Customer Reviews

Olympus Stylus Tough 8010 14MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Silver)

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(39)

 

 

I have owned many Olympus cameras in the past but this is my first camera I have purchased from their "tough" line. As advertised this thing looks and feels very sturdy. The seals on it look like they will hold out any kind of moisture and dust and the lens has its own protective shroud and cover to protect it from scratches or damage. The lens also does not extend or retract so dust, sand, and dirt cant jam it up (which is a problem I have had before). It also has a minimum of buttons to break or stick and it has a very soild body construction. So on a toughness scale of 1-10 the Stylus tough 8010 gets an 11. This camera really is in a class of its own on when it comes to durablity, and it is the only camera I have seen my colleagues take with them into combat zones.

On the other hand it looks like Olympus tried to cram all the wrong things into this rugged camera. The first thing you will notice when operating this camera is how slow it is between pictures, even with a class 6 SD card in it, its write speed seems painfully slow. Don't get me wrong I am very happy Olympus finally got ride of the XD card but it doesnt seem like they've fixed their write speed problems. Picture quality also isnt that great but thats not a major hit given the small lens they are working with.

One thing you find on the camera that shouldn't be there is all kinds of picture editing or "Beauty" features in the camera. This software does an okay job but take way to long to proccess. In my opinion Olympus should leave photo editing to photo editing software on a computer and instead focus on making this camera take better pictures with less lag time between shots.

Over all this camera is great if you plan on going to a very rough part of the world, or even swimming with it. But if your just an average person looking for a camera to take good pictures this is not for you. Instead buy a cheaper camera with a better lens and get a good camera case to protect it from everyday life.

**Update - I had to send this camera in for warranty repair because it stopped reading my SD card, I also complained about the long delay between shots. Olympus repair gets 5 stars. They replaced the cameras circuit board and updated the camera with the latest firm ware and had it sent via 2 day UPS shipping in the same day they received it.

The camera is faster now; it went from a 3 second delay to about a 2 second delay between shots and it's more responsive when scrolling through the menu. I will take a 33% increase in speed, it's still not great but then again this is a "rugged camera" so you have to chose your battles.

I bought this camera when it very first came out which I am sure is why it had old firmware on it. Olympus should put this firmware update on their website so everyone can have it without having to send their camera in, but I would say that it would be worth it to send your camera in if you are as frustrated as I was with the delay that this camera has.

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This was my first underwater video taken in Aruba, off the beach at the Renaissance Aruba's private island! I love swimming off the island - dive boats park nearby. This was also the trial run for my Olympus Tough-8010 camera and since I watched YouTube videos before deciding to purchase it, I thought it was important to post a video, mentioning how satisfied I am with the camera. Natural lighting and conditions had the most significant impacts on pictures - pretty much, what I saw, is what I got in video and still photos. The underwater scene selection was a time saver as is the handy 1 click video button. The only problem I had was probably unavoidable - underwater I could not see the picture preview at all - not enough light, I suppose -so I was forced to point and hope that I was taking the picture as intended. Very satisfied with the camera overall!!!

Do not assume that I am biased or jaded, my score is based upon real-world usage of this camera. I own the Olympus Stylus 1030SW and have been very happy with its performance as a all-around point-and-shoot as well as an underwater camera, so I was thrilled to see the 8010 come out as the upgrade with higher resolution, better zoom and deeper capabilities. I pre-ordered the 8010 and it arrived just days before we left on our cruise which enabled me to do some real-world validation. I was sorely wishing I had brought my 1030SW as I was trying to capture images on the trip.

The Good:
The overall exterior design is great on the 8010. I really liked the new double-lock on the battery / memory compartment. Kudos for moving to the standard SD format as well. The new 720 video resolution is nice as well. It still feels like it drops a frame or two every so often at 720, but it is very good quality for the optics. The camera performs well underwater with good vibrant images.

The Bad:
The software running this camera is the complete downfall. The menu and selections are very sluggish, going from option to option you have to deliberately think 'go slow' or you will find yourself very frustrated. I am not sure what Olympus did with the white-balance of this camera but its functionality lies somewhere between 'completely broken' and 'completely frustrated'. I could take several pictures of individuals on the beach and one image would be completely blown out like a whiteout and the next image would look like it was a completely dark overcast day. I tried several times to change the settings to compensate for this, and I found that if I angled the camera around enough I could almost get the picture I wanted. The trouble was that for nearly every shot I was taking a picture, then tweaking the settings several times and have to adjust where I am pointing to try and get the image to come out partially descent. I have never had to manipulate a camera so much - EVER. All the while my daughter standing next to me would snap the same shot with her $95 Nikon and it would look great. It also appears that the flash is much less powerful, typically when the individual in the image is too dark, with a lighter background, I would change the settings to force the flash, but with this camera it hardly made a dent. Also on several of the videos take at the beach it was almost as though the sensor was overloaded as I would get a bright white / pink streak on the video as we were shooting on a bright day.

When I returned from my trip, I saw the great reviews here on Amazon and figured i must have bought a defective one so I called Olympus. I received no satisfaction from them, so I ultimately returned it to Amazon. I then purchased a 2nd one to see if truly my original was defective and found the exact same results and as such I have returned the 2nd camera as well. Thank goodness for Amazon's fantastic return policy. I am now using my 1030SW and looking to see what is the real solution for the next upgrade from that camera.

The Olympus Stylus Tough 8010 digital camera withstands inhospitable environments while taking very good pictures. The heavy-duty housing is well-sealed from the elements, with the battery compartment and usb and hdmi connections sealed by an o-ring protected double-locked door.

