Olympus MjU Tough 8000 Review
In this post Sime road tests the rugged little Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 to see if it is as tough as they say.
We had the announcement for the Olympus Tough 8000 a few weeks back, since then we have seen released the same sort of compacts from Canon and from Panasonic. Being naturally curious for “unbreakable stuff” I wanted to check one of them out and Olympus, as they were first out of the gate, got the call…
Not drowning, Waving...
The first thing I did when I removed the little Olympus Tough 8000 from its box was to go to the kitchen, get a water jug, fill it with water and watch (and laugh) as a colleague shrieked as I dropped it in. It was brilliant! So, The camera is waterproof to 10m but without the help of a really deep bath I guess I’m stumped…
This compact camera has a brilliantly sturdy feel to it, noticeable as soon as you handle it, It feels very solid and like you should actually drop it, not that we treat our expensive camera gear like that! but, in this case you can drop it without fear of it smashing into a zillion tiny pieces! The Olympus Tough 8000 is a camera that will take all that you can throw at it, or indeed all that you can throw it at! It is waterproof to 10 meters as I’ve mentioned, it’s freeze proof down to -10c (see image below!) and dust proof, it is also crush proof (I didn’t want to test this as at the minute I weigh 103kgs and it’s only crush proof up to 100kgs) – Can you image if I’d broken it!… (Sorry Olympus)
On Ice, Sir?
The 3.6x optical zoom with the built in dual image stabilization work quite well together, even for someone like me with VERY shaky hands.
Another feature that I thought was quite nice was the “tap control” feature. I have used cameras underwater before and one of the main issues I had was trying to change settings whilst underwater with diving gloves on. With the Olympus, certain features can be turned on or off with a simple tap to one side or the other of the actual camera, and OK is as easy as a simple two taps on the top of the unit – I found this to work quite well.
I have used another brand of camera for the last ten years and am very familiar with the menu structure, so as such changing to another brand should have been quite tricky, but it only took about an hour of use for me to be pretty familiar with the way the Olympus menu system was set-up.
Just in case you missed the tech specs last time, here they are for you again…
- Shooting in toughest situations – shockproof to 2m, waterproof to 10m, crush proof to 100kg and freeze proof to -10°C
- High-precision 3.6x wide optical zoom (28-102mm) to capture great scenes through to stunning close-ups even in extreme conditions
- Avoids blur thanks to Dual Image Stabilization
- TAP Control Menu for great convenience
- 12 Megapixels to make poster-size prints
- 6.9cm/2.7″ HyperCrystal III LCD for best ever preview even in brilliant sunlight and at extreme angles (230,000 dots)
- Face Detection for perfectly focused and exposed faces plus correct exposure of other image areas
- The easy way to perfect images – Intelligent Auto Mode detects the five most commonly used scenes and adjusts settings, focus and exposure automatically
- Manometer for easy air and water pressure checking
- LED illuminator to lighten up underwater or macro sceneries
- Liven up your memories with movie recording with sound
- xD-Picture Card and microSD Card compatible
And, as I usually give you a rating (in stars!) I am going to give you a slightly different rating this time… Do I like the Olympus Tough 8000? Well, I now use one as my full time compact camera. (Yep, Love it!)
Sime
Tags: OLympus Tough 8000 review
49 Responses to “Olympus MjU Tough 8000 Review” - Add Yours
March 20th, 2009 at 2:06 am
xD card was stopping me, but microSD sounds great!
March 20th, 2009 at 9:29 am
What’s the image quality like? I have an earlier version and cannot fault the solid construction and ‘take anywhere’ ability.
However, the image quality is not good, smeary and lacking in contrast. Acceptable when it’s taking photos where others can’t, but I wouldn’t use it as my everyday camera.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
lozboz
Check it out here… Straight out of camera…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visper/3370356598/
Sime
March 21st, 2009 at 12:47 am
Kudos to you, Sime, for the Stevie Smith reference.
March 21st, 2009 at 11:59 am
i love these tough olympus cameras! i recently purchased a stylus 1050 sw, and i absolutely loved it, almost as much as i love my canon slr. but when i found out you have to get the seals replaced yearly, that just killed it for me, considering how it costs $101.85 to get them replaced….not worth it to me. maybe if i were a millionaire.
March 21st, 2009 at 11:24 pm
So its water proof.. Will it hold up in a washing machine? My wife tends to get things in the washing machine like cameras and phones.. But I wonder if water + being thrown around rapidly = disaster..
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 am
Tim — if it can stand up to that (and by the specs, it seems like it should) that’d be an awesome TV commercial.
