Which Tough?

I'm new to the underwater/rugged camera scene. I have been doing some research and it seems I have narrowed it down to the Oly TG-1 and the Oly TG-820 IHS. What am I losing and gaining by going with each one? Any opinions out there as to which I should go with?

I'm mainly looking to use this one on little vacations where water activities/rugged activities might take place. I like the GPS feature (not sure why), but don't like the lack of a lens covering on the TG-1. I like the price more of the TG-820.

Ready, set, go!

The TG-1 have much faster lens an better image quality. Lower NR.

The Canon Powershot D20 have even lower NR than the TG-1 which helps to preserve finedetails. But the lens is slow, as slow as the TG-820 at the wide end.

You will be much better off with an ZX_1 with underwater housing. Slightly more money but much better pictures. Despite the claims, TG-1 is surprisingly large and delivers surprisingly underwhelming image quality. For $400 you are not getting your money worth. The truth is that no ruggedized camera can deliver IQ that is acceptable for a modern point and shoot standard.

If you are absolutely set on a waterproof, get a Panasonic TS-2, it is very cheap right now at ca. $150, and its IQ is not worse than TG-1 on an absolute scale. XZ-1 is head and shoulders better IQ than any of the Toughs from any manufacturer. If you don't care about IQ, look at the LifeProof case for your iPhone. $80 and you can snorkel with it.

You don't need a lens cover on a tough- they usually have glass with an oleophobic coating, so water beads off and it is resistant to fingerprints.

XZ-1? Who makes this and what is it all about?

I was more worried about scratches in regards to the lens covering.

I am set on an underwater camera. I already have a dSLR, so I'm looking for one to take to water activities (like SCUBA, snorkeling, etc) and hiking and stuff. I was in the military, so I got a rugged camera for that a few years back.

That's fine as long as you understand that you won't get very good-looking images from any of the current waterproofs. Also if you do SCUBA, check the ratings, most of them don't go deep enough for SCUBA (but good enough to snorkel).

XZ-1 is the Olympus' "serious" point-and-shoot with a bigger sensor and a brighter lens. DPR reviewed it, so just look it up. Olympus makes a waterproof housing for it that you can take SCUBA diving and kayaking, XZ-1 in itself is fine for hiking and skiing. it used to be the best point and shoot camera out there, until the new Sony RX100 came out. Unfortunately Sony has not yet came out with the underwater housing for the RX100. XZ-1's image quality is not a DSLR, but is close enough, RX100 is closer still.

The images that you will get from the XZ-1 will blow anything you can get from any of the waterproofs right out of the water, they are just in a different league.

Am I missing something though with this? The XZ-1=$400 and the water proof housing=$300 for a total of $700. Then TG-1, at the highest price point for an underwater camera, lists for $400. It seems to me that with my intended use and price point, an underwater/tough camera is the way to go, right?

you did mention Scuba in your previous post so I am assuming you want to go down deeper than a snorkel will allow, cameras in housing will offer better water proofing , eg XZ-1 housing goes down to 40M some aftermarket ones may go further. if all you want to do is Kayak and snorkel consider a Dicapac housing , will fit many compacts with better IQ than current range of compacts.In this case you get what you pay for.

You do get what you pay for. In other words, if you want to get good image quality you will need to pay more. The gist of my post was that none of the "tough" camera give an image that would be acceptable for a DSLR user. Higher end compacts like XZ-1 would be much closer to that standard. If you do serious SCUBA, you may need an underwater housing anyway. IMO TG-1 is not worth $400 Olympus is asking for it. If that's your price range and target IQ, then TS-2 for $150 would do just fine.

I have the Panasonic Lumix TS2 and am quite happy with it. I use it as a 'take anywhere' camera. Does it rival my Canon 30D for IQ ? of course not. But as a good knock-around camera that I cant take anywhere (beach, skiing, hiking, etc) & don't have to baby it, it does a really good job & produces some nice images OOC. I too have had my eye on the XZ-1 (and the PT-050 u/w housing), this combo lists now on amazon for roughly $700, BUT, i expect it will decrease if & when the XZ-2 is released. That may seem high, but compared to the $400 TG-1 its a much better value. Good luck in your decision.

