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Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital Compact Camera Review

Daniel Bell reviews the new Olympus Tough TG-620.


| Olympus Tough TG-620 in Compact Cameras
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Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification
Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital Compact Camera Review: Olympus Tough TG-620 Front Angled

We recently took a look at the Olympus Tough TG-820, awarding it 4.5 out of five, which is priced at £252.00. The TG-620 is a cheaper version with fewer features and if your budget is tighter still, the TG-320 can be purchased for £139.00. The TG-620 is available in white, pink, blue, black and green for £214.00.
Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital Compact Camera Review: Olympus Tough TG-620 Front

Olympus Tough TG-620 Features

The Olympus Tough TG-620 has Olympus' new iHS (Intelligence, High Sensitivity and High Speed) technology aimed to make it possible to take great pictures in lousy conditions. There is a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor and TruePic VI image processor (originally developed for DSLR cameras). Olympus say this will all help improve low-light performance, speed up camera response and enhance scene and subject recognition, ideal for fast-moving subjects, night scenes and other tricky shots.

Of course, the TG-620 isn't called Tough for nothing. It’s waterproof to 5m, shockproof to 1.5m and freezeproof to -10°C. All this will help protect the camera components, which include the 5x optical zoom lens, a 35mm equivalent of 28 - 140mm.

The TG-620 can also record videos, at full 1080p HD. During recording you can use Magic Filters and optical zoom with stabilisation available to ensure steady videos.

Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital Compact Camera Review: Olympus Tough TG-620 Top

Key Features

  • Waterproof to 5m
  • Shockproof to 1.5m
  • Freezeproof to -10°C
  • 5x optical zoom lens (35mm equiv: 28-140mm)
  • 12 megapixel backlit CMOS sensor
  • 1080p full HD movie recording and HDMI control
  • Multi-motion Movie IS
  • iHS Technology
  • 3 inch 460,000 dot HyperCrystal III LCD screen
  • Dual Image Stabilisation
  • Magic Filter Movie and/or Stills
  • HDR Backlight Adjustment
  • Advanced iAuto and AF Tracking
  • Face Detection and Advanced SAT
  • Super-resolution Zoom
  • 3D Photo Shooting Mode
  • Beauty Make-up Mode
  • Pet Detection Mode
  • In-Camera Panorama
  • LED Illuminator
  • Scene Modes
  • Eye-Fi Card compatibility
  • Photo surfing and [ib] software
  • USB-Battery Charge
  • Metal body
Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital Compact Camera Review: Olympus Tough TG-620 Rear

Olympus Tough TG-620 Handling

When compared to the TG-820 it's obvious which is the toughest of the two. The TG-620 has a plastic body, with two separate compartments for the battery and memory card. Both of these have two locks which require pressing to open. The zoom rocker is placed on top of the camera alongside the shutter release. On the rear is a chunky OK button which acts as a D-pad and makes it easy to use the camera even with gloves on. There is also a metal plate which helps grip and is also used to attach a strap. The playback button allows viewing of your pictures and videos even when the camera is switched off, the ? button tells you the time and date as well. The rear of the camera also hosts a 3 inch, 460,000 dot LCD screen which is easy to view in all lighting conditions.

Olympus haven't provided a CIPA rating for the camera's battery but it was charged before testing and was not needed to be recharged. We tested the camera's performance at focusing, shutter response, shot-to-shot time, continuous shooting etc. and have posted the results below. To test this we took 6 or more shots and calculated the average.

Shutter Response   0.1 seconds
Wide - Focus / Shutter Response   0.2 seconds
Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response   0.35 seconds
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo   1.6 seconds
Shot to Shot (without flash)   0.6 seconds
Shot to Shot with Flash   1.6 seconds
Sequential shooting
  5 fps
High-speed 1
  15 fps
High-speed 2
  85 fps

Sequential shooting records at full-sized 12 megapixel resolution, with high-speed 1 and 2 shooting at 3 megapixels.

Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital Compact Camera Review: Olympus Tough TG-620 Battery And Memory Card

Olympus Tough TG-620 Performance

The Olympus Tough TG-620 produces images which are really well exposed with very pleasing colour reproduction. Detail is good at both ends of the lens, soft in the corners and with some purple fringing in high contrast areas. There are three different modes for close-up shots, macro, super macro and super macro LED. In super macro mode the camera has a minimum focusing distance of just 3cm, allowing detailed close-up shots to be taken. There are examples below using the LED light.

Olympus Tough TG-620 Lens test images


There's no noise at ISO 100, but it does start to appear at ISO 200 and more so at ISO 400. At ISO 800 noise is making the images slightly softer and again at ISO 1600. As you'd expect, noise continues to increase through ISO 3200 and 6400, but a usable image is still produced, particularly if you are resizing for web use, with colour reproduction remaining good throughout the ISO range.

Olympus Tough TG-620 ISO test images


Landscape mode takes pictures with good blues and greens. Portraits have excellent skin tones and are free from red-eye. Sport mode has been used to gain a fast shutter speed to capture the movement of the water. The fourth image used the LED macro, with the final two images taken underwater.

