by Amazingracer » Feb 9, 2011 9:54 am
I think the point may have been missed.
Old Toughs = Terrible
New Toughs = Better
I have friends with all kinds of models of Toughs. The older ones are failing miserably and rightfully so. They have latch problems shutter problems and take crappy pictures.
Olympus designed the newer stylus to be a littler tougher (particularly the 8000 series), and where there used to be three latches for the various ports there is now just one single latch with two locking mechanisms, being it aint gunna open. I have sat on my camera, slammed it in a car door, dropped it down breakdown, gone cliff diving with it, even snorkeling, it has dents and dings all over it but hasnt cracked and no unexpected latch openings and still taking pictures.
So yes, what everyone is saying about the OLD Stylus Tough is true, and those should be avoided, but that does not mean the new Stylus Tough are crap.
Also, yes the Stylus Tough does suffer from degraded picture quality, HOWEVER any waterproof camera you buy from Olympus, Canon, whoever will suffer degradation, it is simply the nature of water proof cameras. With that being said though, I now use my 8010 as my main above ground camera because its small and fits easily in my pack. Also remember that crappy photos my not be 100% the cameras fault either, if you constantly take pictures in Auto mode, yea you are going to get some crappy shots. Try messing with the settings in P, it can make up for some of the cameras short comings, or in some cases make them worse.
Regarding in cave pictures, the flash on this thing sucks, however with a good headlamp you can easily record video or take pictures without much fuss. Heck, in cave I keep the flash off and leave it in P mode and just turn my light up brighter, snap a picture and move on.
In short, I LOVE my Stylus 8010. I've had friends purchase this camera for caving as well and they have been pleased as well.
And finally why the Stylus series is better than the other manufactures "tough" series. It has a lens cover. Simple concept, but all the other manufactures just have a plate of high impact glass over the lens and call it a day. Seems silly a few scratches and your camera is shot, meaning you have to now protect your tough camera. so much for being tough.
So your mileage will vary. Take all reviews, as with everything from the interwebs with a large grain of salt. Including this one. Just because two people got in quickly and said their old models suck doesn't mean they all suck.