TG5 - Very good, but needs a bigger sensor to be great

Bought a TG5 as a tough alternative to my Fuji xe-2 and as an upgrade over my GoPro Hero 4, which is generally poor for still photography. As expected it fits between the two, with image quality well below the Fuji in anything except bright natural light, but well above the GoPro for stills.

Handling:

Surprisingly good. There's no touch screen (which wouldn't work under water anyway), and the screen does not flip out (not a good idea on a tough camera), but the menu is simple to use and the control wheel is very handy, if a bit small and stiff. I was able to almost all features without needing to refer to the PDF manual (the guide in the box is very basic), but some features like the compass display, led light, manual focus and flash adjustment are tricky to access without downloading the manual. Feels nice in the hands, quick to respond, and good to know it can stand a drop. The strap mounting is awkward as it gets in the way when holding the body. The release button for the accessories feels like a mini lens release button, which is cool. Having aperture priority is great on a tough compact, and focus stacking is fun for macro.

Compared to the GoPro it's easier to operate with proper camera controls, but it's weight and form factor means the GoPro is much better as a mounted action camera.

Image Quality:

I have an old Lumix FT2 tough camera, and the TG5 is significantly better for detail, noise, color and lens performance. I think the reduction to 12mp was a wise move. But it's still a small sensor, so compared to the aps-c Fuji, the detail and noise in images is not great. Images look nice when viewed on a phone, but zoom into hair or foliage, and even at iso200 it's 'mushy'. But in good light and at low iso, the images are impressive for a tough, compact camera. Macro images are excellent. The double glass cover can cause some lens flare with backlight (this can look nice if you want the romantic soft-light appearance) , and if facing a light source and zoomed in, you can get a purple flare spot in the centre of the image. Overall I'm pleased with the IQ, but a larger sensor would give less noise and more detail, especially in lower light, but then the zoom would be limited or the body may need to be bigger. Video is decent, but I'd say the GoPro was better. Image stabilization is good to have, but it seems quite limited as blur at longer exposures is still a risk. So in summary, mages of objects are excellent, especially macro, as the loss of fine details does not seem to show, and in good light images of people are pleasing, with good skin tones, scenery is OK and video is decent.

I've not used the TG5 for snorkeling yet, but it's survived a monsoon storm in my pocket during a bike ride.

So overall I'm pleased with the camera. It could not replace the Fuji as a serious travel camera, or the GoPro as a mounted action camera, but it fits between the two as a good compromise. Also, I enjoy using it, as it handles like a proper little camera, but I just wish it had a bigger sensor.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/keenok/36063823674/in/photostream/lightbox/

Sample images - last one showing lens flare

Iso100 f9 1/160 sec. TG5

Iso200 f4.2

Iso 100 f8 TG5

Iso800 showing lens flare - only seen on one image so far out of hundreds

Fair review in my experience with it.  Thanks for sharing the images.