Review on 📸 Ultimate Olympus TG-4 16 MP Waterproof Digital Camera Bundle - Black, Accessory-Packed! by Patrick Burns

I take cameras pretty seriously. I have two full-frame Sony cameras (Sony A7S and Sony A99), an older Olympus mirrorless camera, a Sony Nex-5T (my favorite pocket-sized camera) and a Panasonic LX-7, which I don't really like. I also have thousands of dollars worth of lenses and accessories. What I didn't have was something I could use underwater or in extreme conditions. This is a good camera for what it is, pointing and shooting, and stands up to many tests. There are also some unique features such as B. a microscope mode that allows you to take photos that you couldn't get without expensive hardware and software. As far as I know, this is the only camera that offers this kind of in-camera focus stacking mode. I would also like to try the time-lapse function. Although some of my Sony cameras have a time-lapse app and I also have an intervalometer, I don't want to leave my expensive cameras unprotected during a thunderstorm. I just received this camera and didn't have much time to test it. . I'll update the review with some shots once I have more time to play with the camera. I can say that I am delighted with the microscope mode. As a serious photographer, this feature alone is worth the price of the camera. It will take photos that my more expensive cameras cannot. Another unique feature of this camera is the ability to shoot in RAW format. Shooting in RAW is of course possible with many cameras, but this is the only high-performance waterproof camera that has it. At first I couldn't find the RAW option because it wasn't in the camera menu like my other cameras. You must access RAW from the FN menu. Press the INFO button in capture mode if you can't see it. Not only RAW is recorded, but RAW plus JPEG. I believe the JPEG is not the full 16MP resolution. I had no trouble loading RAW photos into Lightroom. The TG-4 has no manual setting. I knew that when I bought it, but it's one of those things that I wish I had. The TG-4 has aperture priority, but the aperture priority setting is really disappointing. As a result, you can only choose from 3 apertures depending on the current zoom. With the wide-angle setting, you only have the choice between f/2.0, f/2.8 and f/8.0. At the longest lens setting, you have f/4.9, f/6.3, and f/18. The other really annoying feature is the proprietary USB cable, and you need that proprietary cable to charge the battery in the camera. A separate charger is not included. No written instructions bother me. You can easily find the PDF manual online and download it to your phone. I don't like messing around with DVDs since I have Lightroom and Photoshop. I filmed yesterday. The camera takes decent photos in good light. As with most cameras with such a small sensor, digital noise is an issue when you need to switch to higher ISO settings or even heavily crop. The close focus on the camera is really outstanding. You don't have to use Microscope mode to benefit from it. My favorite close-up was the inside of a foxglove flower and was shot at aperture priority, using the smallest aperture (largest #) for maximum depth of field. . You can see tiny hairs in the thimble that I haven't even seen with my own eyes. Microscope mode is great. It has a zoom mode and a focus stacking mode. You really need a tripod to use these modes. I also used close focus to take a short video of ants moving their larvae. Video shouldn't be this camera's forte, but I think this video turned out really well. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q98OBR-GEu0 If you don't need a rugged camera and want a camera in this price range that takes better pictures, check out the Sony Nex - 5t. It's not much bigger than this camera and is currently sold by Revain for $349.99. It has the same sensor size as larger DSLRs and the image quality is comparable to DSLRs. The camera loses a star due to proprietary USB and a reduced aperture priority mode. Updated 06/13/15. If you want to shoot in RAW, Aperture Priority, or Program mode, make sure it's set to shoot. It won't shoot in RAW if you've set it to multiple shots. It took me a while to figure out why I couldn't get it to shoot in RAW and finally figured out that it was because I had it set to "Sequential Shooting". I love how well this works for close-up shots, but I've found that I get better macro shots instead of shooting in microscope mode if I shoot in aperture priority mode and use the smallest aperture for maximum depth of field. In most cases you will also want to use a flash to avoid camera shake. You can also use RAW capture in this mode to give you the best post-processing experience. The focus overlay mode doesn't work well when handheld or even on a tripod with moving objects like bugs. You can see some of my pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/penny_carlson/