March 28th, 2009 at 3:41 am
This camera seems like a combination of Michelangelo and Bruce Lee to me. Maybe someday I’ll have one……………
March 29th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I have the stylus 770sw, an earlier model of this camera.
The camera has already endured more abuse the the two cameras before it (destroyed by shock and water) including a 3 ft drop to the sidewalk.
Like all ultra compact cameras, the image quality is on the grainy side, but still adequate for snapshots and postcard size prints.
Olympus recommends replacing the waterproof packing and seals annually by a qualified Olympus Repair center.
March 30th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I want one!
April 11th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
This camera is shockproof to 2m, yes it is though, but i doubt it
April 11th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
On ice, Sir? Yes it’s Ok on ice but not OK on fire.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I recently bought an Olympus Mju Tough 8000. I’ve used it twice underwater two weeks ago when i went snorkeling and swimming on a beach. It was alright then. I even accidentally dropped it from a height of around 0.7m and it still worked fine. Earlier this day though, I used it again underwater – went swimming on a cold freshwater creek – and to my disappointment, the view got all blurry after less than 10 minutes of its use. Apparently some water molecules were able to seep through the inside resulting in a moisture build up despite having the usb and battery covers locked properly. I could still view the pictures taken but I could no longer take clear photos.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:48 am
artsyrebelle! That’s really disappointing to hear, Make sure you take it back and please let me know what happens!… Mine has had a right hiding and is still going just fine.
Sime
April 15th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I bought a Mju tough 8000 on the 6th of March. Three weeks later, after its second time underwater (9m), it failed to work (won’t turn on at all).
I sent it back to Olympus in North Ryde for repair, along with an explanation of its purchase date, use, and failure.
Just today, instead of the expected apology for the obvious defect and an either new or repaired camera, I got an estimate back of almost the original price of the camera to repair it.
I lost a lot of faith in Olympus today. Not only did their product completely fail while operating within its intended specifications, the company failed to do the right thing about it.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
This is actually an upgrade from the 1030 SW with almost exactly the same features. I got the 1030 SW a few weeks ago because the 8000 wasn’t out yet then. So far I’ve used it in the shower and dropped it once and it’s fine. One thing you need to take caution with is to make sure when you close the battery / USB compartments that there’s no hair strand or any dirt/dust on the rubber sealer or the waterproof feature will be useless. Very nice camera if you do a lot of extreme stuff, and makes a perfect traveling companion.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:39 am
TB, What was the explaination? Why was it not covered under warranty? Where did you take it in the water? The depth indicator is more a tool to deny warranty coverage than a tool to be used by the photographer, as far as I can tell. Were you well below 10m depth?
May 12th, 2009 at 1:30 am
These Oly “indestructible” cameras have somewhat of a reputation for substandard image quality, but I believe that’s due to the camera’s use of heavy noise reduction at ISO 400 and up, combined with an auto-ISO system that almost never goes below ISO 400 even in broad daylight.
I’ve found on my 1030SW that if I keep it in Programmed Exposure mode (camera icon on the mode dial, “P” indicator on the LCD display) and force the ISO down to 200 at most, I get nice results.
The Programmed Exposure mode is the only “dry” mode in which you can control the ISO setting, so if you want sharp photos that’s the mode that you’ll want to leave the camera in. (The Underwater Wide and Underwater Macro scene modes also allow ISO selection.)
Of course, in low light without flash you need to use the higher ISOs. And of course you’ll pay for that with noise and lost sharpness. In some of the modes, the engineers recognized that sharpness would be seriously compromised and they force the JPEG size down to 1/4 resolution max (3 megapixels on my 12 mpix 1030SW). At the higher ISOs you’ll get good 4×6s and maybe 5×7s, but don’t expect much more than that.
But in the end, the point of these cameras is that they can take at least [i]some[/i] kind of photos under conditions in which other cameras would leave you with no photos at all.
May 12th, 2009 at 2:35 am
Thanks Doug, some very useful comments there that support my experience.
I’mnow in the market for a new water/dust resistant camera. My wife accidentally dropped (strap broke) our 1030SW in a river recently. Whilst the water was only 4 feet deep it was very muddy and a ‘big’ river, so locating it proved impossible. There’s something irksome about losing a waterproof camera in water…just knowing that if you could find it that it would probably still work!
I really don’t know which one to go for, they all seem a compromise. I agree with your point about the conditions they can operate under.
