Whether you’re a snow-sports adrenaline junkie, inveterate beach goer, or just like gear that can take a few bumps, Olympus µ TOUGH-6010 may be the camera for you. Shockproof, waterproof, and even freezepoof to -10°C (14°F), the µ TOUGH-6010 combines compact style with a rugged chassis and an arsenal of shooting features including dual-image stabilization, advanced face detection, and i-Auto scene selection mode.
The µ TOUGH-6010 is essentially an updated version of the Olympus TOUGH-6000. The biggest change is that the 6010 sports a 12MP sensor, compared to the 6000’s 10MP unit. The other specifications are basically the same: A 3.6x wide optical zoom (28-102mm equivalent), 2.7in. (6.9cm) LCD display, and dual image stabilization that uses mechanical sensor shifting combined with digital image stabilization to take the shakes out.
Of course with the word 'TOUGH' in the product name, there’s an expectation that the camera will be quite rugged. Olympus designed the µ TOUGH-6010 for use when the going gets rough, wet and cold, and claims the camera can withstand drops from 5ft (1.5m), submersion in water to 10ft (3m), and freezing temperatures down to 14°F (-10°C).
If you are using the µ TOUGH-6010 in such extreme conditions, there’s a good chance you will be wearing gloves. Like many compact cameras, the 6010 has some tiny control buttons. To make things easier on those of us with fatter fingers (or bulkier gloves) Olympus has again included its Tap Control feature which allows you to access several camera functions by simply tapping the camera body.
Olympus offers its usual array of shooting modes including i-Auto mode, which automatically selects one of five common scene modes, advanced Face Detection that identifies as many as 16 faces in group shots, and Beauty mode, that automatically provides a soft focus and smoothing effects to portraits. The 6010 also packs Olympus Magic filters including Pin Hole, Pop Art, Fish-Eye, and Sketch.
The Olympus µ TOUGH-6010 uses xD-Picture cards as well as MicroSD cards via a special attachment included with the camera.
The Olympus µ TOUGH-6010 is available for a list price of around US$488.
They are tough. They are great to slip in your pocket and carry around. They are great on the beach, and on a boat. They are waterproof, until the day they suddenly are not waterproof. No warning. Just one time you will take it into the water and it will leak.
The other thing about them is that out of aprox. 4,000 photos I have taken with these cameras, I have not YET gotten one good, in focus, zoom photo. The telephoto function on my two just does not produce a good image. It's out of focus.
I buy them because they are tough, and fit in your pocket. As for image quality...it's not very good. They only do well if you have a lot of light, so the beach and snow would be good areas for them. Forget the zoom.