The body of the Olympus Tough 8010 is made from surface-coated rigid stainless steel and features a zinc die-cast battery compartment. The 14 Megapixel camera offers plenty of space for all those special moments.

Our Rating (3/5)

Good: iAuto shooting mode; Great Overall Image Quality; Dedicated Video Capture Button; Versatile 5x optical zoom lens; “Tough” construction; New simple menus; Bright 2.7-inch HyperCrystal III LCD with anti-glare coating; Huge internal memory; Optional RC external flash operation

Waterproof to up to 10m, shockproof to falls of up to 2m and freezeproof down to as low as -10°C, the Olympus Tough 8010 14 Megapixel digital camera has a range of new functions to help you capture the excitement.

Digital camera features
The 14 Megapixel camera offers plenty of space for all those special moments: aside from an impressive 2GB of internal memory, an SD card slot is sure to be useful. The In-Camera Manual on the other hand, makes navigating the camera and finding out how to operate certain functions a breeze.

Tap Control has also been improved and now allows scrolling by tilting the camera body in addition to control through taps on the casing, perfect for gloved hands. Underwater fans will appreciate knowing where they are going with LED illumination. They can also get a feel for where they are with Mju Tough-8010’s manometer. Of course, a variety of trusted Olympus features from Magic Filters and Beauty Mode to i-Auto, AF Tracking and Dual Image Stabilisation are also on board to make sure you don’t miss that perfect shot.

Waterproof camera
Waterproof to up to 10m, shockproof to falls of up to 2m and freezeproof down to as low as -10°C, the camera has a range of new functions to help you capture the excitement:
• 5x wide zoom lens
• 14 Megapixels
• HD movie recording and HDMI interface
• 2GB internal memory and SD card slot
• Photo Surfing
• [ib] software
• Improved Tap Control
• USB charging

Image browsing software
With the new features, it’s never been so easy to keep track of the latest tricks on the half-pipe or a climb to the mountain top. A versatile 5x wide optical zoom (28-140mm) ensures great group photos or close-ups of distant subjects. In addition, every move can be recorded with the HD movie function or integrated into a slideshow and then viewed comfortably on a TV set connected via HDMI. And by using Photo Surfing to select and look at pictures of anything from an afternoon on the sailboat to a child’s birthday, there’s no longer any need to tediously click through the whole library.  The new image browsing software allows pictures to be tagged by face with Face Recognition technology, by place (with GPS) or by event. The tagged images can then be surfed through on the camera’s LCD, on a computer or a television.

Olympus  8010 robust camera body
Incredibly resistant through anodised aluminium plating and double sealing, the camera was made for adventure inside and out. Their displays’ HC III “triple coating” protects it against reflection even under direct bright sunlight, scratches, and moisture for comfortable shooting while a stronger metal lens barrier ensures lenses are out of harms way. A double lock mechanism on the cover for the battery, memory slot and ports offers extra security. The shockproof, waterproof and freezeproof Olympus 8010 will be available in a variety of colours from March 2010.

Reviews:

Steves-digicams writes:
“Our outdoor image samples show that the camera produces a great exposure with bright, realistic colors that provide you with excellent overall image quality…Bottom Line – new camera is a go anywhere compact digicam, designed to be tough enough for even the most adventurous person.”
Rating: N/A

Digitalcamera-hq writes:
“Color rendition is fairly neutral, and the camera doesn’t seem to over-do the contrast, which is nice to see from a consumer point and shoot… JPEG compression is pretty nasty even at the “Fine” compression setting, and of course there is no option to shoot RAW… Video quality is okay — not great. There are visible artifacts in the 720p video at the “Fine” setting, and the mic produces sound recordings that could at best be called adequate.”
Rating: N/A

Digitalversus writes:
“The µ Tough-8010 films in 720p HD resolution. Sound is recorded in mono and is sensitive to background noise. If you’re using the zoom, for example, you’ll be able to hear it when you watch back your film. Picture quality is OK.”
Rating: ★★★☆☆

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