Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 (mju Tough 8000)

Opinion: I took over 1000 pictures in China in two weeks, and I only deleted 300 of them, and that was operator error. This camera is GREAT. When I first go it I dropped it into the river near our cabin and attached it to my remote controlled boat. The colour is beautiful and crisp. If you want a little tiny do-it-all thingy-ma-jig, this is yours.

One feature I love is the flashlight. The video is great.

Opinion: I've had two of these cameras. One froze and broke, but that was to mistreatment after taking it to the beach.
If all you use this camera for is sticking in your pocket while hiking, it's a pretty solid point and shoot. I've had this thing jammed in my pocket in the jungle and the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. I've taken it snowboarding, snorkeling and left it in my hot bags on a flightline.
The shots always come out clear, there are enough scene settings to not worry about wanting manual input. The only time i've had any bad shots is under low light, the flash can be somewhat harsh.

If you realize this is a point and shoot meant to be durable and not a fancy SLR or higher end mirrorless, then it's impressive. I've stuffed it into a pocket as an afterthought and have been happy to be able to take some snapshots of adventures and misadventures.
They saying is the best camera is the one you brought with you, I'd take this almost anywhere without worrying if i was going to damage it and lose out on a few hundred dollars.

If all you want is a rugged packable point and shoot for everyday carry and use, then I'd highly recommend this camera.

Opinion: 1 year in 17ft of water still works perfect. i have been using
olympus waterproof cameras for 4 years and while although
the image quality and video features leave much to be
desired you can not compare them with anything in their
price range thanks to their amazing build quality! Dont be
an idiot and not check the seal before using it in water! this
specific camera was found at the bottom of the lake in 17ft
of water the last picture had been taken just over a year
ago. it was found this spring right after the ice went off and
the water was still clear. it had algae all over it from being at
the bottom for soo long. it even had enough battery power
to turn it on for a minute. I also have a tough 6000 series
which i am dissapointed with tho as it does not take as good
of pictures as my old 790sw did and the 6000 is way slower
then my older cheaper 790sw!.

Opinion: The Though 8000 leaked after a few months of use.
It was a warranty replacement for the flooded 1030SW.
I own a few Olympus waterproof cameras for sea kayakingand onlythe very fist model (720SW) lasted 3 years. Two later models (1030SW) corroded, flooded or leaked. TheThough8000 is gettiing repaired under warranty.
While most reviews of cameras come form keen new owners this one is form somebody that has used Olympus waterproof cameras for 4 years.
Needless to say that Olympus aren't the only game in town and I will no longer purchase their unreliable waterpoof cameras.
For a long term test/review of Olympus waterproof camera that I have owned: http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com/2009/11/compact-waterproof-cameras-long-term.html

Opinion: Exelent camera.
It just do as it say,
The build qalitie is exelent.the LCD screen is nice and bright,even in strong sun.

The strong point is the underwater qalitie,however image qalitie is good,but sharpness is verry soft.

I set the camera to 5 MP instead of 12 with alot better sharpness,to mush Mp on one tine sensor.
the results are still soft,but can easely be sharpening in software.

The user interface is good,only the tiny buttons on the back can have some problems,most of the time I press more then one key.
The olympus have some neat settings,but all are automatic.
However you have the option to overide some settings.
Iso,Exposure,Flash settings,white balange,but no sharpening,no raw,no color settings.

All with all it is not an canon G11,but the olympus do take good pictures,as long you don,t look at 100% viewing.
I suppose thad is not the way to look for an underwater camera.

The + are
good exposure.
Fast and accurate.
Alot of scene settings covering most.
Good flash pictures.
Focus wel in poor light.
Led to shine on verry close objects.Also underwater.
Exelent LCD monitor,bright and clear.
Nice looking camera.

Opinion: T8000 feels like a solidly built compact camera, with the promise of a rugged construction. Waterproof & shockproof would be great, and I really liked the smart flash settings, esp. the extra LED mini-flash setting for macro shots. But we took it back to the store for refund because it had very poor image quality compared to Canon G9. Both are 12MP, but T8000 photos were way too grainy, and it poorly chose high ISO (200 or 400) even for a normal indoor candid flash portraits. Photos looked good on 3 inch LCD or small prints, but were terribly fuzzy and grainy on the 1080p HDTV.

Opinion: Just saw a TV news report:
http://www.chbcnews.ca/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=18130
in which a woman dropped her camera (pretty sure it was an Oly 8000) from a bridge into a river, from which it was carried into a lake. After five weeks it was "caught" by a fisherman, and returned to her. She was found from the plate on a vehicle on one of the photos. The camera still works, and she claims it gives her better results than four others she owns. I don't have one of these, but give it a five for construction! Other ratings follow those given by owners.

Opinion: Not much to say but there are too few reviews.

It's designed as a waterproof, freezeproof, shockproof camera. They did it in a tiny package. Image quality was not the primary consideration, and it shows in the results.

However, images are pretty good for what it is in auto mode. I like some aperture and shutter speed options which this lacks, but most of my photos (excluding underwater) were as good in auto as in scene modes.

That said, it worked for me to 30 ft in salt water. I'm happy with the purchase. I paid a lot when it was first released, but prices are better now and it does what it is supposed to do - survive to swim another day.

Fortunately it is not my only camera or my only P&S. If you are the least bit picky, it shouldn't be your only camera. However, for safety this is the one I normally use.

A general pet peeve is the night modes on P&S cameras - people carrying tiny cameras are not carrying tripods to stabilize them long enough for not shots.

Opinion: After sitting through a rain-soaked F-1 race this year, I realized I wanted a bomb-proof camera in addition to all my other ones. And so after doing all the research on this site, off I went to the camera mall (we have those here in China).

I looked at 5 contenders that all had their strengths and weaknesses. And while the Lumix FT1 is drop-dead gorgeous, it's not nearly as "tough." So when I first picked up this Olympus, my first primal thoughts were "Oooh shinny... Hummm heavy." Nice.

But as you work your way through the buttons and menu layout, you realize how intelligent this camera is (and that's coming from a Nikon and Leica snob). Like moving the "Format" command (which I use frequently) to the very first option as opposed to burying it like on all my other gear. Also, being able to access the WB, ISO, shutter speed, focusing, shadow-boost (a neat feature) and image size all off the buttons, instead of within the main menu, is simple and smart.

You do need a honeymoon period with the camera to get the best results and to develop a working relationship with the exposure compensation view. As for results... it's a point-n-shoot. It's fine. If you can augment the 19 scene pre-sets by making fine adjustments in ISO and such, you'll get better results. But the underwater pre-sets are great since I have no experience shooting in that environment.

As for toughness, here's my take. My dive watch is rated to 1,000 meters; which tells me it'll handle my 40 meter (120 feet) dives no sweat. So while this camera is rated for 10 meters underwater and 2 meters for shockproof, that tells me it'll do just fine in any pool or when it falls out of my backpack. And so far, this has more than held up.

It feels great in your hand, is very robust, intelligently laid out and a joy to tote around. Quirky fun stuff like using the LED as a flashlight and Tap Control will amuse your friends and are actually useful.