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Innovation has always been Olympus’ motto and the company was the first to start the trend of tough digital cameras in the market. Olympus internationally launched the Tough TG 810 in March 2011. This digital camera boasts a 5x optical zoom, 28-140mm equivalent lens, and features a waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, dustproof and crushproof design to withstand rough handling of any sort. This new TG 810 is designed to drive users to a new level in photography with its new features.

Design and Build Quality
The Olympus TG 810 is made of a tough metal outer case with a silver metallic finish. For a camera weighing 221g, the build quality is good. It is waterproof to a depth of 10 metres, shockproof up to a drop of two metres, freezeproof up to minus 10 degree Celsius, crushproof up to 100kg, and dustproof with innovative weather-sealing. Available body colours include black and silver.

Key Features
The TG 810 is a 14-megapixel camera using a 1/2.3 inch Type (6.16 x 4.62mm) CCD for imaging. The camera uses Dual Image Stabilisation (CCD- shift IS and High-sensitivity shooting) for blur-free images in low-light conditions. It features a 28-140mm equivalent, f/3.9-5.9 lens. In the Normal mode, it focusses from 60 cm to infinity, while in the Macro mode, it focusses from 20cm to infinity at the wide-angle end; and 50 cm to infinity at the telephoto end. In Super Macro mode, the focussing range is from 3 cm to 60 cm. The metering modes of the camera are Digital ESP and Spot. Exposure can be compensated up to +/- 2EV in 1/3 EV steps. Sensitivity ranges from ISO 80 to 1600 and White Balance options are Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Incandescent, and Fluorescent.

The camera’s shutter speeds range from 4 to 1/2000 sec. The available shooting modes are 3D Photos, Program Auto, iAUTO, SCN, Panorama and Magic Filter (which allows you to try your hand at being creative, as explained later). 3D images can be captured only while shooting still objects and can be viewed only on 3D-compatible TVs. In iAUTO mode, the camera determines the type of scene and applies the setting to optimise the results. Scene modes available are Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Beach & Snow, Underwater, Pet Mode, Cat/Dog, Snow, Portrait, Beauty, Landscape, Night scene, and Night Portrait. The Underwater mode provides four options—Underwater Snapshot, Underwater Wide 1 (for portraits), Underwater Wide 2 (for action scenes), and Underwater Macro. The TG 810 features Shadow Adjustment technology, which automatically balances the shadow areas of the scene and also features Face Detection AF and Pet Detection capability.

The TG 810 includes a variety of eight Magic Filters which are quite similar to the in-camera Art filters first introduced in Olympus digital SLRs in 2009. The Magic Filters consist of Pop art, Pin hole, Fish eye, Drawing, Soft focus, and Punk (gives a classic rock feel to your image), including two new features—watercolour and sparkle. The Sparkle Filter introduces a twinkling effect on highlight areas. While using magic filters, the frame rate might vary depending on the filter used.

The device offers 720p high definition movie recording with HDMI output to view images and movies on your HDTV. HDMI cable is optional.

The TG 810 uses a 3.0-inch, 920,000-dot HyperCrystal III colour LCD monitor and has a built-in GPS receiver to keep you on the map, and an Electronic Compass which allows you to trace your shooting directions and a manometer (measures water and air pressure) which records the depth or altitude at which the pictures have been shot. This model uses a Li-ion rechargeable battery pack (supplied). When connected to a PC, the battery is charged via USB port. The camera has dimensions of approximately 100.2 x 64.5 x 26.0 mm (W x H x D).