Customer Reviews

Olympus Stylus TOUGH TG-830 Digital Compact Camera - Blue (16MP, 5x Wide Optical Zoom) 3 inch LCD

Firstly let me make this very clear. The battery can go in both ways but only one way will work! I lost an hour trying to get the camera to charge straight away and it wouldn't! And all because the supplied battery can fit in back to front...
Anyway, the battery is in and it charges well so here's the review

Thanks to a couple of very hot days days and being a friend of a friend at a barbecue with some people who wonderfully had an outside pool (!), I was finally able to test the waterproof ability this weekend
There are four specific water functions, one is macro based (close up) two are specific (underwater action and underwater landscape) and one is a generic pool shot. This is the one I used and it was perfect for ridiculous selfies underwater. As the day got a little bit darker then the flash really does come into it's own and works really well
As it is shockproof as well, you can rest assured that dropping it in the pool and letting it sink won't do any damage at all, in fact you can set the timer, sink it onto the floor and swim down for a cool shot...
The screen could be a little brighter when using underwater, even using goggles it was quite dark and when the light hits it at a certain angle it becomes completely silver and reflective making it hard at times to get a proper shot.
Filming underwater works very well as well, there are perhaps too many filming functions for my liking in what is supposed to be a camera as opposed to a camcorder but then you don't have to use them all

Using the camera above water it is also shockproof and ice proof, just what I needed during a ramble down Cornwall way during a British summer. The macro function is extremely good, I was able to get some incredible close up shots of butterfly's and bees atop flowers.
The panoramic function also works extremely well and while the camera will tell you to be very slow, even if you speed it up a bit the camera works extremely well and compensates accordingly providing a very good panoramic shot. And even when the obligatory drizzle happened, because it's waterproof I was completely confident in using it
There is a compass function and GPS as well, I didn't use the GPS as I was concerned about battery life - see below

Now then, there are a couple of special scene functions which are slightly bonkers.
There is a dog face recognition and a cat face recognition function- no seriously... When selected, the camera will automatically take a picture when it picks up either a dog or a cat depending on which one you chose.
Nw the first time we used it with my neighbours dog it actually went off taking a photo of her bosom - cue lots of jokes about it recognising "puppies"
Joking aside, it does sort of work but not very well. You will have a lot more success just deciding when you want to take the photo yourself rather than ending up with a blurry shot of half a dog and half a cleavage!

There are magic frames as well which give you the option of a few special effects. Nothing too surprising here, fish eye, soft focus etc. Sparkle can be fun in the right circumstances and the reflection one which mirrors the screen can take some very odd shots with a little patience and a couple of pints.
The majority of these magic effects can be used when filming as well and therefore can be used when filming underwater as well which resulted in a couple of very trippy effects!

Downsides - the battery life isn't as good as I would expect. I fully charged it before going swimming and noticed we were down to two bars (out of three) relatively early on. Now, don't misunderstand, the camera was being used continually underwater and the battery didn't run out, just lost a bar earlier than I expected however I wouldn't feel confident taking it away for a weekend without the charging leads.
Speaking of which, rather annoyingly the charging leads are specific to Olympus, if you are anything like me with various electronic devices this is a bit of a bug bear having to have another specific lead for one device

Overall, this camera is excellent. I'm really happy with it and it is definitely going to suit certain people with outgoing lifestyles however, even if you aren't likely to go ice climbing in the Artic this is still a brilliant waterproof camera which is going to be perfect for holidays (and the occasional hot day in Britain)

First impressions of this camera are good, it is small, a compact probably termed as larger compact, it feels weighty and well built but not cumbersome or heavy as such. It feels smart and subtle.

Easy to carry due to its size and can take a very good picture, its tough, and it can take great full HD quality recording. Comes with strap, (handy but can be tricky when you are case shopping!) Has no case, card, or spare battery which is a shame. Usual I guess though!

The camera is easy enough to start with without having to do to much reading, it has a lot of options but is fairly intuitive for the main ones I would say, and easy to set on an auto setting.

The buttons press easily although the record button is a bit more fiddly, but still fine, and I guess I am learning still the pressure required on it.

Quality of pictures outside and inside is as I hoped, very clear but I think it is better on outside pictures - like most cameras. (skin tones mainly struggle inside)

Camera is wonderful for getting high quality film so easily, playback is reasonable, although watch what computer programme you use as first one we used made playback stutter which worried us till we tried another! Finding it tricky to find good playback clear of any glitches.
Love the fact photos can be taken during recording, and the camera deals mostly well with motion in photos.

Love the magic filters option, of course some seem better than others and may be suited to different things, its fun though and the dramatic setting and mirror image settings are my favourite, the soft and watercolour settings seem a bit weak.
Haven't figured the setting to take a pic of yourself yet, found it but woulnd't play ball, need to look in the manual at that.
Panorama shots seems pretty good, and like the option to take pictures in widescreen.

This camera can even take pictures underwater which is a great option .

The battery life is okay but not great, may improve with more use, have purchased a spare battery as backup. Worth getting a card of good size if you want to do many full HD movies. They will take up lots computer space if you store them on hard drive rather than burn to disc. You can reduce filming quality if you wish.

Very pleased with this camera - it is impressive.

