The Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 is the fourth update in the line of premium tough cameras from Olympus, replacing the TG-3, and features a bright f/2.0 lens, aperture control, raw support, and full HD video recording. The TG-4 is waterproof to 15 metres, shockproof from a height of 2.1 metres, as well as crushproof, freezeproof, and dustproof.
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 Features
The Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 features a 4x optical zoom lens, with a bright aperture of f/2.0, and is equivalent to 25mm to 100mm in 35mm terms. The sensor is a 16 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, with sensor-shift image stabilisation to help keep shots sharp in low light or when using the optical zoom.
The TG-4 has a removable front ring, once removed you can attach accessories including a fisheye adapter, teleconverter, and LED light ring flash. You can also get an underwater case to extend the waterproof depth to 45 metres, and with this there are further accessories available including electronic flash units, underwater wide conversion lens, and an underwater macro conversion lens.
Waterproof to 15 metres, shockproof from 2.1 metres, crushproof up to 100kg, freezeproof to -10C, and dustproof the TG-4 should survive under water, in extreme conditions or from mistreatment, which makes it suitable for lending to even the most careless children (and adults!).
The TG-4 features a number of advanced features including Interval shooting, Live composite, Panoramic, Two custom modes, 5 underwater modes (including underwater HDR), as well as newly added raw shooting. There is an intelligent Auto mode, as well as numerous scene modes and Art filters to make the camera easy to use.
The camera has a number of macro modes: Autofocus stacking macro mode (8mp), Focus bracketing at 16mp that you can stitch together yourself later, microscope macro, and microscope control. When shooting using focus bracketing advanced options let you change the number of shots taken from 10, 20 or 30 frames, as well as adjust the focus range.
Live composite mode has been introduced from the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, E-M10, and E-M10 II, and lets you take long-exposure scenes like starscapes and night photographs without the photo becoming over-exposed. Using this you get to preview the result while shooting so you can see exactly what's happening.
Built-in Wi-Fi lets you share files with iOS and Android mobile devices, geotag photos with GPS location information, remotely compose the shot, adjust camera settings, and trip the shutter, apply custom signatures, Art filters, and stamps, using the Olympus O.I.Share app.
Built-in GPS give you GPS tagging, auto time adjust, GPS tracking, and A-GPS data. Pressing the INFO button on the back of the camera with brings up a display with compass, latitude / longitude, barometer, altitude / water depth, and the date / time. Other features include Tap control, manometer, and LED illuminator.
FullHD video is recorded with stereo sound at 30fps, with optical zoom and image stabilisation. The camera has a number of high-speed video modes, recording at 240 or 120fps, although at a reduced resolution.
Key Features
- 16 megapixel BSI 1/2.3inch CMOS sensor
- 4x optical zoom lens, f/2.0, 25-100mm equivalent
- Sensor-shift image stabilisation
- 3inch screen, 460k dots
- Waterproof to 15m, Shockproof to 2.1m, Crushproof to 100kg
- Wi-Fi, GPS & Electronic Compass
- 1080p Full HD Movie and HDMI Control
- High-speed video 240fps
- 5fps continuous shooting at full resolution, 60fps at 3mp
- ISO 100-6400, Raw shooting
- 1cm minimum focusing distance
- Aperture priority mode
- HDR Backlight Adjustment
- In-Camera Panorama
- Manometer, Tap control, LED illuminator
- 4:3, 1:1, 16:9, 3:2 aspect ratio
- Available in red or black
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 Handling
The Olympus Tough TG-4 feels extremely well built with a chunky front grip made out of tough rubber and the opening compartments feature a dual locking system to ensure they aren't accidentally opened when using the camera underwater. The back of the camera has a textured area for your thumb to hold onto, and there is a wrist strap provided in the box.
The mode dial has been updated compared to the previous model, with two custom modes, plus an underwater setting. The rest of the buttons feel large enough to use when wet, as well as being clear to see. The camera has an aperture priority mode that lets you set the aperture, with f/2.0, f/2.8 and f/8,0 available at the wide end of the lens, and f/4.9, f/6.3, and f/18 available when fully zoomed. The camera has zoom rocker on top of the camera, along with the on/off button and shutter release. The screen resolution is reasonable at 460K dots, and viewing angles are good.
Menus – The options and settings are clearly laid out and easy to navigate with a press of the left arrow bringing up the photo options on screen, so that you can see the changes the options make straight away. To access the full menu options you scroll to the bottom of the list, or press the menu button, where you'll find more advanced options as well as setup options for GPS, Tough, Wi-Fi, Interval, Focus bracketing, and Custom settings.
