Product Summary
Good
The good: Rugged specifications work as claimed; stylish design; LED lamp acts as flashlight; responsive Tap Control function; good color reproduction. 6.8
out of 10View score
The bad: Uses less popular xD-Picture Card or microSD card need adapter; awkward positioning of flash; average image quality.
The bottom line: The Tough-6010 is one hardy point-and-shoot suited for adventure seekers, but its middling pictures may not satisfy everyone.
Read full review of the Olympus Mju Tough-6010 »
Average User Rating
CNET Asia Review
In the realm of rugged point-and-shoots, Olympus' name is always one of the first to come to mind. Being an early pioneer in tough cameras, the Japanese firm has one of the world's hardiest consumer-oriented snappers on the market, the Mju Tough-8000. But if you don't dive to great depths and just want a compact you can safely bring to the beach, the Mju Tough-6010 is an ideal choice. This model succeeds the Mju Tough-6000, and though its upgrades are incremental with the addition of Magic Filters, we did have fun with the camera. Not only did this Olympus emerge from our tests without a scratch, it delivered some shots with nice color, too. That said, we were slightly disappointed with the noise control at mid-ISO sensitivity, while the use of xD-Picture Cards (or microSD card with adapter) just doesn't cut it.
However, don't let its pretty looks deceive you into thinking that this is just another compact shooter. Hold it and the 149g weight tells you this point-and-shoot has some serious internal engineering to prevent the chassis from suffering abuses such as drops or water seepage.
Press the power button on the top of the camera and the metal lens cover on the front slides down to expose the lens. A myriad of buttons are located behind the camera. The zoom lever is near the top, while the mode dial rests below. Both can be easily operated with the thumb. The four-way navigation pad is flanked by four other buttons and are clearly labeled so users shouldn't have a problem identifying them.
What we found to be a flaw was the positioning of the flash. There was more than one occasion when we accidentally blocked it with a finger while taking shots. Olympus could have positioned the flash a tad higher or a bit more toward the lens, though given the limited real estate on the camera, it wouldn't make a big difference anyway.
While the Tough-6010 hold up well in our tests, it fared average when its specifications were pitted against competing models.
As the table shows, it's a close fight between the PowerShot D10 and the Tough-6010. The Canon is able to dive deeper, while the Olympus has a wider-angle lens and larger LCD. Hence, it really boils down to the user's needs when choosing between the two cameras.
Olympus recent dSLRs are equipped with an Art Filter function. A slimmed-down version, the Magic Filter, is introduced in the Tough-6010. The rugged camera has four Magic Filters--Pop, Pin Hole, Sketch and Fish-Eye. We have to say these picture effects are quite unique, especially Fish-Eye which distorts the view, which can make for interesting shots.
The Tough-6010 can also function as a flashlight with its LED illuminator. Hold down the display button for 2 seconds and the front LED turns on. While it is not the brightest we've seen, we can imagine how useful this feature will be for campers at night.
As with other Tough-series cameras, the Tough-6010 has a Tap Control function. Previous model implementations of this feature were somewhat laggy when we tried it, but the Tough-6010 is responsive. To activate the flash, we just had to tap the right end of the shooter. We think Tap Control can be made even better if allowed to map customized options, such as exposure compensation.
A major gripe we've always had with Olympus cameras is the use of xD-Picture Cards for storage. This format maxes out at 2GB capacity and the transfer rate is horribly slow. For example, we used a Type M card for this review and found out that the maximum length for video clips we could record was 10 seconds. Olympus does try to make up by bundling a microSD card adapter, and using this did solve the video problem. However, we still think the company should switch to the SD format which has a larger capacity, speedier transfer rate and more affordable pricing.
Tags: DSLR, Light-emitting Diode, Tough-6010, 3M Co., Camera
Design
At first glance, you may not be able to tell that the Tough-6010 is a rugged camera. The duo-tone front gives the shooter a more stylish look and the color options available--red, green and gray--should appeal to the young and trendy crowd.)
