Olympus TG-320 14 MP Tough Series Camera (Blue)

• 14 Megapixel
• Waterproof (10Ft)
• Shockproof (5 Ft)
• Freeze proof (14 Deg)
• Dustproof

I have been searching for an affordable waterproof camera for over a year now and the most common thing I kept running into were reviews saying that a supposedly 'waterproof' camera was anything but.

I saw this one at the discount club where I'm a member and decided to purchase it since they had a very nice return policy, it came with a case and float strap attachment, and I was going on a family vacation to the river the next day and knew I probably wouldn't get any fun pics without a waterproof camera.

I was on the river for a week and this little camera was USED. I took pictures in the water, under the water, around the water...even let the kids take pictures of each other in their tubes. All my pictures turned out great, even in the shade and inside the house (once I figured out how to use the various settings).

I made sure to rinse the camera in clean tap water and dry it off with a towel after we got back from the water everyday to make sure river gunk didn't mess with any of the seals.

I also love that the camera uses a charger instead of batteries. Batteries never seem to last long in a digital camera.

Since that vacation, I have taken the camera to our friend's backyard pool and to the waterpark. It has preformed beautifully each time and remains waterproof. I would definitely recommend a float strap for use with this camera. There were a few times in the river when we were tossing the camera to each other and missed (It was either let the camera fall or spill beer!) and the float strap saved the camera from getting lost in the river.

I have posted a few of the pics I tool on vacation so you can see some examples of what the camera is capable of...just keep in mind that I'm not a professional photographer! :)

Buy Olympus TG-320 14 MP Tough Series Camera (Blue) Now

Enough has been written in other reviews on the performance of this camera. However, no one seemed to notice a flaw that to me is not acceptable anymore and customers should not put up with this.

The camera uses some type of proprietary USB cable. I ma perfectly happy taking one full size USB and one micro USB cable on my travels. I have a number of each, I keep one set in my travel suitcase, one set in my office, one set in my car. I have always a set connected to my computer both at the office and home office. This make life much easier.

However, Olympus has decided that making life easy for customers is the wrong way to go and the USB cable, even though it is pretty much the size or regular USB it is nothing but a regular USB. Worse, the camera does not come with a battery charger. To charge the camera you have to use this cable. Adding the very poor battery life means that you will be searching for this cable a lot. And if you forget to take it with you on a trip, you will be screwed completely. And this, my friends, upsets me very much.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus TG-320 14 MP Tough Series Camera (Blue) Here

Up front, I'm a professional photographer with other very nice cameras. I had considered more expensive options...larger aperture, cmos, whatever, but am glad that I saved the money and went with this one. If you want all that performance stuff, just get a dslr and call it a day. These weather/impact resistant cameras are the only way to go with point and shoots. I've ruined a couple others with only the slightest usage...a complete waste of money. Also, who wants to dangle a $300+ camera over the edge of a kayak, or freak out about every grain of sand on vacation. Since this doesnt' have a retractable lens, it's MUCH less prone to problems that inevitably kill other fragile models. Compact with a very usable zoom range.

I just got back from a trip up the Oregon coast: kayaking, swimming on the beach, hiking, and SO many times I congratulated myself for the wise purchase (leaving the other cameras at home and bringing this tough little guy). I still got some very cool shots. The quality of the image was better than I had expected. By the way, I LOVE LOVE the panorama feature. It took a sec to figure out how to use it properly, but once I did, I got some stunning images. They look like fish eye shots cropped to ultra wide screen. Very cool little camera at a fair price. I have every reason to believe this one will last. Only reason for 4 and not 5 stars is because no camera is perfect. They're all a compromise in some way. For getting out there and getting some cool shots to remember, all without being up tight about your gear all the time, this is perfect.

Want Olympus TG-320 14 MP Tough Series Camera (Blue) Discount?

I purchased this camera for a vacation in Tahiti, and it worked great and took very nice pictures until I tried to take it snorkelling (which of course was the point of getting this camera). After 10 minutes in no deeper than 3 feet of water, the camera leaked and the electronics inside were destroyed. I had checked before going in the water that the battery door was closed and locked, so it was definitely a product issue and not user error. Luckily I brought another camera for regular photography, but missed out on a lot of great underwater shots.

Save 32% off

I used this for the first time today and it really met my expectations. I wanted it for a boat ride and for when I'm at the pool. I didn't use this for diving or anything other than walking in the water to and from the boat and while on the boat. I walked in water waist high and of course the camera fell below the water line at some points, but I never left it submerged for more than a minute. What I absolutely love is the image stabilization. I was on a small boat with a lot of vibration and all my photos came out crystal clear. I was nicely surprised and that in itself was worth the money for this camera. What I didn't like is the zoom. It will not zoom at a soft touch of the T. I had to push the button harder than a normal camera, and this is probably just because it's encased in rubber. You'll have to remember to push harder on that feature or lose some shots, which I did. But now I know to use a little more force than normal. The zoom isn't that great, but isn't just terrible either. It met my expectations for what I wanted. The zoom is internal because it's waterproof, so remember to get closer to your subjects with this camera. I put it under the water for 2 shots just to see how the camera would hold up. No water on the lens that I can tell, when I took the memory card out, there was just a drop of water on the card, nothing major and like I said, for what I want, I can live with that. I'm not gonna be taking it under water for any length of time, just walking to and from the boat and splashing around in the pool. It will definitely hold up to that. I don't how this will do in dim lighting, as I only want it for day use, but I did take some practice shots in dim lighting and I wasn't impressed with them. But that could just be the screen on the camera because my day shots looked way better on my computer monitor than they did on the camera. The buttons are kind of small, but there aren't too many that you won't be able to figure it out if you ever picked up any camera before. You can pick your own settings for this camera, which is a bonus since I've seen some waterproof cameras look like kids cameras. However, I just used "auto" and it did automatically pick bright sun as the setting. Over all, I'm very happy with this camera.

Wanted to add that after this initial review I used the camera in the pool. And I mean I really used it. Under the waterfall, in the fountain, under water, everything. And it worked beautifully. Not even a drop of water on the memory card as I mentioned when I used it on the boat. Maybe I didn't have it snapped shut completely the first time. As I mentioned, the image stabilization is wonderful. Pictures came out perfectly. I noticed a reviewer was upset about the charging cable, but to me that is a plus. Just plug it in and let it charge. But if that is bothering you, I got a wall charger for the battery here on Amazon for $12.