Olympus tough series...

Started by AL trout bum, August 22, 2013, 22:27:32 PM

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AL trout bum

I have an older model and I know several of you guys have the TG-1 (or 2 maybe), but I am having trouble deciding on which model to get. I am between the TG-1, 820 iHS, and 830iHS. It seems that the 820/830 differ in only 4 megapixels. Most of the other features are similar. As for the 820/830 vs the TG-1, it seems that the TG-1 has a wider aperture and is somewhat smaller. Since I am not a photographer a lot of these terms mean little to me. Any of the above are better than what I currently own, but they are all within $50 of each other on Ebay. So, I want to get the most bang for my buck. Anyone have any better info to help me make my decision?
"Sloppy and rough wading have saved more trout than any regulation written by man."

Dougfish

I'm not above your level of expertise, but I have a TG-1 and love it. I had an Pentax Optio before it and the difference is startling. The wider aperture is the real deal. And the ability to have a couple of custom modes is awesome. I don't have knowledge that you have programmable modes on  the others. The recovery time between shots is very good. Maybe that is the same for all the models.

The Dude

I think the TG-1 is a bit "tougher" than the 820/830 series.  I can't remember exactly, but when I researched it several months ago, I remember thinking the 820/830 model was like the TG junior.  Not a bad camera, but it wasn't what I was looking for when it came to ruggedness.

In any event, I have the TG-2, which is pretty much the TG-1 with a new name.  One is not any better than the other, so just go with the cheaper of the two that you can find.  the TG-2 takes great photos, but I am having severe issues with the autofocus.  A LOT of photos come out blurry, even on the self-timer option - especially when you use the zoom in an out buttons.  I read on some forums about other people who made mention of the auto focus issues.  However, it was a minor issue to them, so I think mine may be a worse case.  Nevertheless, Olympus has done nothing to acknowledge or offer a fix for the autofocus issues that seem to be present across the platform thusfar.  I will likely send mine back under warranty and see if they will replace it since my issue is getting worse each time I use it.

Overall, they take the best photos of any point and click digital camera I have used.  The super macro is really cool.  I also have a Panasonic rugged camera that I really like.  It takes great photos, but not quite as good as the Olympus, especially in low-light and backgrounds with lots of white in the distance (waterfalls, landscape shots with thin white cloud cover, etc get washed out), but it easily takes better video than the Olympus.  However, I don't do a lot of video other than short clips, so for me, I would rather have better photos than better video in my camera.  My rationale is, essentially, if I want to really get into making videos, then I'll get a video camera separately.

Bottom line is:  I'm sure you'll be happy with any of those Olympus cameras.
I was born by the river in a little tent, And just like the river I've been running ever since, It's been a long, long time coming, But I know change is gonna come.

benben reincarnated

Get the TG-1 or TG-2.  I've had the TG-1 for almost a year now, I love it.


AL trout bum

Thanks for the replies. The Tg-1 is originally what I had decided to get, but it seemed to put more weight into the viewing screen in its difference from the others, which I could care less if it's LCD or OLED. So I began to look at the others. Aside from the viewing screen, the wider aperture on the TG-1 seems like it would help a lot. The issues with macro mode and blurry pics scare me, because that's why I am retiring my old olympus tough camera. Is that just with the TG-2? They all seem to have the same "magic" modes, so that's not a deal breaker. The TG-1 is going for around the same price or cheaper than the 830 iHS, so price isn't really an issue. Lastly, and probably the biggest concern for me, the current model I have is very easy to switch between auto, no flash, etc. as well as macro, super macro, etc. The buttons are easily reached across from each other. How easy does the TG-1 to do this? When I'm on a stream, I like to be able to take some macros as well as regular images pretty quickly and send the fish on its way.
"Sloppy and rough wading have saved more trout than any regulation written by man."

Dougfish

I am not having focus issues like the Dude is. The macro mode is completely adjustable. And you have macro and super macro. I only have issues if I get it in super by accident stupidity and I'm too close to the subject (i.e. fish at arms length). The TG-1 has a dial on the back to switch modes. It displays the mode name on the screen which makes you think you have to pause a few seconds before taking the shot, but it's really ready to go in a blink.

AL trout bum

Quote from: Dougfish on August 23, 2013, 11:35:01 AM
I am not having focus issues like the Dude is. The macro mode is completely adjustable. And you have macro and super macro. I only have issues if I get it in super by accident stupidity and I'm too close to the subject (i.e. fish at arms length). The TG-1 has a dial on the back to switch modes. It displays the mode name on the screen which makes you think you have to pause a few seconds before taking the shot, but it's really ready to go in a blink.

Sweet. The dial would be a big help for quick adjustments. Is the flash easily turned on/off by a dial, or is it buttons?
"Sloppy and rough wading have saved more trout than any regulation written by man."

Dougfish

Buttons for the flash.
But you can program the two custom modes settings and flash for specific types of shots (mine are 1. macro and 2. low/normal light streamside, for example) and the flash setting on those two modes is not changeable on the fly without re-programing. Those are two of the eight modes on the dial.

