3.5 to 5.7 / 21-105 mm lens 5x Zoom
When I photograph the sea, I use only in exceptional cases, my SLR or a system camera. For it is enough a little wind and the fine sand settles everywhere, to say nothing of salt water.
Therefore, I have in the holiday paradise always a waterproof compact camera. It is much more robust than the other bag snapping, do not necessarily need an extra bag and does not have to be wrapped in cotton wool sand tight. However, the monitor remains very scratch-prone, since you can not make sense with films protect him. In recent years, I had underwater cameras from Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax, Sony and Olympus simply traveling there.
They are not only good on the beach, but also in inclement weather and accompany me just also in the water.
Last year I had the TG850 and am surprised now the successor many changes / additions to be found, I have not found perfectly last year.
But three remain fundamental problems, high noise and loss of detail starting at 800 ISO, light lens weak and too small-scale battery power.
On sensor has unfortunately done nothing moving, therefore no significant image enhancement was visible.
Sensor and lens are adjusted so that a small, lightweight camera is created with a large zoom range. If the sensor is enlarged, the camera is less compact, enabling the lens considerably less zoom range and significantly more expensive.
Ideal a larger model with 1 inch 20 MP sensor and 2.0-2.8 / 22-90 mm zoom would but that is still within the field of dreams.
Over the years I have learned the main problem in the water are clean and proper seals! The warranty on this is very limited at each manufacturer, so I change my cameras in each year.
The UW cameras from Fuji, Canon, Panasonic have been mostly disappointed me.
For me, the cameras must be apart from the good sensor and sharp imaging bring four important things: a lot of intensity, a lot of image angle (short focal length), speed and ease of use.
A colorful camera is hardly a disadvantage, since they are found more easily again, black, dark green or Flecktarn- cameras I would not like to select for the beach or just provided with only one Styrofoam band take to the water, so that they return to the surface. Such a band is at the Olympus accessories.
The Olympus TG860 there this season in colors: bronze, orange, white and black.
An outstanding feature of the Tough TG860 is the folding monitor which can be folded very high even for the self-portraits has at UW cameras else no manufacturer. And do not be afraid of does not break and is no higher risk than a permanently installed monitor!
Underwater for a wide-angle lens means ever better here finally creates the TG850 a new record for small, compact cameras = 21 mm focal length (based on KB full format).
However, the 5x zoom extends only to 105mm, Overall a great area but some is the 20x telephoto zoom miss. Zoom out still leaves a bit, but while snorkeling or even underwater shortest possible focal length between 18 mm to 24 mm is actually indispensable.
Only the light weakness is with f: 3.5 to f: 5.7 then not masterfully and quickly leads to higher speeds and thus more noise because the camera needs already extremely much light. On the beach, which is still ok, but the water then no longer, here should be a camera at least f: 2.0 or better f: 1.4 or bring a larger, light- sensitive sensor.
The 16 MP sensor the TG860 is tiny, 1 2/3 ie only 4.5 x 6.2 mm.
The tiny, fixed built-in lens, deflected the light to the sensor, is also in these constructions, notorious for a rather weak resolution in comparison with a conventional Panasonic TZ71 (Best Compact Power) or even Panasonic LX100 (best light intensity and Sensor Performance) Reisekamera loses the TG860 significantly.
The operation is mostly logical and Ruck-Zuck seen through.
The camera is aimed more at beach clippers, sports fans and snorkelers because of ambitious photo enthusiasts that show the programs. Of time, Iris Auto or manual can be here even adjust anything. The correction can be made only to +/- 2 EV, which is little standard are 3 stops and often are also 5 aperture possible. Even the RAW format has been saved, but probably is not a bug on this camera.
The photos of the TG860 are in DHW position not really sharp edges and in the telephoto range suffers generally the resolution a bit. The ISO range is up to 6400 but at 1600 ISO one should stop at the latest without the flash, if you still want to see some details.
