Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000

Viewfinder (0.00)

There is no viewfinder on the Tough 8000: everything is done through the LCD screen.

Display (4.90)

On the back of the Tough 8000 is a 2.7-inch LCD screen with a 230k pixel resolution. That’s enough to get a decent preview of the image, but it does not look as sharp as it does on cameras with larger or higher resolution screens, such as the Panasonic ZS3.

Flash (5.75)

To the left of the lens is the flash of the Tough 8000. This flash is rather small, but the fact that it is set away from the lens helps to minimize red-eye. We found that it was reasonably powerful, illuminating objects out to 10-11 feet. It does seem to take a fair time to recycle, though; we typically had to wait 4-5 seconds before we could shoot again.4 flash modes are available in most shooting modes: Auto, Red-eye, Fill in and Flash Off.

The LED next to the flash is a separate light source that is used in the cameras Super Macro LED mode to illuminate small objects for better shots. This should be used with caution; the LED is very bright.

Lens (3.80)

The 3.6x zoom lens of the Tough 8000 is built into the camera body: it does not protrude from the camera when in use. When it is not in use, a metal cover slides up from underneath to protect the front element of the lens.

The lens has a focal length of 5mm to 18.2mm, which is equivalent to a focal length of 28 to 102mm,. That’s a decent wide angle, but the telephoto end is shorter than most of our comparison waterproof models: the Canon D10 has a 5x zoom. And if you don’t need a waterproof camera, it’s much shorter than the 12x zoom offered by cameras like the Panasonic ZS3.

Zoom Ratio Examples
5.0 mm	10.3 mm	25.0 mm

Battery (4.00)

The power source of the Tough 8000 is a small Lithium Ion battery that fits into the battery and memory card compartment on the bottom of the camera. This battery (model number LI-50B) holds about 925mAh of charge, which translates into a reasonable battery life. Olympus quotes it at around 250 shots, and this feels about right; we found in our tests that it lasted for a couple of days of serious use.

Memory (1.25)

While many other manufacturers are moving over to using SDHC cards, Olympus is steadfastly sticking with the xD PictureCard format on their point and shoot cameras. This means that the cameras are slower (xD cards can’t copy data as fast as SDHC cards) and have a lower maximum capacity (2GB, while SDHC cards are available in sizes of up to 16GB). A 2GB xD PictureCard will cost you about $17, and can hold up to 348 images, or about 18 minutes of video.

Perhaps sensing which way the wind is blowing when it comes to memory cards, the Tough 8000 also comes with an adapter that allows you to use MicroSD memory cards in the xD PictureCard slot. This does work with the newer MicroSDHC memory cards as well: Olympus claims that cards of capacities of up to 8GB have been tested with this; they have produced a list of tested cards here. An 8GB MicroSDHC memory card will cost about $20.

Jacks, Ports & Plugs (2.00)

The Tough 8000 has a single connection to the outside world: a single port under a latched cover on the right side of the camera body. This provides a USB connection and a composite video connection, and both cables are included. The port is a proprietary one, though; if you loose the included cables, you’ll have to buy a new set from Olympus.

Other Hardware (0.00)

Waterproof

The tough is waterproof to a depth of about 33 feet, which means it can be used for most types of diving. It might be fine going deeper, but that’s the maximum depth that Olympus guarantees it to.

Drop-proof

The Tough 8000 is designed to withstand being dropped onto hard surfaces from heights of up to 6.6 feet.

Cold-proof

The Tough 8000 can keep taking photographs in temperatures of down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (around -10 degrees Celsius), so it would be fine on the ski slopes.