Customer Reviews

Olympus Stylus Tough 3000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Zoom and 2.7-inch LCD (Blue)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

This thing really does all the things Olympus claim. The photo quality is just so-so though. It's not ever worth taking 12MP photos with it so I have mine set to 8MP. Like so many high MP cameras today, the lens just isn't good enough to capture the detail - and what do you expect for a $200 camera that's waterproof? However, it does allow you to digitally zoom that bit further and the video is great. It's unfortunate that the video format is not standard, and doesn't work with anything or any software I've found so far. I'm sure they'll fix that at some point.

Other gotchas...

The battery life is very poor - but I found some higher capacity compatible batteries on Amazon that were very cheap (like 2 for under $10) so I'd advise just buying replacements.

The menus are a little confusing and at first it can seem that you're limited and the camera can't do certain functions, but it actually can if you figure out why certain features are restricted in certain modes. The camera has a very unhelpful message like "Not supported" that it will display - but doesn't explain why the mode you're trying to select is not supported. It will take a thorough read of the online instruction manual to figure this out, but don't give up and you'll figure it out.

Apart from that, I'm very happy with it. It won't replace my 'land' camera, but it is awesome for snorkeling, boating, and swimming. Here's a video I took with it last week in Maui. You'll have to cut/paste this in a browser because Amazon won't recognize it as a link... [...]

I had high hopes for this camera, but the reality is it is the bottom of the Stylus Tough series. The shutter speed is so slow that by the time the picture is taken the kids have closed their eyes or walked away. The flash is so ridiculous that everything has a white haze around it (that is if it isn't completely washed out). Outdoor pictures are ok, nothing special, the shutter still lags though. I will be calling Olympus with the hopes that my camera was defective and I didn't in fact purchase a low quality product (the only reason I didn't exchange it is because I foolishly didn't test it out until my return period was up, my fault).

On the plus side, I LOVE the one touch HD video recording, and of course, waterproof and shockproof make it great for adventures. The built in storage is great too, just in case you run out of space on your card.

Hopefully, if my unit isn't defective, as the summer goes on, this camera will grow on me! I've got lots of "watery" vacations in store! This camera has lots of potential, no doubt about that, I will continue taking pictures and hopefully post some for others to see.

Accessory Recommendations:
If you buy this product you will most definitely need an adjustable or floating wrist strap (the one it comes with does not tighten around your wrist, and the camera does not float, obviously). You will also want to buy extra batteries (not too expensive on here) as the battery life is pretty weak. For a pretty low price you can get a good warranty with accidental damage because lets face it, if you buy a shockproof/waterproof/freezeproof camera you're likely an adventurous person, and some adventures could leave you with a busted camera!

Positives:
1) submersible in water to 3m (10 feet),
2) shockproof
3) will work at extreme temperatures (rated to -10C, around 14F)

Negatives:
1)Extremely slow, takes about 6 seconds from the time that you turn on the camera to when its ready to take the first picture. The picture to picture time is also a fairly slow 2 seconds.
2) Poor quality of indoor pictures, some blurring as it does not focus well in poor light. Also some noise on the indoor pictures without flash.
3) LCD is not very bright which can be a problem when trying to compose pictures outdoors

Summary:
Very easy to use, the current settings appear on the side of the LCD and they are easy to change. A fairly robust feature set as well as its ruggedness are the main positives. The poor LCD and very slow response times make it hard to recommend as there are better cameras on the market (see Canon A3100 IS for example). If you need a tough, rugged, camera you'll probably do better with the Panasonic Lumix DMC FT1. Bottom line, I bought this camera and within a week was returning it to buy the Canon A3100 IS, and I'm very happy with that choice.

We had a previous model (Stylus 790 SW) and after 3 years of hard abuse the camera died on vacation. We purchased a 3000 as a no brainer because the old camera was so awesome. To be fair the 3000 takes good pictures, however, the battery life is useless. It lasts for about an hour worth of pictures. This makes the camera unusable for a day out. The old model would last for days of heavy use without needing a charge. I would not recommend this camera for that reason alone. We are looking into replacement batteries that will hopefully fix this issue but I will not be buying another battery from Olympus.

This camera, whatever its attributes...the battery charge is so poor that
the good things about the camera become inaccessible.
For overnight battery charging, I have received about a half hour (HONESTLY)
of picture taking before it goes out again.
I don't know how Olympus can produce for marketing...a fairly good camera
with the special feature of waterproof, and you can't use the damn
thing to actually take pictures. COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE CAMERA DUE TO VERY VERY
BAD BATTERY LIFE!
GESH...and therefore money down the drain...do they care??
Not as long as the money goes into their pocket.

I bought this for vacation in an emergency when my other Olympus got a scratch on the lens and I needed a replacement fast. I didn't have much time to do research, but let me save you the time...
*No lens cover. What camera doesn't have a protective lens cover???
*Battery life IS TERRIBLE. I had to bring along the old camera with the lens scratch because I didn't have enough batteries to take many pictures.
*I like that it's waterproof and shatterproof, but so isn't the Stylus Tough I had- and it was made much better.
I wouldn't purchase again and wish I could have returned it. Unfortunately, it was through a 3rd party seller with a 7-day policy, and we were not back by then.

After having experience with not only the Olympus Tough 6020, 8000 and the 8010 I thought I had a pretty good grip on what to expect from the newer, and less expensive Tough 3000. I spent a weekend with it, mostly outdoors, and shot many stills and a few videos as well. It's getting returned to the store today and I hope to find another 80xx to take it's place.

