The Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5 has arrived and it is very, very good! The good news is that if you never picked up the very good Stylus Tough TG-4, you can now grab this feature-packed, rugged Tough TG-5 camera and go out shooting. The bad news is that if you have a Tough TG-4, there is now something even better on the market and you will probably want to upgrade.
Photographs © Todd Vorenkamp unless otherwise noted
If you follow the industry, you know that the smartphone camera has pretty much destroyed the point-and-shoot market. Why would I carry a point-and-shoot camera when the thing I use to talk to friends and browse the Internet can take remarkable pictures? That is a fair question, but when you look at different point-and-shoot cameras, they do have certain advantages over not only the smartphone but over interchangeable-lens mirrorless and DSLR cameras. And, when you look at the capabilities of the new Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5, you would be hard-pressed to find a better all-around point-and-shoot camera—especially in the crowded tough-cam sector. You certainly will not find a smartphone that does what this camera can do—there isn't one in existence. If you are into rugged adventuring in this world, you will not find a more convenient or capable interchangeable lens camera. Traveling with a DSLR or mirrorless camera? The Tough TG-5 might be a great companion to your “real” camera because it will go places that a “real” camera “shutters” to think about.
Let’s look at the highlights of the new Olympus Tough TG-5 over its predecessor.
• An all-new 1/2.3” 12MP Hi-Speed Image Sensor with improved low-light performance and noise reduction
• Bright 4.5-18.0mm f/2.0-4.9 lens (35mm equivalent of 25-100mm); now has anti-fog, dual-pane glass
• Dual Quad Core TruePic VIII Image Processor (same as the OM-D E-M1 Mark II)
• 4K video capture
• Full HD High-Speed 120fps video
• Field Sensor System (GPS, Monometer, Compass, and Temperature Sensor) with on-screen display
• Olympus Image Track app plays and exports videos now with with Field Sensor System data
• PRO Capture mode that starts sequential shooting before you do so that you don’t miss the action (similar to the OM-D E-M1 Mark II)
• Accessory lock (improved locking system for lens bezel accessories)
Along with those new features, the new Tough TG-5 still has the core Tough-series DNA in its design:
• RAW image capture
• 4 Macro modes: Microscope, Microscope Control, Focus stacking, Focus bracketing
• 4 Underwater modes: Wide, Macro, HDR, Snapshot
• Waterproof to 50'
• Crushproof to 220 lb
• Shockproof from 7' drops
• Freezeproof to 14°F
• Dustproof
Released with the new Tough TG-5 are a waterproof housing to allow the camera to operate underwater down to 147' (almost 100' deeper than the un-accessorized Tough TG-5) and a silicone cover to protect from bumps and scratches. The underwater housing is compatible with the veteran step-up ring PSUR-03, Underwater Macro Conversion Lens PTMC-01, and Underwater Wide Conversion Lens PTWC-01—all sold separately.
Compatible with the Tough TG-5 are a host of tried-and-true TG accessories. For macro shooters, there is the LG-1 Light Guide that magically turns the LED flash into a ring light and the FD-1 that turns the strobe light into a ring diffuser. The operation to remove the lens bezel and add these two accessories has been improved by the addition of the accessory lock button. The Tough Pack fisheye and telephoto lens, and the floater kit, are available for the Tough TG-5, as well. These macro ring lights are compatible with the silicone cover.
If you were a fan of the Tough TG-4, or you read the glowing reviews of the Tough TG-4 all around the Interweb, rest assured, the Tough TG-5 does everything the TG-4 did, only faster and better. Every successive generation of the TG series has improved upon its predecessor and made new fans.
In the Field
This camera is a lot of fun! I celebrate its launch and kick off our 2nd Annual Macro Photo Week. I figured a great place to put the Tough TG-5 through its macro and rugged paces was the beach—sand, surf, wind, spray, and more sand.
Armed with the red and black Olympus Tough TG-5, I headed to the beach with my girlfriend and we both launched into a macro exploration of our surroundings. She is not a camera expert, but fired up the Tough TG-5 and started shooting snapshots and macro photos right away without so much as a, “How do I do such-and-such?”
On my end, I wanted to tinker. Having tested several Olympus cameras in the past, I was aware of the quirks of the Olympus menu system, and the Tough TG-5 did not disappoint. Still quirky. Props to Olympus for being consistent! I am sure the engineers at Olympus will read this and shake their heads while mumbling, “We cannot win with these photographers!” because I spent some time looking through the menus trying to figure out how to change the image quality from JPEG to raw, but the option was only accessible through a quick menu—not available in the root menu system. Once you know how to get there, it is fast and easy, but I expected to find it in the core menu options. For those already steeped in the Olympus menu world, be it users of their Micro Four Thirds systems, or those who have another member of the Tough TG series of cameras, there will not be the steep learning curve.
For operating the camera, the controls are easy to use, have a good tactile feel, and designed for one-handed operation. With the Olympus Tough series, your left hand is a wasted appendage. Use it to hold stuff, paddle, steer, grab, or whatever else you are doing while shooting the Tough TG-5. The camera looks and feels great—solid.
Exploring the Beach in Macro
I guess it is somewhere buried in the recesses of your brain, so it is not surprising to learn that the beach is home to a barely viewed microscopic world, but it is absolutely interesting to photograph it. Most of my beach outings involve throwing discs, worrying about sunburn, frolicking in the water, cookouts, beach towels, blankets, umbrellas, and getting sandy. Yes, sometimes I look for cool shells, or try to avoid stepping on sharp rocks, but I don’t usually find myself looking closer at the grains of sand on my flip flops or having an up-close study of sea weed.
With the Tough TG-5 in hand, you can get closer to things than you likely ever have before. And, because it is waterproof and dustproof, you can do this at the beach and in the surf without worrying about the camera battling the elements. Just roll the mode dial to the microscope icon, select one of the four macro modes, and start shooting. You can even use the zoom when doing macro work—something I kept having to remind myself to do because I am much more familiar with fixed focal length macro photography.
One word of warning: be careful switching the lens bezel accessories in a sandy environment. The ring light and diffuser never got jammed on to the camera, but they made a crunchy noise a few times when I was swapping out the accessories. When the sample Tough TG-5’s go back to Olympus, they will be going back with some sand!
There is so much to explore when you start looking at things at a microscopic level—especially in a place like the shoreline with sand, rocks, shells, seaweed, and flotsam and jetsam. Almost everything is interesting to the eye when you get microscopically close!
The Tough TG-5 is a serious macro photography platform. Of course, it is a lot more than just a macro camera, but you would be hard pressed to so casually and easily explore the world of macro with another type of camera. I was getting magnification, handheld with the Tough TG-5, that would require me to break out a DSLR, macro lens, and bellows or extension tubes. And, forget about bringing all that gear into the surf zone!
If you thought the point-and-shoot camera had been left behind by the convenience of the smartphone camera, spend a few minutes with the Olympus Tough TG-5 and you might very well find yourself with a new everyday photographic or travel companion.
NOTE: All photos and the video in the article were taken with the Olympus Stylus Tough TG-5 and are JPEG images straight out of the camera—no post-processing.
