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One of the improvements the TG-6 sports over the TG-5 is a number of new high-speed recording modes. Not only is 4K video at 30fps available, there’s also 1080p up to 120fps, 720p at 240fps and 360p at 480fps. I'm a year round sea swimmer 🏊♀️, occasional snorkeling and kayaking. Rx100 mk1 in a case works fine for the snorkeling and kayaking. But for the sea swimming I'd really prefer to have something that fits inside my swimsuit. A tg6 type with a 1" sensor would fill all my needs if executed as well as the Sony, in the meantime I'll be treating myself to a gopro 9 or similar as my son can borow that for surfing as well and the selfie screen on gopro 9 types works well for a lot of situations in surfing or swimming.
The Olympus TOUGH TG-6 is the latest incarnation of the company’s massively popular rugged waterproof model. It’s waterproof to a depth of 15 metres, freezeproof to -10C, can withstand a crushing force of 100Kg and a drop from 2.1m, and to cap it all off is dustproof. The TG-6 retains the 25-100mm equivalent f2.0-4.9 zoom lens that’s been the mainstay of every TOUGH model since the TG-1. This should really come as no surprise as manufacturers of other waterproof compacts have yet to compete with it in terms of its bright f2 aperture or its unsurpassed macro shooting capabilities. One of the main reasons that the Olympus TG-5 topped our list of the best waterproof cameras was its impressive array of features for a tough cam.
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Moreover, it’s really small, so it doesn’t hinder your adventure for even a moment. And it’s so capable it will inspire adventures you hadn’t planned. That's where cameras like the TG-6 make a lot of sense. You can take it places where you're worried you may drop or break your phone, and having an actual flash, along with ring light capabilities, make it a much better tool for macro shots.
Jellyfish at Brighton Sea Life Centre. Olympus TOUGH TG-6, at 44mm 1/40 sec. at f/2.9, ISO 800. Image credit: Joshua Waller
OM System Tough TG-6: Build and Handling
The TG-6 is proving to be the worst "out of the box" camera experience I've had. The biggest problem is it consistently over-exposes images. Dialing it down to EV -0.3 to -0.5 corrects that. Shooting a hydrangea bush, cross lit, needed at least -0.3 to please the camera's primary user-to-be, my wife. With some fiddling, I can get passible results. My wife wants point&shoot, and show off to friends. Out of the box, the TG-6 simply fails the "can I point, shoot, and like what I get" test. it little matters what their prowess or dependability is...but . as it happens at low isos the iphone takes nice shots and has nice color too , but i will never use one as i will not switch to that platform either.... i use a camera to take my photographs , not a phone Here’s the field of view with the TOUGH TG-6 at its maximum 25mm equivalent wide angle setting. It’s wider than the Fujifilm Finepix XP140’s 28-140mm f3.9-4.9 lens and a whole lot brighter too. The same goes for the Nikon COOLPIX W150 which is equivalent to 30-90mm on a 35mm camera. The OM System/Olympus Tough TG-6 was launched in 2019 and it’s still available from OM Digital Solutions which acquired Olympus’s imaging division in 2021. It is widely regarded as one of the best underwater / adventure compacts on the market. The latest addition to the Olympus Tough line-up is the recently announced OM System TG-7, which at first glance works with very similar specs as the TG-6. I've seen people use a light to make up for the ISO issues deeper in the water and images look really nice.
While the lens on the camera doesn't have as much telephoto power as many of its peers (many of which reach 140mm equivalent at their long end), it is the widest available, which is really helpful when underwater. The lens is also the fastest in this class, which will keep noise levels down as light levels drop. There are dedicated Macro and Underwater modes on the dial, and a large number of Scene modes too. You can capture images with a natural look, or with artistic filters applied. If you enable Raw capture, you can add filter effects after the fact, right in camera. Theses facts about smartphone cameras and optical zooms could change, but I don't suspect we'll see such a change to faster optical zooms within smartphones, obviously ones with card slots, within the next 18 months.In the end, it’s not about the technical specs of a camera, but what those technical specs let us do as creative people and photographers.
While the TG-6 captures close-up subjects exceptionally, overall scenes didn’t come out quite as impressive. The sharpness, clarity, and overall image quality of these shots definitely left something to be desired. After using the Olympus Tough TG-6 for about a month, I’ve figured out my favorite combination of settings for everyday use; P mode. The number of shots and the length of time the camera waits before shooting starts can be selected. Olympus TG-6 review: TG-5 with new firmware" might be more accurate, or maybe "Olympus TG-6 review: this time they didn't even change the case color" Granted, the inclusion of such a feature might introduce a point of vulnerability, but it would perhaps be possible to include a small rounded selfie mirror on the camera's front itself instead; it's perhaps something for the designers of the next generation to consider.
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I select auto ISO, but I set the maximum ISO to 1600. I don’t want the ISO to go any higher than that because of the noise issues. In fact, since the chip in the TG-6 is so small, the lower pixel count should help it perform in lower light situations. It’s also a key factor in allowing the lens to open up to f/2.0 at its widest angle. The top plate buttons are large and easy to use (Image credit: Olympus) Olympus Tough TG-6 review: performance
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