Olympus Stylus Tough TG-2 Summary

Olympus Stylus Tough TG-2 is the flagship rugged camera from Olympus. It distinguishes itself by being one of the toughest cameras available and by having the brightest lens, tied with the Pentax WG-3
Pentax WG-3, among waterproof cameras. It also uses a lower-resolution 12 MP sensor which is advantageous for low-light performance.

The TG-2 is designed to be taken anywhere and it has a GPS with digital-compass and a manometer to prove it! Going down to 15m underwater and -10C below freezing, it can handle extreme situations quite well. Add to that, shockproof construction to 2.1m falls and being crushproof to 100kg pressure to see how tough the TG-2 is.

Undoubtedly, a compact camera with folded-optics like this one brings some compromises and it cannot compare with the best compacts but it manages to perform quite well. Image noise is low until ISO 400 and results are usable until 1600 for small prints. It is relatively fast for its class which is quite helpful under the circumstances.

The end-result is that the TG-2 appears to be the most serious performer among rugged cameras to date. Features and dynamic-range are very limited but it is capable of performing nicely under extreme conditions.

See our full-length review for an in-depth look and images samples at all ISO sensitivities.

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