Olympus Tough 810 - An Outdoor Digital Camera

In almost direct response to the Lumix DMC TS3, Olympus has released it's own tough camera. Olympus seems to have taken this camera to an extreme claiming that it can withstand over two hundred pounds of pressure on the body without damage.

The camera has a fourteen point one (14.1Mpxl) megapixel image capture chip; charge coupled device (CCD) and will record both still and action images.

They've also "upped the ante" by providing two gigabytes (Gb) of image storage within the camera with an additional 32Gb which can be addressed by the camera via microSD cards.

The camera is waterproof (up to 10m), shockproof (from a height of 2m) and freezeproof (to -10C)

Body Construction
The body of the TOUGH 810 is metal which goes a long way toward explaining how it can endure over two hundred pounds (220lbs) of weight.

Image Capture
The image capture chip records fourteen (14.1Mpxl) mega-pixels (this is roughly a poster sized image) as still images. I can also capture video in high-definition at 720P.

Durability
It is waterproof to thirty-three (33') feet or ten (10m) meters. It can withstand a drop of over a meter or six feet six inches (6'6") and will operate in temperatures down to fourteen (14°F) or minus ten (-10C) degree Celsius.

Lens
The Stylus TOUGH 810 features a lens with five times optical zoom. Additionally this zoom capability does not require the lens to protrude form the body. This provides the lens extra protection in harsh conditions.

Memory
Unlike many other point and shoot cameras the Stylus TOUGH has two gigabytes of internal memory. This is at least a gigabyte above most other systems of this sort. Additional memory is accessible via micro-SD cards up to thirty-two gigabytes.

Image Stabilization
The camera features a dual image stabilization system. The system uses two means of providing image stabilization; one, a sensor shift technology that actually moves the CCD sensor to cancel camera movement and two, digital image stabilization which, at the time of exposure, freezes the ISO at a high exposure level and trips the shutter at a high shutter speed.

Image Composition During Filming
The TOUGH 810 uses both an optical viewfinder and the two point seven (2.7") inch LCD screen on the back of the camera to assist in image composition. Of course, the LCD also serves as a viewing screen for still and motion capture image playback.

Auto Focus Features
The Stylus TOUGH 810 has a white LED lamp on the front to assist in focusing in low-light situations. Olympus also touts this feature as a great means of illuminating scenes or stills underwater.

GPS, Geotagging Compass and Manometer
The Stylus TOUGH 810 also includes a GPS chip for tagging your photos or video with geographic coordinates. It also includes a compass to help you navigate and tagged images can also incorporated landmark information from an on-board database of places. Finally, a manometer is included to warn you about depth if filming under water.

HD Video Recording
The camera has one touch video recording (red button in third picture) with auto focus and thirty frames per second motion capture. Playback is via the view screen on the back or via an microHDMI port on the camera.

3D Recording
The Stylus TOUGH 810 is also capable of automatically capturing three dimensional images. By taking two shots from different angles (prompted) the camera will create a single three dimensional image from the two captures.

Special Effects Filters for Movies
The camera also has built in effects for motion capture (movies) including, but not limited to:

• Pop Art
• Pin Hole
• Fish Eye
• Soft Focus
• Drawing (rotoscoping)
• Watercolor
• Sparkle
• Punk

Panoramic Shot
The TOUGH 810 allows you to shoot three images concurrently and then stitch them together to create a panoramic shot. This is a one button process. You hit the shutter and slowly start panning. The camera will capture three images at the opportune times and then join them edge to edge for one seamless image.

Pricing
Olympus is marketing this camera at $399.99 at the site store-front. Of course, this means the camera will be less at retailers such as Target, Walmart, and e-tailers such as Amazon and Buy dot com.

For a full list of specifications read the table below.

Though this camera is priced at $399.99 retail you can already find it much cheaper at sites such as Amazon, Sammy's Camera and other "big box" stores. For example Amazon is currently (August 10, 2011) selling the camera from between $260 and $270.

What i personally find appealing about this camera is it's ruggedness. Even the Lumix DMC TC3 is not guaranteed to work after having two hundred plus pounds put on it.

Kudos
I really like the one touch video recording, the 3D feature, panoramic shot feature and the huge assortment of filters that apply to both still and motion capture images. The geot-agging is a nice feature, but the manometer (for depth reading during diving) is more than just a strong hint that this camera is meant to go underwater. No other "tough" camera is quite this blatant the ability to give it a good dunking in the drink. Then there are the two gigabytes of internal storage. You can store quite a bit of imagery on two gigs; great if you've filled up your SD card.

Pans
I do think they could have squeezed 1080i (at least) out of the camera for replay on a flat screen or HD enabled video device.This is about the only fault I can find with this point and shoot camera.

Verdict
Perhaps what makes this camera most appealing is all of the functionality for the price. The Lumix TS3 promises to be great competition to this camera, but in many ways I think Olympus has them beat; this from an author who is a loyal Lumix owner.

The author was not compensated in any way, monetarily, with discounts, or freebies by any of the companies mentioned.

Though the author does make a small profit for the word count of this article none of that comes directly from the manufacturers mentioned. The author also stands to make a small profit from advertising attached to this article.

The author has no control over either the advertising or the contents of those ads.