Oly Tough 8000 - videos and quick review

[HateCheese]

I picked up an Olympus Tough 8000 camera a few weeks ago, and just got the Olympus housing to go along with it. Here are some quick impressions and a few links to video I have posted.

Not being a camera person (always wreck digital cameras taking them offshore, and never have them long enough to take many pics...) I went w/ the Oly because of the waterproof to 33', shockproof, etc qualities above everything else. I shouldn't be able to break this one....

The camera is small, compact, and comparable in size to a pack of cigarettes. Because you can drop it from 6 feet, it is a tad on the heavy side - seems like pretty solid construction to me.

Immediately took the camera (no housing) to the pool. Easily was amazed by the video quality and was overjoyed that I hadn't wrecked another camera by chucking it in the pool and playing w/ it underwater.

Have taken a few above water photos, and have been very impressed by the quality you can get being a beginner. Macro settings worked great, and was able to capture some dragonflys and see the hair on their legs...

Got the underwater housing 2 weeks ago and have taken it out on two dive trips since. First trip w/ camera was a low viz (~30ft) dive where i traded the speargun for the camera, and followed my dive buddy around as he filled the stringer. Playback afterwards confirmed that on this 90ft dive with less than stellar vis and not carrying any light source that you could actually see better on the video than you did when you were on the dive! Switched to take a few photos - did not come out well using it's flash because it was all backscatter from the particulates in the water. I need to play around w/ this more in the pool before the next time out.

On Thursday 8/6/09 I took it to the Oriskany. Yes, the housing works down to 132 feet, cause I took it to that depth and it didn't flood. sweet. My luck at the O is always way worse vis than it should be - after hearing reports of 80-100ft 2 days earlier I get there and it is ballpark 35ft. Still, recording w/ the standard underwater video setting resulted in seeing futher/clearer in the video than when actually on the dive.

Still figuring out posting video to youtube, so these are SHORT clips. Chose to not degrade the original quality (640X480 and 30fps), and instead chopped up video to post. Quality when posted is definitely worse, but you can get an idea. Anyway, here are the links:

YouTube - Oriskany - little fish on the mooring ball

YouTube - Oriskany barracuda

 

[Ann Marie]

Thanks for the review. It's always nice to hear from the amateur photographers since I'm one as well.

 

[MikeSSS]

Got a question,

is the Tough 8000 waterproof between the battery compartment and the inside of the camera?

A few weeks ago my 1030 SW flooded at the St. Andrew's jetty when I wasn't using a housing. After seeing the battery door open red screen I rinsed it out with fresh water. After drying for a couple weeks including putting just nuked dessicant inside the batter compartment it almost works but not quite. It did take one pic and that came out ok. The battery compartment open to the inside of the camera is a huge design flaw, especially since sealing it would be so easy to do.

Other than that the 1030 SW worked great on the reef at Lauderdale by the Sea without a housing on several dives and has been great otherwise. I'll probably get the Tough 8000 and a housing to replace it. If the housing leaks a few drops it shouldn't matter.

Thanks

 

[JackConnick]

Mike;

My understanding is that it is NOT. The doors must be kept clean and closed securely.

You might try rinsing out the battery compartment with alcohol and cleaning the contacts with a soft eraser.

Other than that I have great prices on the T8000/PT45 bundle... ;-).

Jack

 

[maynard.hogg]

Got the underwater housing 2 weeks ago and have taken it out on two dive trips since.

I bought mine as a set in mid-June and have used it for some 16 days of diving. Hundreds of photos, badly lit.

recent underwater photos on Flickr

Alas, work and family obligations mean no diving in August and no time to upload the photos from my four days in the Kerama Islands (Okinawa). I had to stop after the people pix.

 

[alcina]

MOD NOTE: this link added to the Sticky Thanks!

 

[maynard.hogg]

Yesterday, my laptop failed to recognize the Tough 8000 as an external drive. I then tried recharging, with no response. The USB connector appears to be wonky.
I rushed the camera (and charger) downtown to the Olympus Service Center. The battery was dead, but the camera worked just fine on their battery. So it was the USB connection that was at fault.
Since I didn't want to lose my camera for the upcoming long weekend ("Silver Week"), I borrowed one of their external chargers for a week.

