Olympus Perfects Tough Digital Camera

2019.05.22

Today Olympus announced a new refined version of their highly-acclaimed Tough series of compact digital cameras. They have been improving the specifications gradually between models now on its 6th iteration and becoming the most versatile under-water fixed-lens camera on the market.

The new Olympus Tough TG-6 sports a 12 megapixels High-Speed BSI-CMOS sensor paired with a bright F/2 stabilized 4X optical zoom lens with macro capability down to 1cm throughout the zoom range. This rugged compact is waterproof down to 15m, freezeproof to -10C, dustproof, weatherproof, drop-proof to 2.1m drops and crushproof to 100kg of pressure, making it one of toughest digital cameras around. The lens is protected by dual-pane glass to prevent fogging.

While most rugged cameras are exclusively point-and-shoot models, Olympus has been packing theirs with features. Exposure is either Automatic or Aperture-Priority. While there is no Manual Exposure-Mode, none of these cameras have it, the TG-6 captures both JPEG and RAW files, supports White-Balance Fine-Tuning, Spot-Metering for creative controls.

This compact digital camera can record 4K Ultra-HD video at 30 FPS or Full 1080p HD video at 120 FPS and even 720p HD video at a whopping 240 FPS. There is a built-in Interval-Timer and Time-Lapse feature than can create 4K Time-Lapse from a sequence of images. New to the Olympus TG-6 is both Focus Bracketing and Focus Stacking. The former can take up to 30 frames, while the latter 10, with 3 step sizes to choose from.

Olympus made the TG-6 part of a system with a truly outstanding number of accessories available. The 41mm lens filter-thread can be used to support fisheye and telephoto converters or stepped-up to 62mm to use conventional filters. The macro features of this digital camera are assisted by an add-on light difusor or flash-ring. The former channels light from a led near the flash unit to provide even illumination of near subjects. The latter does the same for the built-in flash which delivers more light and a short burst rather than continuously.

The Olympus Tough TG-6 is schedule to be available at the end of June for $449 USD or $579 CAD. Check its specification page for pre-ordering options.

• Digital Camera