While the feature list of the 3000 reads quite similarly to the more expensive models in this family line this is a camera that really does exemplify the old adage "you get what you pay for", in this case, not a lot. I won't go into great detail about what this camera *should* do; if you are reading this you probably already know that the "Tough" line are designed to withstand pretty good shocks, such as an accidental drop onto pavement, and not only be water resistant but truly water PROOF. I favor the "Tough" family of cameras over it's obvious competitors as the Olympus Tough line is also one of the only point and shoot cameras in this class that have mechanical image stabilization, a feature not to be underestimated when shooting action on the go.

While no camera of mine is ever likely to be tossed at a rock or anything the 3000 has a cheap, plastic feel to it that makes it easy to imagine shattering into a million pieces if it was even to fall out of a pocket onto concrete or something. The more expensive models, in contrast, feature a much more solid construction with real metal in it, the 8xxx series even having metal reinforcement in key points (the corners) most likely to take a hit. Likewise, I don't take my cameras scuba diving but I DO live in the rather rain-prone Pacific Northwest and the seal and hinge arrangement on the 3000 appears on close examination to be almost an afterthought, compared to the higher end models. Opening the single door that conceals the battery, memory card, and cable ports, you can see that there is very little rubber to make a good water proof seal when the door is closed. Further the hinge feels weak and even brand new can wiggle a bit when tested. I'd be afraid to see how long this camera could function if fully submersed on a day to day basis.

One thing that I really found distracting was that the 3000 has most of it's controls underneath a pliable plastic shield, something like the "bubble" type keys on some old style pocket calculators, television remote controls and even early cell phones, unlike the higher end models which have relatively solid feeling controls made out of metal. Not only does this give the 3000 a "cheap" build feel but I found it irked me that contacting a control with a thumb or fingertip wasn't always the actual control but rather the raised plastic bit above it. Pressing down just a bit harder then gave the tactile sensation of actually pressing down on a button. It made quick navigation of the system feel less natural, less intuitive, and quite possibly a bit slower as well.

Battery life was shockingly terrible compared to the more expensive models. None of these cameras are going to keep you rolling all day long on a single charge, especially if you are recording video and/or using the flash a good deal, but this model was the first of it's kind that made me wish I had purchased SEVERAL spare batteries instead of just one. It ate up the charge like a kid can eat candy! Maybe 30 seconds of video and 40-50 still shots on a full charge?

Last but not least is image quality, which I can't rate any higher than "Meh." While the 3000 does have a 12 megapixel CCD it is really only good for web based displays. Anything larger, such as 12"x print, will reveal lots of chromatic aberration in high contrast areas as well as a lot of noise on any ISO setting above 100, or in just about *any* of the smart modes if you choose not to select your own ISO setting! Having used some of the higher end models with a similar CCD size, and presumably very similar firmware, my experience with image quality left me feeling suspect that poorer performance had been intentionally built into this model to offset it from the more expensive models in the line up. Whether that is true or not comparisons to photos I had taken with even the 6020 (only $30 more) revealed in more cases than not that the 3000 was the lowest on the scale of photo quality as well as price. The flash was OK, not really any worse than any other point and shoot I've used, start up time seemed rather slow, and the auto focus and auto white balance in some of the modes left a good deal to be desired as well.

In summary, in general the Olympus Tough line of "point and shoot" cameras are a good choice for outdoors photography in less than favorable conditions and the mechanical image stabilization is a real boon at this price bracket... but I have to leave the 3000 with the feeling that perhaps Olympus has gotten too greedy in trying to completely dominate the market. This model is a poor representation of the entire line and should be skipped in favor of the slightly more expensive (approx. +$30) 6xxx series or the MUCH better (and nearly twice as expensive) 8xxx series. Plan to budget at least one extra battery, preferably two or three even, for an all day adventure, and look for a bundle that includes the separate battery charger as some of the less expensive ones do not.

Bought this camera for my 12 year old granddaughter for her birthday. I thought good choice because of water resistance and drop resistance.

Before her vacation, she charged and started practicing with it. She could only take ab out 20 pics. before no battery life left. Tried a few times after charging and the same thing.

REturned that camera and ordered a replacement to be shipped to her vacation spot. The same think happened with that camera - NO BATTERY LIFE AT ALL!!!


Finally returned the second one for full credit - now need to find a replacement that can hold a normal charge of at least a days worth of pics.

Anyone else with this problem???

"Grandma Who Tried"

Took this camera on a river adventure, and really tested out the waterproofing. It spent about 5 hours underwater and still took some great shots!

The first encounter I had with this camera was in Jamaica 2010, in a swimming pool around several young adults. The camera was kicked around and underwater many times throughout the trip. The pictures taken were so focused both in and out of the water and throughout the abuse. However, it wasn't my camera, but one of those I had to have. Sadly, when I looked for it they did not have the same model, there was an upgraded model (3000) so I purchased it hoping for the same performance. I am soooo incredibly happy with this camera. Still taking the best shots, in and out of water, the additional features are easy to use. Pictures can be edited and cropped on the SD card and saved on the camera. You can easily print the pictures on the printer without using a computer. And! it was available in pink. The price at the time was great,I expected to pay $230, and it went down to $175 which included shipping/handling and tax. (even less now I see!!) Fast shipping too. I have never written a review before but I couldn't let this one go by since I am so happy with this camera.