Now, the strange part is that the USB connection works this morning for both recharging the battery in the camera and transferring photos off to my large, above sea level camera.

 

[MJSmith]

I would tell you to just get a card reader for your memory card in the 8000, and don't bother with connecting the computer to the 8000 directly. That way is much slower.

I had one of the original Stylus 770s. That worked well for basic underwater shots, but back scatter is a problem. I bought a Sea and Sea side arm mount with the Olympus UF-1 as the external strobe to try and fix the back scatter. Works a little better. The complaint with the 770 was that on land, in low light settings, I would continually get "spots" or lens flare. I sent it back 2 times to Olympus, but they could never fix it (did charge me over $100). This summer, I took the 770 on a shallow dive (20') without the underwater housing for deep dives, and got some water leakage into the battery compartment. I stopped using it. It still works fine, but I gave it to my girlfriend since her camera died that she uses for commercail real estate. It still works fine on dry land.

I then bought the 8000. I only use it for still shots. I have never done video. It is a little better camera. I bought the PT 045 housing, and it is a good combo. Back scatter is still a problem. The Sea and Sea mount with side arm fits along with my UF-1 strobe. On the last deep wreck dive (100') I did, the gray diffuser slide that covers the flash got lost (current?), so the UF-1 AND the 8000 flash were both shining on the subject during camera shots. Major back scatter! I just found out there is a black slide that goes over the diffuser plate on the PT 045 housing that may help this. I just have to buy a sync cord to go to the strobe. I can't wait to see if that works.

The 8000 doesn't get the lens flare (low light flash spots) like the 770 did on land shots. There is still some difficuly focusing in low light settings. I also wished the zoom was more than 3X too. Still, it is a great pocket camera to just be able to throw into your shirt pocket and go, and not worry about getting wet.

BTW, does anyone know where I can get the gray diffuser plate that I lost on my PT 045?

 

[maynard.hogg]

I would tell you to just get a card reader for your memory card in the 8000, and don't bother with connecting the computer to the 8000 directly.

Chacun a son goǔt. I got tired of buying new readers as the number of card formats multiplied—now 42 according to yesterday's trip to my local electronics supermarket (to buy a spare battery for the Tough 8000).

I bought a Sea and Sea side arm mount with the Olympus UF-1 as the external strobe to try and fix the back scatter.

For several iterations, I've been using the Sea & Sea YS-25 external strobe.

I just found out there is a black slide that goes over the diffuser plate on the PT 045 housing that may help this. I just have to buy a sync cord to go to the strobe.

(egg on face) I found that little gizmo, digging out the boxes in my mad search for the warranty cards. I was so eager to take the new combo diving the next weekend (June) that I must have overlooked it.

I've had the optical fiber cord for the YS-25 external strobe for years, but never used because the slave sensor in the front did the trick. Used to anyway. I'm in the process of reviewing my underwater lighting options and getting better photos. More after this long weekend's dives. (Typhoon permitting.)

 

[MJSmith]

I learned the picture reader ease when I bought the 770. My computer would take forever to sync with the camera. I got a cheap GE Small Media reader for the xD card (2 GB), and it is quick. I think it cost about $15. My girlfriend has one that is a 24 type reader, but for the 770 and the 8000 (as well as my Olympus E 500 SLR) I use the same type of memory card.

I too didn't know the black gizmo existed. It wasn't until I lost the gray diffuser plate to the PT 045 housing and was searching the internet for a replacement, that I found a post on this site that talked about the "gizmo". I just happened to have the original box, and found the black plate still in it's clear plastic wrapper.

My UF-1 strobe didn't need a optical cord since it synced off the flash itself when the gray plate was on. Of course, when I lost the gray plate, back scatter got worse with both light sources hitting. the UF-1 doesn't work with the black slide palte on, so I will have to go buy one.

Although I like the Olympus products, I have always had problems getting information about things from them.

Still can't find a place to buy a replacement gray diffuser plate for the one I lost, but may not need it in the long run.