I would personally since the publication of the much stronger light Olympus TG-cameras (f: 2.0 = quadruple luminous intensity in the WW area) prefer for use in shallow water, especially as it also converter lenses are additionally.
GPS is now also on board but a strong energy guzzlers. In height, depth, air pressure meter and compass Olympus has probably deliberately omitted (Nikon has it).
WiFi is of course on board, sharing photos, and even remotely control the camera can be easily and quickly by means of app. Films is now finally also in Full-HD only the sound remains lousy.
If one compares the UW cameras the manufacturer, noticed that often the same sensor / lens construction is built (the vast majority use the same sensor) and only a manufacturer of fall with a stronger light lens from the frame. Better UW Photos you get only with expensive housings, special lighting and a lot of practice.
The image quality of the TG860 is nevertheless higher than what supply all GoPro previously. On the beach and in the rain it is a better choice than the usual compact cameras that have no seal, particularly sand is very critical for any other camera.
The price seems reasonable compared. Most disturbs me the tiny Accu, which is hardly compatible with other Olympus cameras.
Who is accustomed to work with RAW, will be disappointed because the camera only distinguishes between two levels of compression and records only in JPEG on.
Of all current underwater cameras of this type, I like the Olympus TG860 best by far. Of course it's too faint, the sensor would be even much better and the monitor resolution is rather low but in Plus it is very handy, stable quickly, has an exciting focal length and provides beautiful colors.
Who can spend more money, only with the Olympus TG3 / TG4 that are brighter and can be supplemented by wonderful accessories, even better advice.
As a brand Olympus is rinsed in this type of cameras for a long time the most innovative and has top dogs such as Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic and others to the brink.
LIGHT particularly positive
+ Small and handy allegedly to 15m waterproof
+ Very good color rendering
+ 5 axes incorporated image stabilizer
+ Shockproof to 2m
+ Supposedly cold-resistant to -10 degrees
+ Relatively fast reactions
+ To 7fps
+ Second trigger
+ Can be operated with thin gloves yet
+ Very good close range of approximately 10cm at telephoto
+ Learns fast
+ LED light for Tele-macro shooting up close
+ ART-filter plus effects and Program AE
+ Super close-up possible at the telephoto end
+ Almost completely silent as all UW-cameras
+ 37 MB internal memory
Installed + WiFi & GPS
+ Full-HD Video + Time Lapse & slow-motion
+ Lots of accessories, sport Holder, UW-housing up to 45m, floating hand strap
+ 220g slightly
SHADOWS - lugubrious:
- Extremely faint f: 3.5 5.7
- Exposure compensation in 1/3 increments only & only +/- 2 EV
- Image edges in the WW and the telephoto end is not in high resolution
- Shutter speed & Aperture can not be selected manually
- Monitor solves only 460,000 pixels and displays only a small 4: 3 image
- No touch screen
- Sensitivity only from ISO 125-6400
- Details suffer from ISO 800 clearly
- Not really a charger included
- RAW format is not offered - recording only to JPEG
- Very small Accu 925 mAh
- Accu can be easily plugged in backwards
- Made in Indonesia
Necessarily desirable would be a hard plexiglass disk, by clicking the can attach to the Protection from the monitor, as it has always supplied its earlier Nikon DSLR cameras.
Achievable image quality up to 800 ISO: **
Achievable image quality above 800 ISO: *
Monitor: ***
Speed: ****
Lens zoom range: ****
Perceived quality: ****
Creative Potential: **
Height Weight: ****
Price-Performance: ****
I am practical and user no fanboy and have no significant brand preference, basing myself only on practicality, technical implementation and price / performance.
5 star corresponds with me the theoretical maximum performance in the prior art and therefore I forgive when cameras are extremely rare and not because to me a product like. Really bad cameras there is virtually indistinguishable from the leading brand manufacturers and after a bit of study of photography and the camera normally succeed each so good photos. In hard comparison, but differences become visible that would otherwise remain hidden.