I got this based on the Olympus specs as I needed a compact camera and couldn't wait for the expert reviews to come out.
I have to say I am pretty impressed!
The menu are simple and easy to use (without the need to fully read to manual provided on a CD)
the camera feels sturdy and well built, with the buttons actually smartly placed in my opinion
I have tested the toughness to a certain extend... the camera can totally be dropped in fresh snow, spilled a drink on and be handled by kids without fear of fatal damage
but best of all, it does take really nice shots, with correct exposure with the help of the scene modes, good shutter speed, not bad in low light either, sharp focus and it even records quite decent short movies
I am in no way an expert, but I have a DSLR that I never take anywhere because it's too bulky and fragile, despite the wonderful pictures it can produces.
This is the camera to capture the snowball fights, the muddy bike rides and the trips to the beach, and it ticks all the boxes!

So many ruggedised cameras look just that, rugged. However Olympus has managed to make a camera that is both rugged and good looking. In fact it looks quite retro, which I think is a real selling point. Performance and features are pretty much faultless. It's simple to use with very intuitive menus and controls. All the feautures you'd expect to find are present, and image quality is very sharp with good, deep colours. A 5* optical zoom is a bonus in a camera this small, as is the 3" display. If you want a quality brand, ruggedised camera that you can carry anywhere but know that you'll get great quality images, then I don't think you can do much better than this.

I'm a typical Dad with 2 kids that wanted a tough camera to go on holidays that all the family could use. I spent several weeks researching the right camera to buy and saw the Olympus on the day before my purchase and changed my mind. I am by all means not an expert photographer but this camera has certainly lived up to my expectations for quality, functions available and easy of use. On a recent holiday to Singapore, Australia (home) and Dubai this camera has been taken to the beach, pool and many other adventures where previously owned cameras would not have survivied. My kids aged 7 & 9 also enjoyed using the camera underwater but especially like experimenting with the special effects. It is a small transfortable and very tough. The movie footage is also clear for kids sports and general family activities. Basically a fun camera that is easy to use for all the family with a acceptable level of quality.

Received this as a replacement to a leaky Pentax, it's an all round better camera. The battery and connection doors have a double lock mechanism which seem to be watertight. The Intelligent auto option works well, meaning no manual changes when going underwater and picture quality is generally good. The video is also impressive, much better than I have seen previously from a compact

I'm happy with the picture quality (stills and HD video) and ruggedness.

However, when recording video the camera makes a ticking noise (about 6 tics per second) which is picked up by the microphone and recorded. Whilst this noise is not noticeable in loud ambient noise, it is noticeable in quiet recordings, and it gets worse when under water.

Another review here suggests that Olympus claim this is due to auto-focus and 'is not a fault'.

I returned my first camera as the niose was very intrusive and received a replacement (next day, thanks Amazon) which was much quieter, but still noticeable ticking.

Sound quality is not that good (tinny), but that is not the primary funcion of the camera. Sound recording can be turned off if all you want is the movie.

I have now used the camera in the wild: galapagos trip with lots of photos and videos of wildlife every day.
I took 3 batteries which was adequate for a day's shooting if I recharged one over lunch. One battery for use on land (with spare if neccesary) and one for snorkelling trips; You don't want to try changing battery in a wet camera. Typical morning and afternoon was visit to an island to view land-base wild life followed by an hour or two of snorkelling with the sea-life. Only once did battery get low whilst snorkelling, and that was after lots of videos.

Waterproof and sandproof during my trip, but you do need to wash thoroughly after sandy conditions, or the buttons will stick.

Don't rely on the compass!

In summary, if you want a good rugged camera with lots of features and good picture quality, and are not concerned about sound quality, then this is one to consider.

If you're after a camera that is waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof and crushproof, then the Olympus Tough TG-830 is for you. Pefect for hiking, sailing skiing or anywhere else you would normally have to be very careful with your camera.

The camera has 16 megapixels and 5x optical zoom. Though you won't get much from the zoom the picture quality more than makes up for this. It's very intuitive in a variety of lighting situations and is a great point-n-click for those who don't use manual settings. There are a range of scene modes, panorama mode and magic filters which includes dramatic and miniature. The camera features image stabilisation to reduce blur and keep your images as sharp, which again helps with many types of photo, including tricky moving subjects.

The camera's biggest selling feature is the fact that it's waterproof (up to 10m), shockproof/smashproof (up to 2.1m). Not only that but it can be taken to extreme weathers as it's also freezeproof (up to -10�C) and can take up to a 100kg weight on it. It also has GPS to tag your images and the e-compass on the back hypercrystal screen is a nice feature too.

Videos look great in full 1080p HD (though you probably need a class 10 or above memory card for more fluid recorording). You can even shoot pictures and video at the same time.

The camera handles well with a rubber grip, it's easy to hold and not heavy. It also features an adjustable strap. The contruction is such that it feels solid. Even to get into the battery side panel invloves two locking mechanisms, for extra seal.

Overall a top camera for the price that sets itself apart from the competition with it's unique 'tough' construction. Finally a camera you can throw around without fear of it breaking.

We bought this one and it broke the first time we took it into water. We subsequently bought a TG-2 which again leaked into the lens in less than 20cms of water. Two camera's, two failures, I just don't think the build quality is there. Maybe they should move the production back to Japan.

We had a Olympus tough before and upgraded to this one due to a theft. Very simple to use, excellent pics, used in the sea with no problems.