Olympus Tough TG-620 Sample Photos


The auto white-balance (AWB) setting takes an image with an orange cast under the incandescent lighting, with the respective preset taking a better picture. Under the fluorescent lighting, the AWB setting has a very slight magenta cast, with the fluorescent preset giving a much stronger magenta cast.

Olympus Tough TG-620 White-balance test images


There are a range of magic filters available to add creativity to both images and videos, although not all of them can be used for video recording.

Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital filters


Video Mode

Below is a video shot at full 1080p HD, the camera also allows the use of optical zoom during recording, an example of which can be seen on the ePHOTOzine YouTube Channel.



Value For Money

The Olympus Tough TG-620 is currently priced at £214.00 and is in the middle of the Olympus Tough range which includes the TG-820 and TG-320. If you want the most waterproof and shockproof camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT4 ticks the box.

Camera
Waterproof Shockproof Freezeproof Price
Kodak Easyshare Sport C123 3m - - £50.00
Olympus Tough TG-320 3m 1.5m -10°C £139.00
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT10 3m 1.5m -10°C £144.00
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT20 5m 1.5m -10°C £169.00
Fujifilm FinePix XP50 5m 1.5m -10°C £189.00
Pentax Optio WG-1 / (GPS) 10m 1.5m -10°C £204.00 / (219.00)
Olympus Tough TG-620 5m 1.5m -10°C £214.00
Canon PowerShot D10 10m 1.2m -10°C £214.99
Fujifilm FinePix XP150 GPS 10m 2m -10°C £219.00
Olympus Tough TG-820 10m 2m -10°C £252.00
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 12m 2m -10°C £259.00
Sony Cyber-shot TX10 5m 1.5m -10°C £269.00
Nikon Coolpix AW100 10m 1.5m -10°C £294.95
Pentax Optio WG-2 / (GPS) 12m 1.5m -10°C £299.00 / (£339.00)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT4 12m 2m -10°C £329.00
Canon PowerShot D20 10m 1.5m -10°C £349.00
Ricoh G700 5m 2m -10°C £449.00

Olympus Tough TG-620 Verdict

If you participate in activities which will put your camera at risk of being dropped and have the extra cash available you are may be better off with the TG-820, which has a metal body, is crushproof to 100Kg and shockproof to 2m. Other than that, the TG-620 is much the same, with excellent image quality, full 1080p HD video recording and fast high-speed shooting.

Olympus Tough TG-620 Digital Compact Camera Review:
The Olympus Tough TG-620 offers great image quality and will survive both underwater and in freezing conditions.

Olympus Tough TG-620 Pros

Excellent image quality
Built for extreme conditions
Full 1080p HD video recording
Fast continuous shooting modes

Olympus Tough TG-620 Cons

Lacks the metal body of the TG-820
AWB wayward under our studio lights

FEATURES
HANDLING
PERFORMANCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL

Olympus Tough TG-620 Specifications

ManufacturerOlympus
Lens
Max Aperturef/3.9 - f/5.9
35mm equivalent28mm - 140mm
Optical Zoom5x
Image Sensor
Pixels12Mp (Megapixels)
Pixels (W)3968
Pixels (H)2976
Sensor TypeCMOS
Sensor Size1/2.3 inch
Sensor Size (width)No Data
Sensor Size (height)No Data
Aspect Ratio
  • 4:3
  • 16:9
LCD Monitor
LCD Monitor3in
Screen resolution460,000 dots
Touch ScreenNo
Focusing
Min Focus3cm
Focusing modes
  • Autofocus
  • Spot
  • Face Detection
  • AF Tracking
Exposure Control
Shutter speeds shortest1/2000sec
Shutter speeds longest4sec
Bulb modeNo Data
Exp modes
  • Program
  • Scene modes
  • A
Metering
  • Spot
  • ESP Light Metering
ISO sensitivity100 - 6400
White balance
  • Auto
  • Outdoors/Daylight
  • Cloudy
  • Incandescent
  • Fluorescent
Exposure Comp+/-2
Shooting Options
Continuous shooting5fps
Video
Movie modeYes
Video Resolution
  • 1920x1080 FullHD
  • 1280x720 HD 720p
  • 640x480 VGA
  • 320x240 QVGA
Video FPS30
Stereo SoundYes
Optical Zoom with VideoNo Data
Other Features
Image StabilisationYes
Interface
HDMIYes
USBUSB 2
Wi-FiNo
Storage
Card Type
  • SD
  • SDHC
  • SDXC
File Type
  • JPG
Power Source
Battery TypeLI-50B Lithium-Ion Battery
Battery Life (CIPA rating)No Data
Box Contents
Box ContentsLI-50B Lithium-Ion Battery, F-2AC AC Adapter, CB-USB6 USB Cable, CB-AVC3 Audio/Video cable, Hand Strap, World Wide Warranty Card, Image Management Software
Dimensions
Weight167g
Width98.4mm
Height65.9mm
Depth21.9mm

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Photographs taken using the Olympus Tough TG-620

Raw RubiesTiledHazel O’ConnorUnder M2High up on the fellsPushing snowRainy day roseShadowstool shedIt's comingFrosty morning

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