Olympus Mju Tough TG-810

The Mju series of compact cameras from Olympus has been around for a fair few years now, and the TG-810 is presently the top model in the 'Tough' Mju subseries. Here in New Zealand you'll also find the lower-specced TG-310, but we asked for 'fully rugged' and that's what we got.

With a dual-locking battery door that relies on a solid metal latch, the Mju Tough TG810 won't be letting water, snow, dirt or sand anywhere near the inside of its rugged metal exterior. That exterior is extremely tough, but lacks the rubbery, impact-absorbing surround of the Panasonic DMC-FT3. This does make it easier to clean and to drain water from, but gives it less protection against knocks and drops on hard surfaces. Nonetheless, it's rated for the same 2m drops. It's also waterproof to 10m, crushproof to 100kg and freezeproof to -10°C. An external housing is available for dives up to 40m.

Unusually for a toughened camera (and improving on the DMC-FT3), Olympus' TG-810 even features a metal lens cover that flips into place when the camera is off – making the camera a totally self-contained piece of hardware, no protective case required.

The lens arrangement provides 5x optical zoom, or 28-140mm in 35mm camera terms. It's far from the 10x or more offered by 'travel zoom' compacts, but by keeping the lens entirely within the body of the camera at all times, the TG-810 greatly increases its robustness.

Image quality from the 14 megapixel sensor is good, with minimal noise and good colour reproduction under bright outdoor lighting conditions. Which is, of course, just where this camera is designed to be used. Video recording is supported up to 720p, and there's a dedicated 'record' button on the back of the camera below the zoom controls.

The TG-810's controls in general are good, though the menu navigation joystick is a little fiddly – discrete buttons would have been easier to operate. The zoom rocker switch could stand to be a little larger also, as it provides very little travel and tactile feedback.

Strangely, the camera can be turned on by pressing any of the 'playback', 'info' or 'menu' buttons on the back, not just the power button – I found this offers far too great a chance of accidentally turning the camera on in your pocket or bag, and wasting away its battery power with an unintentional video shoot.

Like many current-generation compacts, the Mju Tough includes a GPS receiver to geo-tag your photos. At the cost of shortened battery life, you can avoid many the “where did I take that?” moment a few months or years down the track. It also features an electronic compass which provides your current heading, without requiring a GPS fix. Great if you're looking to shoot the perfect sunrise or sunset, and want to find the best place to watch for it.

Altogether, the Mju Tough TG-810 is a solid camera with a good feature set for the price. If you want a camera that'll never require a carry case, this is a good one to go for.