The Camera Dilemma – Olympus Tough Take 2?
I have this dilemma! Okay, it’s not really a big deal, but I do need a decision. You see, I have an Olympus Tough TG-1 which I bought a few years ago when I started kayaking and travelling a lot. I needed it for sea kayaking in particular, but I wanted something that took great photos on land too.
Here’s the thing… I really love the photos this camera takes – the colour is awesome, it’s easy to use, and well… just generally happy with it. But I did have some major issues with it. Actually it went back to the factory twice in the first year, and I’m still having problems with it. I think these problems only really appear for those who use it on the sea for extended periods. You see, when I take the camera kayaking with me (yes it’s a very good paddler.. he he), it gets salt water on it. Then of course it dries while I’m still on the water, so the salt dries into the ridges around the power button. This causes it do jam the power button so that I can’t turn it off or on, and when that happens I can’t take any photos.
After 2 returns on warranty, I was told it was not their fault because I wasn’t ‘washing’ my camera with fresh water to wash the salt out. They gave me 2 solutions:
- wash the camera immediately to get the salt off; and,
- if it does jam, just open the camera, take the battery out, then put it back and turn it on again to reset the camera.
Of course, neither of these options are any good when you are still on the kayak. This has meant that it jams on and it drains the battery until I can get to a fresh water tap, rinse it, dry it, then take the battery out. Hmmm… not great.
I was a little annoyed since it’s meant to be a camera for adventure sports, but I put it down to a design flaw on the top buttons when using it for sea activities.
Bay of Islands, NZ (taken with Olympus Tough TG1)
Now the dilemma… I need to get a new camera for my big 5 month trip through Asia next year. I won’t be doing as much kayaking, but there’ll still be some, and once I’m back home that will be it’s main use. So…. do I get the latest Olympus Tough (TG-4).
It looks like the new Olympus Tough TG-4 has a different design for the top on-off and shoot buttons, so I’m really hoping they’ve addressed the problem. And of course, the lens is still the same which I’m happy about. It’s certainly getting good reviews. I’m a little hesitant simply because of the amount of times my old camera had to go back to the factory, and Olympus’ reluctance to take responsibility for the design problem. But… it takes such great photos!!!!
Well…. maybe I’ll try just once more and give it another go.
