Olympus TG6... The best UW compromise!

rochester21 wrote:

These images look much better than expected from a small sensor camera.

First, even small sensor cameras can produce good images at base ISO. Their major problem is IQ quickly degrades once you start to increase ISO. It's one of the key factors in squeezing best IQ from such cameras. As the OP mentioned, the TG provides a excellent balance of features in a ruggedized compact. Moving up to to a 1" or MFT camera for a underwater use dramatically increases cost and complexity plus really complicates usage.

Next you're neglecting the skills of the OP. He has been doing underwater photography for some time and has definitely more than mastered the basics.

What I like about these pictures is they are actually taken at depth. Far too many people shoot only while snorkeling at the surface. At surface depths there are numerous light problems and have a downward looking perspective. Then they compound this mistake by zooming to frame the subject. One critical aspect of UW photography is to minimize the amount of water between the camera and subject.

Also, the water clarity is excellent. Not the best I've seen, but far better better than many popular travel destinations. They also used the fisheye adapter. Considering the effects of refraction, the normal wide angle field of view is somewhat marginal for UW use. As the adapter is mildly fisheye, the field of view is wider than a rectilinear lens of the same focal length. Considering that water clarity, I'm not sure I would have used the adapter. With less than ideal water conditions, the adapter becomes almost mandatory when working with close subject distances.

Also appears the OP has PP skills. UW shots almost always can stand a little tweaking. If nothing else, white balance often needs some adjustment. The TG series has a fairly good auto UW WB mode. But shooting RAW allows for more dramatic adjustments when shooting in deeper water in less than ideal conditions.

Anyway, thanks to Yannis for posting these excellent pictures. They help demonstrate the underwater capabilities of the TG-6.