the camera into a swimming pool to take some snaps (the camera does say it can operate down to 10ft water depth). I had read the manual, and did understand that the seals needed to be checked etc etc and took all reasonable measures. The camera worked fine under water, then half an hour later it stopped working. Having dropped it off at the local repair centre, the prognosis is that the camera has water in it – if they can’t fix it I’ll get a new one, and I’ll know that in a couple of weeks. Given the warnings I saw splashed on the walls of the repair centre, the advice displayed on the Olympus web site and the advice in the Tough 6000 User Manual, I’d guess there is a degree of concern about its watertightmess. In fact my view is that this feature needs to be reconsidered – I took all precautions mentioned in the manuals did the checks immediately prior to taking the camera into the pool and still had problems. By the way, I was in a 3ft deep pool and took the camera dowm to about half depth – lets say 18″. So in my view the Olympus Tough 6000 is probably tough, but probably not waterproof.
In summary this camera could be a good buy if you need something robust which can take a few knocks and offer up reasonable snaps. I would take it up a mountain, but would not recommend going sub-surface at all. I believe it is pricey for what it does, but value is a personal decision.
This camera is awesome. I mainly got it because I want to have a nice camera that I don’t have to be extra careful with. I work with kids and take a lot of pictures, and they inevitably want to use my camera to take pictures and I usually let them, but I tend to hover to make sure it doesn’t get accidently dropped in the sandbox or in a tub of water. Now, I’m happy that I won’t have to worry about this anymore. This camera can withstand a 5 foot drop onto concrete or into water.
I don’t have much use for the tap feature, which is designed to be used with gloves, because I live in southern California. It’s more annoying to have it activated when you don’t need it but I’m sure it’s a great feature for when you are bundled up and you don’t want to take your gloves off.
I really like the portrait modes the stylus has because it makes it east to quickly switch to different modes. The screen helps you switch to different modes too, it is pretty bright and it is a lot easier to see in daylight than previous cameras I have owned.
I have yet to really take it on an underwater excursion, but I have tested it out in the sink a few times and in the bath and there was not any water seepage into the battery compartment or in the USB port.
I love the ability to do in-camera fixes with red eye and lighting. The camera also automatically saves the edited picture separate from the old, so you don’t have to worry about it replacing the original picture, if you don’t like the new effect.
I love the fact that this camera has a built in memory. You can only a take a few pictures with it, but you don’t get that “No memory card” error anymore. It’s a good feature to have in a pinch, especially when you first get it to test out the features. The camera also tells you in the corner how many pictures you have left and how many minutes of video you have left on the card or in the internal memory. No more snapping away pictures only to hear the beep! beep! and see the “memory full” words pop up on the screen; then there’s the scramble to quickly delete pictures. You’ll never have to guess how many shots you have left.
I’ve only had the camera a few days and I haven’t tried out all of the features, and I am looking forward to that and I will update my review. I have yet to use the in camera panorama feature, I am pretty sure that you have to have an Olympus card in order for this to work and I am using the micro SD card adapter and using a 2 MP card.
The program that comes with the camera is also pretty good and user friendly. It has the same feel as Google’s Picasa, but I haven’t played with it much yet because I really like Picasa!
There are a couple of things I don’t really like about the camera. One is I wish there were more features for the video camera, it pretty much has an option of 15 fps and 30 fps. My older camera has about 10 different video options. Two, is that I don’t think picture quality is as great as a Canon with the same number of mega pixels. The picture comes out looking a little more digital and not as crisp. But I will gladly give up a little picture quality for a camera that comes with all of the underwater, freeze proof, etc features.
So, I think this camera is definitely worth the price, and if I had $100 more to spend I would have definitely gotten the 8000. I love its versatility with being a real outdoorsy camera, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a high end digital camera that can withstand some drops and some water.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Water got into camera after 2nd use and left it unusable–on my vacation.
The reason I bought this camera is because my husband and I had planned a trip to St. Martin where we would be snorkeling and swimming every day.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Garbage!!!!
This camera works fairly well as long as you don’t get it wet!!! It started to malfunction on my first snorkel trip and then completely died on the second trip.
4.0 out of 5 stars
nice little camera
I like this camera ~ having to get used to it & all the function but it’s taking great photos! I like that if it gets dropped, it’s still going to be functional plus I tend to…
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great pictures, easy to use and durable.
I have been a canon digital point and shoot camera guy for years. But I have kids now 3 & 1.5 and the canon had taken a beating because the kids would occasionally get a hold of…
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stylus Tough – 6000
Olympus Stylus Tough-6000 10 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Waterproof? NOT!
I’m not a happy customer.
I used the camera twice in the ocean before it died. It had gotten wet inside.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Camera
Great little camera. One of the specs Olympus does not advertise enough is that it supports many foreign languages in its user interface.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great little point-n-shoot!
If you want a rugged, waterproof camera for taking to the beach or pool, this is the camera for you.
4.0 out of 5 stars
olympus stylus tough
we were able to try the camera immediately under water. cool pictures taken. so far so good but it may be too early to tell.
5.0 out of 5 stars
AMAZING!!
This is my 2nd Olympus shock and waterproof camera and I’m absolutely in LOVE with this brand and this camera.