However, don't let its pretty looks deceive you into thinking that this is just another compact shooter. Hold it and the 149g weight tells you this point-and-shoot has some serious internal engineering to prevent the chassis from suffering abuses such as drops or water seepage.
Press the power button on the top of the camera and the metal lens cover on the front slides down to expose the lens. A myriad of buttons are located behind the camera. The zoom lever is near the top, while the mode dial rests below. Both can be easily operated with the thumb. The four-way navigation pad is flanked by four other buttons and are clearly labeled so users shouldn't have a problem identifying them.
What we found to be a flaw was the positioning of the flash. There was more than one occasion when we accidentally blocked it with a finger while taking shots. Olympus could have positioned the flash a tad higher or a bit more toward the lens, though given the limited real estate on the camera, it wouldn't make a big difference anyway.
)
Features
The highlight of the Mju-6010 is its tough capabilities, and this Olympus can dive to depths of 3m (for a maximum of 2 hours), withstand shocks from drops of 1.5m and operate in minus 10 degrees Celsius environments. We put all these claims to the test by dipping the Tough-6010 in a pool and snapping shots underwater, then dropping it onto concrete surfaces repeatedly, before leaving it in the freezer just to see if it would still work fine after that. We are glad to say that the camera survived the onslaught without a scratch on the surface. That's also probably due to the Scratch Cure coating on the glossy surface which removes minor blemishes caused by rough handling.While the Tough-6010 hold up well in our tests, it fared average when its specifications were pitted against competing models.
| Specifications/model | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Mju Tough-6010 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP |
| Sensor resolution | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Dimension/weight | 103.6 x 66.9 x 48.8mm/190g | 95.3 x 63.4 x 22.4mm/149g | 92 x 59.8 x 20.6mm/110g |
| Waterproof | 10m | 3m | 3m |
| Shockproof | 1.22m | 1.5m | N/A |
| Freezeproof | -10 degrees Celsius | -10 degrees Celsius | N/A |
| LCD size | 2.5-inch | 2.7-inch | 2.7-inch |
| Zoom/focal length | 3x/35-105mm | 3.6x/28-100.8mm | 3x/35-105mm |
| Max. video resolution | 640 x 480 pixels at 30fps | 640 x 480 pixels at 30fps | 640 x 480 pixels at 30fps |
| Image stabilizer | Optical | Sensor-shift | Optical |
| Memory media | SD/SDHC | xD-Picture Card/microSD card | SD/SDHC |
| Related links | Review | Review |
Olympus recent dSLRs are equipped with an Art Filter function. A slimmed-down version, the Magic Filter, is introduced in the Tough-6010. The rugged camera has four Magic Filters--Pop, Pin Hole, Sketch and Fish-Eye. We have to say these picture effects are quite unique, especially Fish-Eye which distorts the view, which can make for interesting shots.
)
The Tough-6010 can also function as a flashlight with its LED illuminator. Hold down the display button for 2 seconds and the front LED turns on. While it is not the brightest we've seen, we can imagine how useful this feature will be for campers at night.
As with other Tough-series cameras, the Tough-6010 has a Tap Control function. Previous model implementations of this feature were somewhat laggy when we tried it, but the Tough-6010 is responsive. To activate the flash, we just had to tap the right end of the shooter. We think Tap Control can be made even better if allowed to map customized options, such as exposure compensation.
)
A major gripe we've always had with Olympus cameras is the use of xD-Picture Cards for storage. This format maxes out at 2GB capacity and the transfer rate is horribly slow. For example, we used a Type M card for this review and found out that the maximum length for video clips we could record was 10 seconds. Olympus does try to make up by bundling a microSD card adapter, and using this did solve the video problem. However, we still think the company should switch to the SD format which has a larger capacity, speedier transfer rate and more affordable pricing.
Tags: DSLR, Light-emitting Diode, Tough-6010, 3M Co., Camera
Rate It Now
User Discussion
sawan:
I loved Olympus for their lead in the Tough (SW earlier) series compacts. They bettered their products but now ...