Initial camera set-up is VERY simple. After inserting and partly charging the battery (via the camera USB connection), camera initialization can be performed from the attached computer. Image-processing software can also be installed from the camera itself. The software is basic, but does have a couple of Olympus-specific touches.

Out of the box, users must charge the replaceable battery via the usb connection while the battery is in the camera; via a computer or the provided wall charger. In order to continue shooting, I've since purchased an external charger and extra battery so that I can swap batteries and continue shooting while recharging the depleted cell. Each is readily available from online vendors; both Olympus original and facsimiles.

The camera has numerous scene modes, face recognition, and effective anti-shake technology. The panorama mode is nice, but slow to stitch pictures together and is not entirely accurate.

Shot delay from the time that the shutter is pressed sometimes causes a moment to be missed. Save times for 14 mb images to a SDHC card are a bit lengthy.
The non-standard mini-usb connection at the camera end is less-than-secure, causing occasional connect-disconnect cycling.

Overall, I find this camera relatively easy to use; though it can be confusing to a digital photography newcomer. The camera can be set to a fully-automatic mode for those folks. I've not yet explored all of the scene modes, but the three tried thus far aid in obtaining sharp pictures.

For someone who wants a capable camera that can be used at the beach or in the pool; this is the best I've found. For those who don't need weather or environment resistance, other choices at approximately half the price will fill the bill nicely."

If I had it to do again, I'd buy a lesser model underwater camera (ski, impact resistant) and use the extra $120 toward a good point and shoot. All in all it acts like an amazing 2.5 MP camera. The 14MP is too much for the lens I guess. Try and zoom in on a pic during editing and it's grainy. Olympus offered to inspect my brand new camera at a repair facility, but given other online reviews, I think this camera just takes mediocre pics.
It's worth about $200 to me, but I paid twice that, so I'm disapoonted and annoyed. I feel I need to carry another point and shoot camera to take good normal pics; for $400 I feel it should be able to do that.

After my toddler destroyed a Canon point and shoot, we decided that a tougher camera would be useful for our upcoming trip to Mongolia. We thought the Olympus was an obvious choice. Shock resistant, water resistant, and possibly toddler resistant. Before you buy this product, be warned that it is SLOW.

Pro's
Tough. We dropped it a number of times and the toddler threw it across the room. Survived.
Water resistant. Washed off the sand, almost went into a toilet, survived.
Lost. Toddler lost the camera in a Chinese taxi. Yes, that is a pro.

Con's
SLOW. Fast toddler plus slow camera equals missed opportunity.
Big. Bigger than comparable point-n-shoots.
SLOW. The start up speed and time between pictures should have nothing to do with the "tough" series. 3 year old Canon was MUCH faster.
Usability. Fairly easy to use, zoom was slow and the button was small. Almost a pro.
SLOW. Delay between pushing the shutter button and taking the picture means missing Toddler.

Overall, I'm happy that we lost the camera. Already bought a new Canon that is much faster, smaller, and has more features for a lower price. We are willing to take the chance that it will survive a fall or two to make up for speed and usability.

PROS:
* WATERPROOF, SHOCKPROOF, FREEZEPROOF, KID PROOF
* GOOD QUALITY 720P VIDEO - LINK TO WATCH SAMPLE VIDEO (...)
* ANOTHER VIDEO - (...)
* EXCELLENT PICS @14 MEGAPIXELS
* GREAT LOW LIGHT PICS
* GREAT LOW LIGHT VIDEO
* ACCELEROMETER FOR GLOVES/SNOW/WATER ETC

CONS:
* SLOW WRITE TO SD MEDIA EVEN SDHC CLASS 6 COMPARED TO PREVIOUS OLYMPUS 1035SW SUPER FAST WRITE WITH XD MEDIA
* MENU IS A CROSS BAR LIKE PS3 THAT REQUIRES MULTIPLE PUSHES VERSUS FAST ACCESS TO FEATURES
* NO SHUTTER SPEED CONTROL

SUMMARY:

BEST DESTRUCTION PROOF CAMERA YOU CAN BUT THAT WILL GO ANYWHERE AND DO ANYTHING AND STILL KEEP TAKING PICTURES AND VIDEO

Camera works great, I actually took pictures below 33ft (approximately 60ft) with no problems, when I got deeper than 60 ft the buttons stopped working but the camera started working again when above 33ft. Great pictures and videos, not sure how to get out of video mode once I get in it (other than powering it down), but I guess I'm going to have to read the manual for that, the rest is pretty intuitive though.

I did a lot of research before buying this camera. From everything people had written, it was hands down the most durable and waterproof. So far all of this holds true. I have had it a week and taken it jet skiing, in the ocean, and for an extended period of time underwater in a pool. The underwater pics and 720p video are great. Love the quick video record button. People complain about the quality of the pics, but I have already gotten many compliements on how it must be a professional camera. The only 2 downsides are it does take about 3-4 seconds to turn on, and can only take a pic about every 1-2 seconds, so it is not for shooting sports, but it is perfect for vactions as well as anything else since it looks like a normal camera unlike the others (i.e. canon)

I bought this camera for a trip to Ecuador after purchasing two others that I returned, the Vivitar and the Pentax. This one was definitely much better. The pictures were clear, it worked beautifully underwater. I took it down to only about 10 feet though. I would have liked a bigger zoom, but this one beat out all the competition for an underwater camera. It's small size was great to put in my pocket. I ended up using it on most days rather than my larger Olympus C740. It takes great close-ups with the macro lens too. I am extremely pleased with it.