Anyone taken TG-6 deeper than the rated depth of 50 feet?

mostlyboringphotog wrote:

I left my scraped up trusty TG-4 (used only for snorkeling) on some taxi and trying to decide to replace it with TG-6 (f/2.0, raw) vs Nikon W300 100feet depth rating.

The only coolpix I've seen was abandoned (and flooded) in the sand.   You don't see the UW shops selling them.   But is that for a reason, or just that Olympus has much deeper history in our niche?

P.S, short of another housing, is there anything that can be done to better the odds for TG-6 surviving 60-70 feet diving. Silicone grease? Pack rice

If I am a paranoid minded, I would think Olympus rates it 50 feet to sell their housing but I am not paranoid - just cheap

so is the question motivated more about the potential waste of $300 versus the slight increase in bulk that the housing represents?

The problem i see with all of the models in this class is the tiny doors.   It's harder to have a bullet proof oring when it's doing a lot of tiny 90 degree angles, versus one big square.   You have to be very fastidious about greasing it to the right level, not getting tiny hairs or grit in, and eventually about changing it.   Or else.

The housing also should make it less negative buoyant- I like the camera to be just slightly negative so it was stay down, but not so much that it crashes into things.

Though I'm not a super fan of the brand. Sealife's Micro 3 is a sealed camera with an internal battery and 64gb card.   Maybe worthwhile for your situation.

To your main questions-

yes, there is some leeway in ratings, and as noted, the first thing that happens is you can't push the buttons.   If you honestly stick to 70 or less, I suspect you could last a long while.

but...if you're diving down aggressively, or big wave action above, the dynamic pressure can be substantially higher than what a static 50ft of pressure represents.   That's why watches that say depth resistant to 50M don't work for diving.

What can you do to improve your odds?   Not much on the prep side.   Just remember that extra silicon lube is usually counterproductive.   Keep it on a secure lanyard without too much free play - so it doesn't bounce around at max depth and bang into anything (or worse, fall 20ft below).   The post dive fresh water rinse keeps salt crystals from forming along the seal points.

I just took an aging TG-2 (also rated for 15m / 50ft) down to 18m / 60ft last week, and it worked well. Gave a depth warning but all the buttions functioned as they should.

Relative pressure changes between 50 and 60 / 70 feet are not awfully great so if the opportunities are special enough I'd personally risk it.

Not shooting raw on the TG-2 was a PITA for white balance though, its underwater WB settings are more appropriate for snorkeling. Would've loved to have a TG-6 available, also for the slightly less cramped button layout (zoom rocker on top rather than on the back).