OM SYSTEM OLYMPUS TG-610 Tough 14 MP Digital Camera , 5x Wide Optical Zoom (28mm), 3" 920K LCD (Black) (Old Model)

I got this camera for my wife but have tried it for myself to see how it performs. Unless you're a die hard into photography, which if you are you'd probably be buying a SLS camera, this one takes beautiful pictures. I have tried it underwater in various pools various times and it takes great shots each time. The door which seals the battery, memory card etc has a lock on it which keeps you from accidentally opening it but I wish it locked a bit better. it just slides over one way to lock, but it can accidentally be slid over to unlock rather easily. We have never had a problem with it yet, but the yet is what I am afraid of. It would still be hard to then move the switch down opening the door, but I would rather if the possibility of this happening was made even harder. Other than that, its a great camera which is not much bigger than a comparable compact camera and the added benefit of being submersible is a HUGE plus especially for families with kids.

I purchased this camera because I wanted a camera that could go with me where ever I went. Last year I purchased one of the waterproof cameras from Fugifilm (finepix xp10) and was not impressed, it felt cheap and ended up leaking water behind the screen after 2 uses. I returned it after that and went without a waterproof digital for the rest of the summer. This year I decided to spend a little more money hoping to get a lot more camera. I wanted pictures at the lake, on the river, in the pool and I didn't want to have to worry about my camera getting ruined while I was having fun. So far I'd say The Olympus TG-610 I picked is perfect camera for my needs. Right out of the box I could tell this camera was far superior to the fuji. This olympus is metal, the buttons feel much nicer, the screen is bigger and more clear, it just has a nice look and feel to it.So far I've had it in and out of the water on multiple occasions without any problems, haven't tried snorkeling but it works great in the river or swimming pool. In bright light the picture quality is impressive, especially after reading poor reviews of other 'tough' cameras and the less than satisfactory performance of the fuji. I think this one takes good pictures, not professional quality, but plenty good to enjoy and share. Even in low light at concerts we have had good luck getting crisp images. The video feature is nice, easy to use and so far respectable results.The only things I wish were better about this camera are the flash, start-up time is slow and there is a long lag between pictures. The flash always leaves a shadow behind your subject, it doesn't have the double flash that a lot of point and shoot cameras have today. Then there is the start up time. It seems like it takes forever for this camera to turn on and be ready to fire, then once you do get your first picture taken, it again takes a long time before you can get another one. There are a couple of different burst shooting modes available but if you are just in regular shooting mode it takes a good 3 to 4 seconds between pictures, with significant shutter lag.That all being said, I bought this camera for outdoor adventure use and so far it has done everything I've asked of it, and I've gotten a lot of pictures, great pictures I could not have gotten without the waterproof feature of this camera. . . this is a must buy for the adventurer or summer outdoor enthusiast!

We surf, fish, hike, play at the park with our kids. We needed a waterproof camera for all of these activities and have been using one with a waterproof casing for years. We decided to switch to one that is waterproof on its own. Bought this one for all of the incredible reviews (on this and other websites) about it's durability. I REALLY wanted to like this camera!It is durable, yes. However, we took it to the park to take a few shots of the kids and the dog and just get a feel for the camera in general. When we got the pictures onto our computer to take a look, they were incredibly grainy. Even the still shots came out pretty blurry --and this was in the sunshine where almost any camera should put out clean shots. The ones in our living room were even worse. I truly feel like pictures I take with my iPhone come out better than these did.Like I said, I really did want to like this camera. If you only care about getting the image captured by a very durable camera and don't care as much about the quality of the photos, you then this may be the camera for you. However, for our purposes it will not work and we are now going to give the Nikon CoolpixAW100 a try.

This was our second Olympus Tough camera...the first one lasted through 3 years of abuse...beach trips, road trips, skiing and snowboarding, pool parties, etc, and performed like a champ up until the end. It was a no brainer when the time came to replace it: I would get the 'new and improved' model of the same great camera!Well, not so improved. The few pics I did get initially are gorgeous...but I did notice upon opening the camera the first time and preparing for charging, that the battery door was tricky. Difficult to open, more difficult to close completely. (the previous model was simple and easy to open and close securely.) I was displeased that to charge the camera you have to place the charger cord into the battery door and insert it directly into the camera, rather than take the battery out and put it into an external charger as the older model did. (my point being that I didn't like leaving the battery door open for hours while the camera charged).On the fateful day, only 3 weeks after receiving this camera, I had been taking pictures at a party, and everything was performing well. My daughter asked to take it into the pool to take pics with her brother and friends, and immediately brought it back to me in tears. "Mom, I went underwater and it died!" I had been standing there watching, and believe me, she had not been playing with or messing with the battery door. Indeed, water had gotten into the battery door that appeared to be closed properly.Olympus, please go back to the old battery charging method and door closing mechanism...too bad you messed with a good thing!