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Hi
I am from SRI LANKA. I am thinking of buying Olympus 8000. But i heard that its picture quality is bad when in low light. Is it correct. and i want to know how is the battery life. and also want to know that, can i take 7, 8, 10 Megapixel shots.
Thank U
Theja
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
sorry i am again. How long can I stay underwater with my Stylus tough 8000
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
Sime, thanks for the review. My Tough8000 came Friday. I have used it quite a bit since then and the battery finally died this evening … Tuesday. How many pictures? I don’t know. I deleted a bunch in camera as not worthy of saving. I downloaded 87 this evening. As small as this battery is, I’m impressed.
I bought the 8000 to use every day. I just can’t carry my D70 around all the time, and I have missed a lot of really good pictures because of that fact. I am impressed with the photo quality. No, it’s not a DSLR. It never will be. No, I don’t plan on taking it to 33 ft below the water surface. But, I do want a camera I can carry in my pocket all day and not worry about it getting broken. I do want a camera I can use in the rain without carrying a ziploc baggie to protect it. So far, the Olympus Tough8000 fits the bill.
PS: Sime, I bought the camera on the basis of the last line of your review!
June 29th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I have the Tough 8000 by default – Olympus replaced it for my Tough 1030 which leaked – actually I had two 1030s replaced for leaking prior to that. I’m not that confident with this camera, especially since the seals seem identical to those of the 1030. Anyway, it stood 3 hours snorkelling out on the reef yesterday, so fingers crossed! If you take this camera underwater, I would recommend to follow the manual instructions to the letter, and then some. Make sure you wash the camera out in fresh water, dry it properly , and check the seals for sand, etc before using again.
Apart from the potential leaking issue, picture quality of this camera is about par with the earlier version – not that great, but underwater shots and movie are pretty good. The new plug-in battery charger is cumbersome, but I heard some versions still come with the old external battery charger. Trouble with the new charger is that it uses the same USB plug as the photo transfer cable, which is separate – therefore you can’t transfer photos while on charge, neither can you charge the battery from the computer USB connection like an ipod. All too complex, and the plug is also non-standard so if you lose/break these cables you are in trouble. Pity the USB plug is not in the same compartment with the battery/XD Card, so that you would only have to worry about one seal leaking rather than two. This is poor design.
xD cards are slow, even the M+ ones. You can use SDHC micro cards via an adapter, and the panorama and long movie modes still work. Olympus seems to think this is something special, even though all other cameras have had these features standard for years. Trouble is the SDHC-xD adapter has a special tab that prevents it from being read in an xD card reader slot!
Olympus seems to have gone out of their way to make this camera annoying, but they don’t have the field to themselves anymore, and the new waterproof cameras from Canon and Panasonic seem to be much better in many respects.
July 9th, 2009 at 2:53 am
Just so everyone’s clear – “10m” doesn’t mean to can dive to 10m with the camera. Divide by 4 to get the more reasonable value.
The same is true of divers’ watches – never buy a “50m” divers watch when diving to 50m. Always go for the 200m ones.
The reason is that as soon as you move the gadget, the water pressure increases on the leading surface. 4x is a good rule-of-thumb to go by.
July 9th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Mikeh,
I have seen reports where people have dived (or dropped their cameras) in depths greater than 10 m with the Olympus 1030 and no housing. The camera didn’t leak, but the functions stop working due to pressure on the buttons. Once in shallower water, the camera functions again. Same principle with the 3 m cameras. Using your rule of thumb, the 3 m cameras would falter at 750 mm, which they don’t. Also, you would be aware that water pressure increases more at depth than in the shallows.
In any case, most of the reports of these cameras leaking state that it happened in shallow water less than a metre or two, so it’s not a pressure related issue. Really, all these cameras are meant for snorkelling only. Scuba divers ought to be using a real camera, with underwater housing.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I bought a Tough 8000 Olympus 2 days ago for my family vacation in Hawaii. I took it snorkeling yesterday and after about 10 minutes it quit working. I followed the instructions to a T before getting in to the water. I’m totally bummed because I am teaching my 72 yr old father to snorkel and now ….. no pics!!! It’s the only camera I brought with me. I assumed that a $475 camera would be reliable.
July 13th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Hey Marcie, I’m really sorry to hear that – I certainly gave mine a hiding and it held up just fine. Make sure you chase Olympus on this – I’m sure they’ll sort the problem for you, though, that won’t help with your lack of holiday photos. Terrible news.
Sime
July 20th, 2009 at 3:37 am
hi, into extreme sport. the question was dslr vs a digi – now that i might go for digi, is it the cannon d10 waterproof or this?