The Dude

#8
I have a slightly different thought on the selector wheel.  Yes, it is easy to adjust with one hand.  However, I actually prefer the way my Panasonic is set up with using buttons to change between modes, and here is why I say that:

90% of the time, I have my camera in the AUTO function.  Since these are good cameras, the AUTO function takes great photos.  When I am fishing, I am usually wanting to take a quick photo of the stream or a fish and then move on.  I don't spend a lot of time trying to set up a shot, fiddle with camera settings, wait a long time for the camera to power up, etc.  I just pull the camera out of my pocket, power on, click the button, power off and return the camera to my pocket - all within several seconds.  I usually don't even bother looking at the photo I just took.  I have confidence in the camera that it takes good pictures. 

However, with the dial, I have found that it sometimes gets switched to a different setting while it is in my pocket (kind of like butt dialing for a camera).  So, I take a photo on the AUTO setting and put it away.  I continue taking several photos throughout the day until I finally realize that the selector got switched over to macro mode by accident and my last 5 photos are blurry as hell.  I don't have that problem with the buttons on my Panasonic.  I suppose that is easily remedied by taking a few extra seconds to verify the camera setting before each shot and then verify the photo's quality after each shot, but for whatever reason, I usually just like to point and click and move on, get the fish back in the water, etc. 

That being said, I still use my Olympus over my Panasonic the majority of the time because it takes better quality photos overall.  It would just be a better feature to me if they got rid of the selector wheel and used buttons.  Also, I had an old kodak that had a selector wheel that went bad and wouldn't change settings even though you could rotate it - used to piss me off like crazy.  But that may not be an issue for cameras today.
I was born by the river in a little tent, And just like the river I've been running ever since, It's been a long, long time coming, But I know change is gonna come.

AL trout bum

Another good point about the dial issue. My current tough series has the dial, but it's only to change from picture taking to scene selection to picture viewing, etc. The buttons to change macro modes and flash options are on the directional pad. Very easy and no way you can change the settings while it's in your pocket or if the camera is off.
"Sloppy and rough wading have saved more trout than any regulation written by man."

Transylwader

Matt, DO NOT GET THE TG-1. That POS is fucked. OK, so maybe I work my shit (fly fishing equip, beer, women) a bit harder than most, but if they are gonna claim the thing is tough, it needs to be invincible. My lens is fogging up, the battery dies quickly, I had a 32GB SD card get write protected coz it got compromised by the fucking battery being depleted, the thing turns off when it feels like it. I got an email from Oly the other day. $129.95 to have it repaired. I can buy a refurbished one for $180. Bottom line? I think Im going with a GoPro. besides, vid footage is so much better than stills. After this weekend and fishing a section of Pipes Rocket style creek, I can kick myself in the bollocks for not having video footage. It was pure filth I tell you.

Big J

NO TW!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT GO TO THE DARK SIDE AND GET A GO PRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :o

Transylwader

I'm going to get it, it's not like I post up anything anymore. Wanna see pix from my fishing, you know exactly where to find them. The vid footage is gonna be pure filth.

AL trout bum

Quote from: Transylwader on August 26, 2013, 08:41:58 AM
Matt, DO NOT GET THE TG-1. That POS is fucked. OK, so maybe I work my shit (fly fishing equip, beer, women) a bit harder than most, but if they are gonna claim the thing is tough, it needs to be invincible. My lens is fogging up, the battery dies quickly, I had a 32GB SD card get write protected coz it got compromised by the fucking battery being depleted, the thing turns off when it feels like it. I got an email from Oly the other day. $129.95 to have it repaired. I can buy a refurbished one for $180. Bottom line? I think Im going with a GoPro. besides, vid footage is so much better than stills. After this weekend and fishing a section of Pipes Rocket style creek, I can kick myself in the bollocks for not having video footage. It was pure filth I tell you.

Damn't man! I just ordered it today! Maybe you just got a lemon. That's what I'll tell myself to make me feel better. Ben, has yours fucked up like that?
"Sloppy and rough wading have saved more trout than any regulation written by man."

benben reincarnated

Quote from: AL trout bum on August 26, 2013, 23:20:37 PM
Quote from: Transylwader on August 26, 2013, 08:41:58 AM
Matt, DO NOT GET THE TG-1. That POS is fucked. OK, so maybe I work my shit (fly fishing equip, beer, women) a bit harder than most, but if they are gonna claim the thing is tough, it needs to be invincible. My lens is fogging up, the battery dies quickly, I had a 32GB SD card get write protected coz it got compromised by the fucking battery being depleted, the thing turns off when it feels like it. I got an email from Oly the other day. $129.95 to have it repaired. I can buy a refurbished one for $180. Bottom line? I think Im going with a GoPro. besides, vid footage is so much better than stills. After this weekend and fishing a section of Pipes Rocket style creek, I can kick myself in the bollocks for not having video footage. It was pure filth I tell you.

Damn't man! I just ordered it today! Maybe you just got a lemon. That's what I'll tell myself to make me feel better. Ben, has yours fucked up like that?

Nope.