Review on Olympus Stylus Tough 8010 - 14MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Silver) - Old Model Price & Features by Brian Rogers

I carry my stuff in harsh environments and this camera seems to hold up while still taking great pictures. Firstly, this camera replaces the SW720 that I had for 3 or 4 years. My son took it to Vietnam so I replaced it with this one. The 720 has always taken really good pictures for me, and I've pumped it up in a downpour, skied in sub-zero temperatures, and lugged it through Kansas and Colorado in July in a sweat-soaked cycling jersey, all without any disease effects. Camera. This experience made me want the next generation. Some of the reviews I read made me a little suspicious as some people had issues with the picture quality. My experience so far is that this camera is easier to use than the 720 (and I found the 720 easy to use). , and the picture quality is just as good as the 720. I'm not a professional and I'm sure that this type of camera cannot take pictures that can be compared to a high quality SLR. However, it seems to me that once you enter the point-and-shoot world, this camera will be as good as any in terms of the images it captures. As with any of these cameras, the built in "magic and presets" make it very easy to get a bad shot if you're not careful. For example, if you tell the camera you're shooting indoors with a spotlight, and then try shooting outside in the sun, you won't like the images. However, once you learn to keep the automatic settings, the images seem excellent. In terms of usability, I really like the menu layout and I've gotten to a point where I can easily make changes to the menu. Settings I usually play around with. I really think the makers of these devices should spend more time with people to learn how people actually use cameras and tweak the menu flow to work best for most users. That said, this camera is better than many I've played with, but then again maybe they're all getting better. The only thing I don't like is the weight - it feels about 50% heavier than the 720. If you're designing a high-performance device, you can expect weight to be an important consideration for that user. Think about how we can lose weight. I've taken a few thousand pictures so far - will update again after a year of use. UPDATE: I've been using the camera for over a year now. I retract what I said earlier about the image quality - it's not as good as the 720 and certainly not as good as many other cameras I've used. And the sharpness of the picture and "Blend" colors leave a lot to be desired. I've played around with forcing a lower ISO and everything else I can think of, but have come to the conclusion that the quality of being able to "shoot" just isn't there. In addition, the camera made me fit for a long bike ride in just 4 months. I bought a cheap replacement until I could get home and fix this one. A cheap replacement provided better images. After bringing it home I had to send the camera to Olympus for repair which took many weeks and now the camera has started behaving again. Although I originally gave it 4 stars, I have to say that I've lowered that rating to 2 stars after a year of use. It would be a star, but it's still solid - just takes poor shots and seems prone to breakage.