My new touring camera - Olympus TG-4 - Review

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I'm a professional photographer shooting sailboat racing (http://PhotoBoat.us.) I taught photography in high school before retiring and admit to being a tech geek and gear junkie and I'm excited because I found my next camera for motorcycle adventure riding. It's the Olympus TG-4.
$379 at Amazon >>> http://amzn.to/1KVYZiI



My Canon DSLR cameras and lenses are too big and too costly to carry on the bike. It takes too much time to get them out and I worry about them when leaving the bike for even a few minutes. I've gone through a few point & shoot cameras and they all break. They get wet, dusty or just stop working. Life on an off-road motorcycle is hard for a camera. In 2008 I bought a Canon D10 underwater camera and made the mistake of letting my daughter have it when she went off to college. It's still working perfectly after tons of abuse, water, dirt, sand, drops and other things she refuses to tell me about. I decided to get another waterproof camera for me, one that would last and have a newer feature set.

Here's why I went with the Olympus TG-4:
* 2.0 aperture - Lets in more light letting you use faster shutter speeds and lower ISO (less image noise).
* Tracking AF (auto focus) mode lets you focus on a moving motorcycle and the camera will auto adjust (track) the subject while in continuous shooting mode. If you're a sports photographer, you'll know all about this. Out of the 10-20 images, one will be golden.
* Starlight, night scene and panorama modes
* Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, compass, geotagging
* Interval shooting lets you tell the camera to take a photo every minute. You can then turn these images into a movie or know that you'll have a hands-free record of your ride.
* Aperture mode, program mode, shutter mode, auto mode and two custom modes let me control the camera.
* Up to 30 second self-timer - One of my favorites as I'm getting older and slower. You can even control the camera and take the photo from your smartphone using the Olympus app. Now that's just cool!
* In-camera battery charging, which means I can plug it into my USB port on my bike and charge while riding. No external charger required
* Shoots in raw mode which lets me use Lightroom to do my image edits. Also shoots in JPG mode and will do both at the same time like my Canon cameras.​


Those are just a few of the features that were important to me as a touring/adventure motorcycle rider. The TG-4 is an update (released April 2015) from the TG-3 which has a solid reputation as being rugged and reliable. I'm working on mounting options but a special case is available for mounting on a backpack strap with one-click shooting (see photo above).


Night sky photo by Alan Szalwinski - CC license
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanszalwinski/15417134150/in/photolist-kJGmVt-8j9N8f-pumQRL-ge83Du-o4oURn-kqJSt9-s1NJvB-9tKp2H-9KHDRw-m1NhhS


Here's a little info video from Olympus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pthDtHxAzb4
 

Reginald

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Nice! Just can't justify it right now since I bought a Nikon P530 last year. I like the depth of field I can get with manual mode and the ability to set ASA for lighting variations.

I like using polarizing and UV filters, does Olympus TG-4 have the capability to mount them. From the pictures above I'd guess not.
 

ST Gui

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An interesting camera. My last two PnS cameras were the Olympus S1 and S3 though not quite the PnS form. Both cameras had soft image quality that put me off. I'd like to see how the Tough Guy performs but it does have a very nice feature set.
 
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pnelson
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Nice! Just can't justify it right now since I bought a Nikon P530 last year. I like the depth of field I can get with manual mode and the ability to set ASA for lighting variations.

I like using polarizing and UV filters, does Olympus TG-4 have the capability to mount them. From the pictures above I'd guess not.
On the water, I always us a polarizing filter so yes, this was important to me too. The TG series uses an adapter ($20 on Amazon >> http://amzn.to/1FfQJLE) that lets you mount 40.5mm filters.
 

Outbackwack

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I too wanted something rugged and durable, but programmability won out and I bought the Canon G15. It's F1.8 and 28-140mm with built-in neutral density. And I also have the Magfilter filter adapter with polarizer and UV. I only wish these better cameras came with longer zooms, and were water and shock resistant like your Olympus ;-) Wanna buy my 100-400L? :)
 
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i just bought a TG-4 for a family vacation in the Bahamas, after having a friend's Panasonic quit on us in SE Asia last fall.

Two observations on the 'con' side:

-In-camera USB charging YES, but with a proprietary Olympus connection. that is just plain dumb, and now I have to carry yet ANOTHER cable ....
- the switches for the waterproof doors are somewhat finicky and very small to use (I use a fingernail) and my reading glasses to ensure a secure close. I can easily see one of these getting accidentally left open, and with the switches being black (on a black camera), the teeny bit of orange when open can get lost quickly ....

Great idea to post a review!
 

