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Register summary for Olympus IMS (getolympus.com): 2 published reviews, rated 4.0 out of 5 on average.
I bought the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera a few years ago and the M.Zuiko ED 12-100mm f4.0 IS PRO lens recently. Great products! Very well packaged and fast delivery.
Filed by Adam
Filed
Olympus Tough TG-5 - a useless camera
Update:
After writing this review, I contacted Olympus America and they were very helpful in resolving the issue after I provided a number of panoramic pix I had taken with TG5. I was offered a brand-new replacement TG870 camera which I just received this week, and that camera takes panoramic pix like the TG850 so I am all set. Particular mention for quick and helpful responses go to Robert Penchick of Olympus America. Thanks! Upgrading the stars to 3 for helping resolve an issue.
Original:
This is one of those items that are pretty outside, useless inside. It’s easily the worst camera I have ever owned. My previous camera was TG 850 which was easily the best camera I ever owned – same company, same product line, and such a vast difference.
The difference lies in how TG 5 takes pix. For example, to take a panoramic picture, it takes three separate pix and joins them. The software provides guide-marks to take the second and the third pix. However, the problem is that each of those pix have different exposures, brightness, and focus so you end up with three incompatible pix put together – something even a baby can do. And you can see how horrible it looks.
Second, the guidemarks somehow depend on something like landmarks. So if you are in Uyuni salt flat or similar places, the landscpe pic is so bad that it’s undescribable. The software wouldn’t provide guide-marks even at 360 degree rotation!! They must have hired pre-school kids to design this camera and it’s software.
Similarly, vivid is another piece of garbage that this camera provides, which really has no vivid colors. It should have been named dull.
This camera has tried to be everything to everyone and uses software to do it with an array of functions. End result: it’s useless and isn’t good at anything.
I didn’t use it underwater so will not comment on it but if you are mostly an above-ground photographer, then you should shun this camera like plague and buy TG 850 – even if you have to buy a used one.