August 5th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Regarding leaks, no one is mentioning the temperature of the water. If the camera goes from a high temp. to a much lower one, say into a cold creek or river, then there will be a significant reduction in internal pressure that might actually suck the water into the camera.
I don’t have one of these but this may be mentioned in the operating manual??
August 5th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
is it normal to have some droplets inside the seal area of the camera?
September 11th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Yes! i LOVE this camera! just used it on a trip to an Island here in the Country, Palawan, and we used this camera for some shots in the underground cave skinny diving and Island Hopping etc… brilliant! just what I intended for use… Perfect… remember this is not a DSLR camera. really like the fee of the camera… its just solid… LOVE the design… Just Perfect for a Point and Shot day to day use camera…
September 11th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Yes! i LOVE this camera! just used it on a trip to an Island here in the Country, Palawan, and we used this camera for some shots in the underground cave skinny diving and Island Hopping etc… brilliant! just what I intended for use… Perfect… remember this is not a DSLR camera. really like the fee of the camera… its just solid… LOVE the design… Just Perfect for a Point and Shot day to day use camera… and by the way, a very attractive camera in town
September 17th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Hello.
I have the Stylus 790SW and have been agonizing over which newer model to upgrade to. Does anyone know what the actual waterproof seal failure rate of Olympus Tough series as it appears there are slightly more complaints on amazon than there is for the older models.
I’ve happily used my 790SW on numerous snorkeling trips. By following the cleaning instructions carefully I have been able to eke by without having the seals serviced. Recently I’ve noticed that there are few dew drops leaking in when I open the battery door. I was going to get the Tough 8000, but now I think it makes more sense just buy 1050SW for $170 and then replace it again in another two years instead of getting them serviced for $100.
Any comments would be much appreciated.
Hster
October 21st, 2009 at 11:33 am
between this Tough 8000 and the ‘old’ olympus stylus 1030 SW, what are the general differences between them?
i want to buy soon but now i am confused.:)
October 21st, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Amy,
I have owned both of these cameras. The 8000 has a few extra features (12 mp versus 10; antishake; tap control; beauty mode) and a few bug fixes (eg sound removed in underwater movies) but by and large those features don’t count for much and they are basically the same camera. Same poor picture quality and same suspect waterproofing. If you must choose between the two I would go for the cheapest one. Otherwise, get a Panasonic.
October 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 am
it’s me again. thanks for answering, keithc.
in that case, my next question would be to buy ‘for the picture’? or to buy for ‘form and size of the camera’? hmmmm…. and of course, the price. =D
November 26th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Just got this one for free as a replacement for my mju-770.
Eager to test it and see how that tapping works.
About the warranty..
My 770 (an older brother of this one) had some leakage just before the warranty (2 years) expired. It got to the dealer on the week it expired. EEK!
Today I received this version as a free replacement.
I must say I was completely baffled!
My complements to Olympus and Foto Booms in Amsterdam.
Edwin
December 1st, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Love the specifications of the product. I am into taking pictures in outdoors and I have a problem worrying my camera might be destroyed.
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:05 am
One thing I have to share with you guys. Few days ago I dropped Olympus 8000 while paddleboarding out of Key West FL. The water wasn’t too cold and not really deep but the bottom was all seagrass so I never found the camera that day. Two days later I managed to borrow underwater metal detector from my pro-diver friend and we found the camera. It was sitting two days on the bottom in a saltwater and everything works just fine, I have a really nice picture of myself right after I found it back with a metal detector in my hand. That story really proves that the camera is tough!!
December 13th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I bought this camera before a really long trip/vacation/ overseas work placement and wanted something that would take some abuse. Mind you I had taken it to the beach a few times, in the rain, etc. I bought it in March when it was first released and in July it finally broke. First the images became hazy then the LCD screen turned black and white and fuzzy. The underwater light sensor was always on and I wasn’t sure what could be happening to it because I was still able to charge the battery and upload pictures.. and the actual photos came out looking fine. I put it away for a few months until I took it out again in September and it worked fine. Then I brought it to the beach and the thing had crapped out on me once again as soon as I took it into the water. I opened up the battery compartment and lo and behold, WATER and SAND! I’m assuming that water had been in there since July & that the water had corroded my 8 gig memory card and it ruined the battery. I sent it back to Canada (where I had purchased it) and I’m still awaiting for my new replacement. Apparently there are a batch of the the tough8000 with defective battery covers/rubbers so I would make sure you all test yours.
