Olympus Stylus Underwater Digital Camera

As I mentioned above, I've conducted hours upon hours researching which camera was best for me. At the time there weren't many reviews on the Olympus Stylus 8000 because it just came out towards the end of July '09. However, the reviews I did find seemed very good although most of what I was able to find at the time were reviews on its predecessor: Olympus Stylus Tough 6000.

All the reviews I read on the Tough 6000 seemed to be much better than what I read about the other brand of all purpose, underwater digital cameras. Why did I not go with the Stylus 6000? There's a very simple answer to that question which brings me to the first deciding factor in my camera purchase: DEPTH!

While sounding like an amazing camera, the Stylus 6000 is rated to a depth of 10 feet. This is perfect for most average vacationers who like to be in the pool often and take some nice pictures. It's also great for kayaking, general swimming, shallow snorkeling and taking pictures in the rain. This is all well and good but as an avid snorkeler & free diver I needed something that could go deeper. The Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 is capable of being brought down to 33 feet. Keep in mind - this is with no special case or underwater housing, just the bare camera itself, AS IS! Most cameras with this capability are big bulky beasts, which brings me to the next deciding factor for my purchase: SIZE!

Having an all in one camera was essential to my purchase. I did not want to have to lug around two cameras, nor did I want some giant beast of an underwater camera. After all, I'm not filming a National Geographic special; I just want a small compact camera that takes excellent photos above and beneath the surface. Well as far as size goes, the stylus suited my needs just fine. See the size specs below:

Width: 3.7 inches

Depth: 0.85 inch

Height: 2.4 inches

Weight: 6.4 ounces

Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD
(Black)

As you can see from the specs: very compact, light weight & easy to fit in your pocket. Now that I have something compact that can handle the depths I swim to, let's focus on the remaining factors which led me to purchase this fine specimen of a camera: PICTURE QUALITY and BATTERY LIFE

As far as picture quality is concerned, the Tough 8000 is amazing in every way. First off it's 12 megapixel which means you can have high enough resolution to take larger than life photos. This is perfect for those special captured memories I may want to have blown up to poster size. With resolution this high, I can have that done without blurring & quality loss. As far as battery life is concerned, I am beyond impressed with this camera. The Tough 8000 has a Li-ion (lithium ion) rechargeable battery which lasts very long on a single charge.

I had this camera underwater for intervals of 45 minutes to an hour at a time and mostly turned on, taking pictures underwater, video & then taking it out with me the rest of the day and night where I just took more pictures and videos and still had life left the next day! Most impressive, especially since I could only get about half a day's worth of life out of my older Olympus camera which took two double A batteries.

While I didn't get to use nearly half the features of the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 I'd like to run though what I did actually get to use and then I'll post the tech specs for you videophiles out there.

Along with all the photos, I did take some videos above and below the ocean. These came out great; however, I didn't even check to see that the resolution could be increased as well as the framerate. So although all the videos taken from our recent trip were taken in 320 by 240 resolution at 15 frames per second, they could have very well been taken at the same resolution at 30 FPS as well as in 640 by 480 resolution at the same two frame rates. Bummer I didn't bother to check the settings more throroughly :(

The navigation of the camera is straight forward and simple; easy on, easy off, quick digital zoom, easy to change flash options and so on. Of course there are plenty of picture modes such as: underwater, underwater wide, self portrait, sunset and lots more. These modes are easily navigated while using the camera underwater as well.

It's also called the "TOUGH" 8000 for a reason. It can be dropped from a certain height, withstand a lot of pressure and even handle extreme cold. Here are the technical specs of the camera. Be sure to check below for my insight on some of the accessories available for the Stylus tough 8000, especially the all mighty floating wrist strap:

Although my preference is for black, this camera also comes in silver and blue as well:

Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD
(Silver)

Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 12MP 2.7 LCD Digital Camera
(Blue)
REFURBISHED

Brand name: Olympus
Model number: STYLUS TOUGH-8000
Color: Black
Waterproof: Equivalent to IEC60529 IPX8/JISC0920 (33 feet/10 meters)
Shockproof: MIL-STD-810F Shock Equivalent (6.6 feet/2 meters)
Freezeproof: MIL-STD-810F Low Temp Equivalent (minus 10 degrees C/14 degrees F)
Crushproof: 220 pounds of force
Aperture: f3.5 (W) / f5.1 (T)
Display: 2.7 inch HyperCrystalTM II LCD with Backlight Boost
Power Source: Li-ion Rechargeable Battery (LI-50B), AC Adapter (D-7AC) with the optional DC Coupler (CB-MA1)
Storage Media: 45MB Internal Memory, xD-Picture Card (1GB, 2GB), microSD (MASD-1 is required)
Optical Zoom: 3.6x
Digital Zoom: 5x
Minimum Focal Length: 0.8 inches
Maximum Focal Length: infinity
Focus Modes: iESP Auto, Spot Auto Focus, Face Detection Auto Focus
Focus Type: CCD Contrast Detection
Focus Range: 5 to 18.2 millimeters
Exposure Metering: Digital ESP Metering, Spot Metering, Face Detection AE (when Face Detection AF is selected)
Exposure Compensation: Plus or minus EV steps in 1/3 EV steps
Picture Quality: 12 megapixels
Shooting Modes: Intelligent Auto, Program Auto, Sensor-Shift Image Stabilization, Beauty Mode, 14 Scene Modes, Movie
Shutter Speed: 1/2000 second to 1/4 second; Up to 4 seconds in Night Scene mode
White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Overcast, Tungsten and 3 Fluorescents
Light Sensitivity: Auto, High Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Minimum Flash Range: 0.33 feet
Maximum Flash Range: 13.1 feet
Included Flash Types: Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-in, Off
File Formats: Still Image: JPEG Movie: AVI Motion JPEG
Width: 3.7 inches
Depth: 0.85 inch
Height: 2.4 inches
Weight: 6.4 ounces
What's in the box: Stylus Tough 8000 Digital Camera, USB Cable, Audio/ Video Cable, Manual, Wrist Strap, Lithium-Ion Battery (LI-50B) and F-1AC Charger, Olympus Master 2 Software CD-ROM, Warranty Card, MASD-1 (microSD Adapter)

This straightforward piece of equipment gave me peace of mind. I wasn't always worried about where the camera was because it was attached to me. How does this puppy work? Easy!

You attach it to the camera. The camera has a little hook for it and once it's attached you can disconnect and reconnect the floating wrist strap with ease. I recommend wearing it high up on the wrist and then palming the camera, this way there's no slack infront of you.

I tested it out in different buoyancies, pool & ocean. In both instances it floated. I even tried to dunk it and it rose back to the top. If you're investing in this camera, might as well drop a few extra bucks to ensure its safety and purchase the floating wrist strap.

This is something I really wish we had on our vacation. Inserting the camera into this housing makes it waterproof up to 130 feet! This would have come in handy on our day of scuba diving and since we went to a depth of 80 feet I had to use a cheap disposable underwater camera which took horrible pictures.

The underwater case for the Stylus 8000
also has the following tech specs:

-Simple handling above and under water
-All camera functions can be controlled
-Detachable LCD hood for LCD monitor
-Neutral buoyancy under water

I will be certain to have this for our next trip!

There are a wide array of available accessories for this camera ranging from memory cards to cases to batteries to chargers and so on. Click here to view the latest & greatest accessories for this amazing camera!

This wraps up my review & thoughts on the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000. As I actually get to use more of the features, I will update this page accordingly.
May this camera serve you as well as it has been serving me so far.
Enjoy!