Tough 6010 in Bulgaria
A very short clip of the Bulgarian beach Read More »
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Waterproof Depth: 10ft
Shock Proof: 5 ft
Freeze Proof: Yes
Resolution: 12MP
Zoom: 3.6x
Focal length: 28-102mm
Shock Proof: 5 ft
Freeze Proof: Yes
Resolution: 12MP
Zoom: 3.6x
Focal length: 28-102mm
Olympus Tough 6010
Site Score
3.2 Good: Wide angle lens, has tap function
Bad: Under average picture and video quality
Retail
$300
This waterproof camera is a stripped down version of the Tough 8000. It dives to only 10 feet, shockproof to 5 feet and lack the 100 kg crush-proof feature of it’s big brother. But apart the look and those differences, it is just as tough.
The Good
- 28mm wideangle lens. You could squeeze in those new friends you just met in your vacation or capture the full breadth of a landscape in your shots.
- Tap function. You operate the camera by tapping the body instead of using the buttons.
The Bad
- Underwhelming pictures like the Tough 8000.
- Only AVI video. Poor audio.
- Uses Olympus’s and Fuji’s xD memory instead of SD. SD memory cards used by other cameras are cheaper and can store more photos and videos.
- You can only charge the battery while it’s in the camera or while it’s connected to a computer.
The Verdict: How Good Is This Camera ?
| We Review | We Found | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Picture Quality | The colors are accurate and the picture quality is reasonable for postcard-size daylight pictures. But they aren't as sharp as you'd expect from a 12 Mp camera and is only good up to ISO400. You should also expect grainy pictures for your indoor and night shots. Just remember to keep the ISO low and use the preset scenes as much as possible. | B |
| Video Quality | The VGA movies are sometimes jerky. And you use the wrong card, your movie is limited to only 10 seconds per clip. With washed out clips and barely audible sound, the video is added to complete, but not enhance this camera. | B |
| Ease of Use | The bright screen is easy to see in daylight. And the Olympus menu system is clear and well organized. The skinny buttons are nicely laid out but sit too close together around the navigation pad. If you're trying to shoot while rafting, it could be difficult (note: learn and use the Tap function) | A |
| Battery Life | A single charge lasts for 250 shots - just like the Stylus Tough 8000. This is better than many waterproof models. But we hate packing the 5 ft. long power cable and not being able to recharge a backup at our hotel room while shooting. To do that we must buy a backup battery along with a different backup charger. | B+ |
| Built Quality | The slim lightweight body fits easily in our pocket. It's also feels well built and sturdy. And to help protect the camera's body, it has a scratch cure coating that slowly removes minor cuts on the camera body. Although it can itself be a problem, the camera has a lens cover - a feature missing from most waterproof cameras. | B+ |
| Speed | The Tough 6010 is an average speed camera. It boots around 3 seconds and has a shot to shot speed of 2 second. And it's burst mode is limited to only 5 pictures per second. | B+ |
| Toughness | Alright for casual snorkeling or snow fights in front of your lawn. But not suitable for serious diving. | B |
| Number of Functions | With 19 preset scene modes (4 of it for underwater use) you have plenty settings to play with. If you're a teenager, you'll find the Magic Filter pretty interesting since it can turn your photos into sketches (Tough 8000 doesn't have these.) | B+ |
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Tough 6010 Spec
Toughness
Water Proof Depth:
10feet
Shock Proof:
5feet
Freeze Proof:
-10degrees Celcius
Picture Taking Ability
Resolution:
12MegaPixel
Zoom:
3.6x
Focal length:
28-102mm
LCD Size:
2.7inch
Picture Taking Assistance
Image Stabilizer:
yesDigital, Optical
Face Detection:
yes16 Faces
Scene Modes:
yes19 Options
Viewfinder:
no
Video Taking Ability
Type:
VGA
Zoom:
noonly digital zoom
Max Shooting Duration
Photos:
250photos per charge
Video:
10seconds per clip (unless you use M+ card)
Memory & Battery
Memory Type:
xD, microSD, microSDHC
Battery Type:
925 mAh Lithium-ion
Tough 6010 Pictures
Pool Test of Olympus Tough 6010
Thi is how the video of Tough 6010 looks like in clear water Read More »
Tough 6010 Tips
To get the most out of this camera:
- Buy a Type M+ xD card to get access to all it’s features. If not, you can only record movies for 10 seconds.
- Buy a microSD if you don’t care about in-camera panorama pictures and short videos. It can store more pictures because the size is not limited to only 2 Gb. You can do the panorama stitching yourself on a PC.
- Change the picture and video settings to Fine. By default, your video and photos are set
to the lowest quality.
We suggest you :
- Buy a separate charger (the LI 50C model) if you decided to buy a backup battery. This way you can charge the battery while you’re on your shooting spree.
- Buy a floating strap if you plan to take it to the sea.
Note 1: xD cards are 3x more expensive than SD. And maxed out at 2Gb (as of Jan 2009)
Note 2: Only Olympus and Fuji use xD cards. But Olympus latest E-P camera and Fuji’s latest Finepix no longer use these type of cards in their cameras. So, with these 2 companies ditching their own card format, we’re not sure if you can still find these cards 5 years from now.
Note 3: You can use microSD card in this camera but you can’t use certain features – like the in-camera Panorama function.
[...] 2 February 2010 — After the lackluster performance of it’s overly-hyped Tough 8000 and Tough 6010 Olympus has finally learned it’s mistake and comes out with better version of the Tough [...]
[...] current Olympus Tough cameras (the mju Tough 8000 and 6010) may look good, but they have 3 major issues that most people do not know. The newer Tough cameras [...]
Can anyone tell me what size xD cards are suported. Can in deal with a 16GB xD card? Or more?
Hi Joost,
I took a look at the Tough 6010 manual and the company says that the Tough 6010 can take 16 Mb to 2Gb xD card.
And for your info, as of 2010 the highest capacity xD card available in the market is 2 Gb.
That’s why the xD card format is a pain to buy and use.
hey guys, i have this camera… don’t mind those cards. this camera comes with adapters for micro-sd(hc) cards which go up to 16gig. Thats what i use and its fine:)