GEAR TESTS: OLYMPUS TOUGH TG-4

Jim Decker CEO

When Olympus released the TG-3, it blew away the photography world with its super macro "microscope" mode. We gleefully went out and shot the smallest critters on the reef with hardly any effort. But there was a problem—the TG-3 didn't shoot RAW, only JPEG. JPEG is a compressed file format with only 256 color tones, as opposed to RAW, which is uncompressed and has over 4000 color tones. Also the JPEG files from the TG-3 had a lot of heavy-handed noise reduction that lost a lot of detail when zoomed in up tight in Lightroom.

Well, now the TG-4 shoots RAW! The difference in quality is amazing. Much more detail with sharper images! There are some other very minor changes from the TG-3 to TG-4, but the big one that matters is RAW. Otherwise it's pretty much the same camera. 

The TG-4 was the most popular camera all week in the demo gear fleet. With it being so small and easy to use, it's great to stuff in your BC as a second camera in case you come across some tiny macro critters when your primary rig is set for wide angle. Most of the demo gear users did just that and came away with awesome macro shots with the TG-4 as their secondary camera.

Shot Information about the Blenny Image
The TG-4 has the same great close-up capabilities of the TG-3 but now with RAW. The downside is how close you need to be to take advantage of the microscope mode. The lens was about an inch from the subject. The good news is you can't get closer than the minimum focus distance as the camera can focus on lint on the inside of the camera housing port.

Shot Information about the Shrimp Image
This shot would have been impossible with a larger camera. This shrimp was tucked up underneath a coral head, but the small size of the TG-4 allowed me to "shove it up in there and pull the trigger" as longtime Digital Shootout guest and expert Olympus Tough camera shooter Rob Smith has said. 

CARLOS QUILICHINI TECHNICAL SALES EXECUTIVE

The Olympus Tough TG-4 is a nice compact rugged camera that is always ready to capture the action. The versatility of this camera is perfect for any beginner or expert diver. During the DSO, I had the chance to go diving with it and I was amazed with the image quality. It is not bulky and will let you capture shots that big cameras might not be able to capture. Don't miss the shot if a sea horse is in between corals or in a tight area - good luck capturing that with a big rig! I also used the iTorch M52 UWL-04 Lens . What beauty! Totally able to get closer to my subjects and give a different, ultra-wide angle perspective.

The Microscope mode on this camera is what really blew me away! You can get even closer to your subject without adding other lenses and will be amazed by the amount of details this camera can capture.

This is a camera the entire family can use under any situation. Even kids can play with it and you don't have to worry.  This camera is shock-proof  (to 7 ft / 2.1 m), waterproof (to 50 ft / 15 m), crush-proof (up to 220 lbf / 100 kgf), freeze-proof (down to 14°F / -10°C) and dust-proof. You can further protect the TG4 by putting it into an underwater housing, making it waterproof to 150 feet. The Olympus TG-4 is ready for any vacation or adventure – by the pool, snorkeling, scuba diving, skiing, hiking or any extreme sport.

For the first time in a rugged compact camera, you can shoot in RAW for the highest possible resolution and maximum creative control.

This camera is unstoppable! No reason to put the camera away because of weather conditions!

ROB DUNCAN SALES

Do you shoot in the RAW? Well, it does. Of course I'm talking about the new Tough Series camera from Olympus, the TG-4. The Tough Series of Olympus cameras are becoming a very popular segment of action cameras, and the TG-4 is the flagship camera in the lineup. I had a chance to shoot it at the Digital Shootout this year, and really enjoyed it.

The camera physically isn't much different than it's predecessor, the TG-3. In fact, they share the same Olympus PT-056 housing. The main difference is the TG-4 shoots in RAW. After many years of complaining, I would like to think that all of the feedback and recommendations from Backscatter to Olympus about what we wanted in this camera line have finally been heard. I think it's a pretty big deal. For the few that don't know, the TG-4 camera is a dust proof, freeze proof, drop proof, and waterproof (camera is waterproof to 50 feet, 150 feet inside the housing) camera. But that is only part of what's cool about this camera. Something that I think is a very cool feature and was looking forward to using underwater the most is the Microscope Mode. This allows you to focus the camera incredibly close to tiny subjects making it unnecessary for the addition of any external diopter or conversion lens. With the assistance of a great dive guide pointing the tiny critters out, I was able to get this little camera into some tighter spots to capture things I would not normally ever see. For lighting these scenes a small light like the Light & Motion Sidekick or Gobe simply mounts to the shoe base on the top of the housing. These lights are very small, and eliminate the need for a bulky strobe for these really close-up shots.   If wide angle is what you are after, the 165 degree UWL-04 lens threads directly to the PT-056's 52mm threaded port. Making this system very versatile, and easy to switch between wide angle and macro.

The TG-4 is a fantastic little camera and a great option over a GoPro, especially if you want to take still images. It also shoots great video too. If you already have an SLR or mirror-less setup, the TG-4 makes for a great backup system, or even a macro option when you are on a wide-angle dive. I could simply clip it to my BC, and hardly knew it was there. Who would have thought that such a basic camera would offer so much. Oh yeah, and it shoots RAW!

Chris Parsons Nauticam Team Member

People love this little camera. It is a lot of fun to shoot, and produces some great images despite its limitations.

The Nauticam NA-TG3 housing supports this camera, and let's you take it deeper with better ergonomics. It's a great option for rentals as the milled aluminum will stand up to a ton of abuse, and you still have the "tough" camera if the customer opens up the housing.