The camera was great when it worked, I loved all the functions… I am now temporarily replacing it with a Sony DSC-w290
January 5th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
In addition to the camera’s vulnerability under water, the quality of the images it produces even on dry land is mediocre. Despite its “12 mexapixels”, I have been exptremely disappointed with the sharpness of the images. I would not recommend that anyone purchase this camera with the idea that it could serve as an “all-in-one” vacation camera.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:49 am
Robert, I can’t comment either way – I’ve had cameras with better image quality at 8mp… Just one thing I don’t want you to mistake… It’s not about the megapixel count… a 2mp camera with a decent size sensor / decent lens will take a better image than a 12mp compact in all but very few cases – Remember the Nikon dSLR when it was first released in what, 1990? It took a brilliant picture… much more superior to most compacts today…
megapixels don’t equal quality. (Infact, I think it was one of OLympus’ techs that said over 12mp was a waste)
Make sure the lens cover is ultra clear – I found that to be a factor when focussing / getting a sharp image.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:26 am
Just got back from Fiji and this camera failed in its first time underwater. Straight out of the box and it failed. Had an old Olympus that is 3 years old and it is still going well. Not impressed with the new one.
January 28th, 2010 at 3:38 am
yes ? have the olympus u tough 8000 an absolute perfect camera as earl?ar ment?oned ?ts currently be?ng used full t?me ?n ?ts handy pouch. had purchased ?t from korea..one of the best pe?ces of technolog?cal advances ever..
February 8th, 2010 at 12:20 am
ok waterproof, tough but will it catch my 18 month old who moves like a rocket?!
February 8th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Hi Katie,
A few weeks back we went swimming with my sister and her daughter.
While throwing the 5 year old around I could catch some very nice shots. (Flying around and stuff)
Not sure how fast and agile your newborn is but catching shots of my cat running around went pretty fine also.
I do use pre-focus a lot (pressing the button halfway to lock the focus) and the recharge time for the flash did make me miss some nice shots.
But to be honest.. Just being able to give the cam to kids without the need to worry they brake it does a lot.
It’s always in my bag and I’ve made shots I would’ve never taken with a less though camera. (on the slopes doing all kind of crazy stuff, in the pool for scuba classes, my niece diving down under water to grab the camera from the pool bottom)
I do know this camera doesn’t have the best quality of images but I do believe that this shouldn’t be its main purpose. This is one to have a lot of fun with without the need to worry you’ll break it.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I have the tough 8000 and its the third tough i’ve had and I have loved their go any where build quality. However for the first time I am starting to worry.
The 8000 is only 8 months old and leaking through the battery cover. It’s not major but it will still cause some serious issues to the internals of the camera. It seems like this is a common fault with the camera, is this true and if so has any one had olympus comment about it? i note that the new 8010 has a double locking mechanism.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
guys, i own a tough 8000 and it isnt tough at all. two weeks into usage – water leeked in. two months later i had problems as the internal memory went all wonky and had to be replaced. i think you should go for the cannon of fuji camera. the tough is not that tough at all and not worth it.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
dils?r? my fr?end theres a great chance that you may have stumbled upon a faulty product d?rect from the manufacturer…? my self had a job back ?n sydney austral?a at a hobb?e store approx?mately 6 years as a techn?c?an and you wouldnt bel?eve how many faulty r/c cars ? have come across..faulty p?stons crank shafts and all..customer would start the car and the con rod would smashh!! to m?ll?ons of pe?ces.. but the olympus u tough camera wh?ch ? recently purchased was ?ndeed my f?rst ever d?g?tal camera and ?m very proud of ?t…? have read the manual thoroughly and came across some sect?ons and paragraphs where ?t expla?ns that where the battery compartment ?s and the memory card the seals where ?t locks up cannot ? repeat cannot have any for?egn objects ?n the way mean?ng sand part?culars what ever..or l?ke you sa?d the camera may be faulty…?n other words we are lucky ?f we could return the camera ?m sure they all come w?th warranty or some th?ng back at the hobby store everyth?ng came w?th warranty but whenever ? cam across a faulty product my so called boss would never ever accept ?t as a faulty product he would always blame the customers for ?t he was a real pr?ck ? tell ya…? swear ? could wr?te a book about th?s…the batterys AA s?ze pack of 4 customer would buy ?t and come back couple of m?nutes later batterys dont work he would have a look at them and ?mmed?ately p?ss off the customer and tell h?m to bugger off say?ng that the customer stuffed up the batterys l?ke ? sa?d ? can most deff?netely wr?te book about th?s.. :)))))))
k?ndest regards
fer?dun
Leave a Reply