DonMac

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I too wanted something rugged and durable, but programmability won out and I bought the Canon G15. It's F1.8 and 28-140mm with built-in neutral density. And I also have the Magfilter filter adapter with polarizer and UV. I only wish these better cameras came with longer zooms, and were water and shock resistant like your Olympus ;-) Wanna buy my 100-400L? :)
I have a Canon G9 which precedes your model by several years. Still works great and it's always with me when I travel. Canon don't build no junk!
 
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I've had the TG2 for a couple years, great fishing and riding camera....only thing I don't like about most p&s's these days is no rangefinder/framer....bright light and polarized glasses make seeing the digital display difficult....BTW, takes great underwater video....enjoy your new "eye".........ff
 

BakerBoy

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Oooo, want!! :strawb1:

PN, how did you get one? Amazon shows the item as "This item has not yet been released."
 
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pnelson
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They are just now coming into stock. Best Buy has them, Amazon did but it's back on pre-order now. It should just be a few days. They are also on eBay. Prices are all set by Olympus at $379 so my favorite place to buy is Amazon because of their customer support, return options and free shipping. If you can't wait for Amazon, here's the page on Best Buy: http://goo.gl/64RL1g

;-)
 

ST Gui

240Robert
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I only wish these better cameras came with longer zooms
But then you give up the relatively low profile form of the PnS/compact camera. There are non-DSLR cameras with long zooms but they stop being light and pocketable.


-In-camera USB charging YES, but with a proprietary Olympus connection. that is just plain dumb, and now I have to carry yet ANOTHER cable
Looking at the positive side it's just another CABLE you need and not another charger. Most other cameras need a charger and a cable. The Canons I have use proprietary batteries that NEED a Canon charger since there's no other way to charge the batteries. And the Olympus connector could be superior to the crappy micro-USB connecter that's on a lot of gear and maybe even the mini-USB connector.
 
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pnelson
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Hmmmmmmm. My research suggests the TG4 is just a TG3 that can deal with RAW files .....
The ability to shoot RAW was important to me as I do all my image editing with LightRoom. Other improvements include:
* Live composite mode for shooting night scenes
* Selectable AF targets... Shooting sailboats or motorcycles, you often have to select the target, lock on and then let active servo AF keep things in focus. This may not be a useful feature for many but it's something I've come to rely on with my Canon DSLR.
* Two custom modes (C1, C2) that let me set up the camera just like I want it, save the settings as C1 or C2 and then go to those settings via one dial by selecting that mode. Again something I use all the time on my Canon out on the water.

The TG-3 is a great camera and folks like it. For me one of the selling points was that the TG-3 features like f/2.0 lens and 6400 ISO were there.

I see that Amazon no longer shows the TG-4 as available but they are in stock at Best Buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olympus-tg-4-16-0-megapixel-digital-camera-black/5567064.p?id=1219653100135&skuId=5567064

I'm sure they will be available again on Amazon. The TG-4 was just rolled out this month. Many other camera shops like Adorama.com and bhphotovideo.com still show pre-order so they are still making their way out to the stores.

 
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pnelson
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Update - TG-4s are now in stock at Amazon >> http://amzn.to/1KVYZiI


I guess I got one of the first ones out as Amazon did not have them for a few weeks and now they show 8 in stock. You can also get them at Best Buy.


I'm liking mine so far but will need to break away from working in the shop to actually go somewhere and post some photos.


;-)
 

Gerhard

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I bought the Olympus TG4 for Cherie and bought a couple of batteries with charger on eBay which gives her lots of photos. She likes taking photos from the passenger seat so the fact that it is waterproof and able to withstand a drop or two are big advantages. One thing we noticed is that it seems to pick the closest thing to the camera as a focus point, is there a way to force it to focus on the centre of the frame?

Gerhard
 
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pnelson
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I bought the Olympus TG4 for Cherie and bought a couple of batteries with charger on eBay which gives her lots of photos. She likes taking photos from the passenger seat so the fact that it is waterproof and able to withstand a drop or two are big advantages. One thing we noticed is that it seems to pick the closest thing to the camera as a focus point, is there a way to force it to focus on the centre of the frame?

Gerhard
If you have the TG-4 Instruction Manual, take a look at pages 34 & 44.
"You can select the position of the AF target mark manually.
Select [Area] in advance at [AF Mode] (P. 44) in the shooting menu.
"

Here's a link to the US version of the manual: http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oima_cckb/TG4_English.pdf

Yes, there is a focus lock via the center button on the back. You have to be in one of the non-auto modes. It works well, just aim at what you want to have in focus, press to lock and then recompose as needed. There is also an active servo focus mode where you can lock on a moving target via that same button and the camera will track the subject until you press the shutter. This works just like a full-featured DSLR in this regard.

;-) Paul
 

Gerhard

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Thanks for the reply and that did the trick. We have a lot of pictures of the back and side of my helmet in focus;)

Gerhard
 
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