OM SYSTEM OLYMPUS TG-4 16 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black)

I have not used a standalone camera for a couple of years, but wanted to take one on a recent vacation trip. I liked the idea of being able to take pictures near the water or while snorkeling. As well, I wanted to be able to get better pictures than my cellphone camera can get for family keepsakes.Initial impression:* This thing is pretty solid* But there's no cover for the lens* There are more knobs than I am used to* It's small enough to fit in my jeans pocketI read just enough to set up the time/date and learn how to turn it on, record video. I put it on "P" mode and hoped for the best.Outdoor pictures are terrific. Underwater was a mixed bag (probably largely due to my inexperience). **Note: Pay attention to the instructions for cleaning/rinsing the camera after salt water use**. Indoor pictures are significantly better than my smartphone but not spectacular.The camera has a WiFi feature which allows you to copy pictures directly to your smartphone (I use IOS but I think android is available too). The software is a bit confusing with documentation that isn't always helpful, but it does work. It is useful for copying snapshots, but a bit slow if you're copying video; use the USB cable or pop the SD card into your computer for those jobs.Notes after a week:* Battery life better than expected. I took several hundred shots and many minutes of video before the indicator dropped off "full".* Camera turns on and off quickly but power button requires firm pressure.* Can take snapshots then capture video without switching modes* "Panorama" mode is picky about backgrounds.* Display is bright enough to use on open water in bright sunlight.* Wifi most useful for divers who don't want to wait a couple hours to rinse/dry before sharing pictures. A bit gimmicky otherwise.* Wide/Tele button is a bit awkward to use (placement and tactile feedback)* Zoom motor is very audible if recording video in quiet settingsOverall, this is probably a bit more camera than I need, but I am pleased with it. If I could change one thing it would be adding some protection for the lens.

I am an amature photographer and an outdoorsy person who lives in the oregon and enjoys salmon trout and steelhead fishing alone along remote rivers. Doing that means I am in very wet environments but not submerged for long periods of time and take very water oriented pictures while wet- hopefully of very wet fish. I and everything on me gets and stays wet for two or more days before everything drys out. Sometimes I even leave the camera to rot in the wet gear for a couple/three days. Rarely...Previously I owned a Panasonic Lumix (second gen... 2008 or so) water resistant camera that was 12 mega pixels. It worked very well, never leaked, took good shots, and had decent battery life for my use. The only reason I replaced it is I lost it.I really expected this camera to be clearly superior as it is very highly reviewed and is 8 years newer at the same price point. In some ways it is much better- battery life, 'shutter speed', burst speed, screen size and clarity, and some aspects of the user interface are more flexible and powerful.I find the quality of the pictures to be only somewhat better sometimes, but certainly plenty good enough for my needs.The camera falls flat in a number of areas.The ring around the lens that is a cover for an attachment interface (I will never use) just falls off. After trying to run away a few times with me hunting for it in a panic It is gone now and I need to buy a new one which I will locklight (glue) into place. This bug is particularly irritating because the cover so obviously does not work and has left the camera vulnerable to grit water and fish slime nearly every time I have used it.UPADATE on the above 3.5.2017. I read a bunch of reviews and smart folks created hack I utilized and replaced the bezel with a adapter ring and decent clear protective lens which fixed the gaping annular chasm around the lens but I should not have needed to do go through this stupid panic as parts fall off, and then need to research and purchase secondary stuff.The lens fogs up far more often that the Panasonic did. (something to do with the above 'feature'?)The locking system for the battery and connection doors are very fussy and not intuitive at all. The Panasonic was far more sensible.The panorama assist is actually a panorama nuisance.The GPS is only useful if you need to run the battery flat in 5 minutes for some reason.And on a cultural note.. I'm far from PC. very very very far. But do ALL the happy shiny people in the default scenes need to be blue eyed blonde super models? Seriously. It's a big world. There are stock footage hot people from all over the globe available to populate the inside of the camera for the same fee. Why not? Live a little.

I bought this camera for a trip to Hawaii. I took thousands of photos on my trip & brought 3 cameras with me. (I am typically a Canon girl) This is the camera that I used the most. I bought it mostly for the underwater ability, but loved all the extra scene settings like sunset mode. I was able to get some good low light pics after the sun had set at the beach (on P with high ISO set). It was "tough" enough for the beach & rain. Since the lens is behind glass I wasn't worried about sand. Just make sure to have a lens cloth handy to wipe water droplets off cleanly. Be sure not to touch the glass with fingers & sunscreen which can muck up your pics. On our snorkel excursion I was in the water over an hour and the battery life was great and I was taking pics and video. (Make sure to buy extra batteries, so you have a fully charged spare with you. It has to be charged by plugging in the camera-easy to do at the end of the day) I was pleased that you can snap a pic & then push the record button without switching modes. My fish/reef shots came out great. I saw a lot of people using GO Pros, I can't comment on the quality of their images, but they had to use all types of mounts & extended poles. For ease of use and vacation picture quality I was happy with the Olympus. I have one of the original Olympus waterproof cameras from a few years back & this model is much improved all around. Only downside was leaving Hawaii, big sigh, but I have beautiful memories & images to look back on.