Here are some TS2 OOC jpegs that I took recently in St. John USVI -

That's fine if you don't mind added weight and size on a pocket camera. I use the TG-1 cycling, hiking and swimming because I like the size and weight. If I want spectacular underwater shots I'll buy a waterproof housing for my DSLR instead of a p/s that's barely better than the TG-1. For snapshots the TG-1 is great and the added bonus that it practically indestructable along with 3D capability makes it a really fun camera. Everyone is blown away by the 3D which one can only see on a 3D TV but it is a really cool feature!

I didn't think the TG-1 did 3D? Awesome if it does!

Lightning33 said:

I didn't think the TG-1 did 3D? Awesome if it does!

Click to expand...

Yes it does take 3D photos and they look great on my 3D TV (3D photos can't be printed). However you need the HDMI cable which is available on Amazon for $6 US. The HDMI output is best for viewing photos and videos on an HD TV as the regular video output connection has terrible quality.

I too am going through this investigation now. My wife and I are doing a Carribean cruise in December, and (unlike my normal approach) I'm starting to investigate now. My wife wants to do a lot of water activities including snorkeling, waterfall hiking, etc. And while I don't have unlimited budget, I don't want to waste the money we do spend. I'd like reasonable quality of the photos -- but am not expecting same IQ can my Canon 60D and EF/EF-S Lenses.

The Panasonic TS-2 looks reasonable. And I looked at a couple of its competitors. The IQ seems fine (appreciated the pictures above). But I must admit I am extremely nervous about the user reported experiences with leakage and the failure of most of the manufacturers to honor warranties when water leakage/damage occurs. There is absolutely no point in my spending $300-$400 dollars only to have failure due to leakage. (The lack of warranty coverage is also a real concern since I am left with a brick afterwards, but for this trip the opportunity would just be gone.)

The IQ and features on the XZ-1 look good and with the u/w housing the price does not look awful, but of course it will be be a larger package to carry in some scenarios. For snorkeling it's fine (w u/w housing), for on land the XZ-1 without u/w housing looks like a good choice, but for the waterfall hikes, sounds like it might be a bit clunky...Or I need to use an Otterbox or something similar...

Any other thoughts/ideas from users of both the TS-2 and XZ-1 in these circumstances?

Thanks in advance!

Consider a Dicapac or Ewa Splashix housing for an XZ-1 if you want better image quality . Works for snorkeling or situations where the camera might get wet. Its a little harder to access all the buttons but you can put silica gel in the pouch so there are no fogging issues. Also they float.

The lens on the XZ-1 is better than most APSC kit lens options I have used . Never tried 4/3rds so can't comment.

BTW I have been using my XZ-1 in beach situations for almost a year now with no adverse effect . I clean all camera external surfaces with Meguiars Quik Interior detailer cleaner after use. The manufacturer claims it is suitable for plastics vinyl leather metal and LCD screens. No slippery or sticky residue either.

To throw a spanner in the works consider a Canon G12 as well , will be compatible with any Canon flash you might already own with your EOS kit . Also if you already use Canon DPP for RAW workflow this makes it more compatible. Great underwater housings also available both from Canon and 3rd party manufacturers.

Tough choices mate, hope this helps Good luck and good hunting for the right camera for your needs

After reading various reviews and other research, I settled on a XZ-1 which I now have in hand. I wanted to get some experience with it before the cruise. What I have yet to decide is what I will use for an u/w housing -- the Olympus PT050 or a Dicapac. So far with some limited pictures, I've been very pleased with the XZ-1.

Lightning33 said:

Am I missing something though with this? The XZ-1=$400 and the water proof housing=$300 for a total of $700. Then TG-1, at the highest price point for an underwater camera, lists for $400. It seems to me that with my intended use and price point, an underwater/tough camera is the way to go, right?

Click to expand...

Yes. I think that you are right. Also with the XZ-1 you would have to use raw for many images to avoid the crazy NR which effectively smudges details in dark colors.

The NR in TG-1 is not perfect either but still better. That's at least the impression I've got from sample images posted by users and also the official such from Olympus

Agreed the XZ-1 with Oly u/w housing is a bit more $ - that combo can be purchased for about USD$540 or a fair bit less with Dicapac housing ($375). Seems to me the camera is a bit more robust - fast lens, RAW support although it lacks GPS. But the thing that scared me was the user reports of seal failure on the TG-1 - translates to a lost opportunity, and the failure of the manufacturer to cover under the warranty (seems to be true of all cameras in that class).