Wi-Fi features - Built-in Wi-Fi gives the ability to use a smartphone for remote shutter release and setting up the connection is very easy as you simply need to scan a QR code on the camera screen using the O.I.Share app. You can download and share images, apply art filters and other effects, as well as use the app to geotag images (in case you want to switch off GPS on the camera to save battery life).
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 380 shots according to CIPA / Olympus testing. The battery is a 1350mAh rated unit, so provides a decent amount of battery life, although extended use of GPS and Wi-Fi will reduce battery life.
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
| Shutter Response | <0.05secs |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.125secs |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.15secs |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 0.9secs |
| Shot to Shot without Flash | 0.6secs |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 1.4secs |
| Continuous Shooting - JPEG (shots before slow down) |
4.5fps (100 shots) |
| Continuous Shooting - Flash | 1.2secs |
| Continuous Shooting - RAW | N/A |
Focus and shutter response are both very quick, and the camera can shoot at 4.5fps and keep shooting for up to 100 shots before stopping, when shooting JPEG images. Raw shooting isn't available when in the continuous shooting mode.
Olympus Tough TG-4 Sample Photos
Sample Photos - Photos have very good colour with bright saturated images produced, however images can appear a little soft at times. Photos taken with flash shoe no signs of red-eye, and the camera produces pleasing skin tones. Exposure is reliable, and the camera produces images that look good when shared on the web.
Olympus Tough TG-4 Lens test images
Lens Performance - Detail is reasonably good at the wide angle end of the lens, although softer in the corners of the frame, and the lens is bright with an f/2.0 aperture. Images are softer at the telephoto end of the lens, and the aperture stops down to f/4.9. The camera does a good job of controlling barrel and pincushion distortion, with no real issues spotted, although lens flare can be an issue with the sun in the frame. It's also important to ensure that the lens is clean as there is no built-in lens cover with this camera.
Macro performance is impressive with the camera able to focus on subjects just 1cm away from the front of the lens. The problem with this is that the shallow depth of field means only a very small amount of the image is in focus. Olympus has solved this problem with an automatic focus stacking macro mode that takes a number of photos with different focus points and merges them together in-camera, producing an 8 megapixel image. There is also a focus bracketing mode that can take 10, 20 or 30 images at 16 megapixels, and you can then stitch them together in a focus stacking app, or use something like Adobe Photoshop's photomerge tool.
Olympus Tough TG-4 ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - For the lowest noise and best detail possible we would recommend using ISO100 to ISO200, as images have low levels of noise and reasonable levels of detail. For lower light situations ISO400 to ISO800 still provides good results, although noise increases and detail is reduced. At ISO1600 to ISO3200 noise levels become strong and we would recommend avoiding these settings if possible, although results may still be useful if resized and used on the web. ISO6400 is best avoided as noise is extremely high, and detail is very low.
Olympus Tough TG-4 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well with a warm result under tungsten lighting, with the tungsten preset giving a more accurate result. AWB performs very well under fluorescent lights, with the fluorescent preset giving a magenta colour cast.
Olympus Tough TG-4 Digital filters
Digital Filters - There are a large number of art filters and digital effects available, including a High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode that combines a number of shots for improved dynamic range.
Panorama mode - The camera features an automatic panoramic mode, where you simply press the shutter release button and pan the camera from one side to the other, with three photos stitched together. Results are reasonable, although the process isn't as smooth as other cameras, and stitching isn't always very good.
Video - The camera records full HD video at 30fps, with stereo sound and optical zoom. You can adjust the recording volume from normal to low, and switch the microphone on and off. The image stabilisation hasn't coped very well in our video below, and the focus struggled at times when we used the zoom.
Value For Money
The Olympus Tough TG-4 is available for £279 which puts it at the more expensive end of the market, although it does offer a bright lens, built in Wi-Fi and GPS, raw shooting and other features that other cameras don't offer. Alternatives to consider include the following waterproof cameras:
Nikon Coolpix AW130, 30m, f/2.8 lens, Wi-Fi, GPS, £218
Canon Powershot D30, 25m, f/3.9 lens, GPS, £178
Panasonic Lumix FT5, 13m, f/3.3 lens, Wi-Fi, GPS £209
Fujifilm FinePix XP80, 15m, f/3.9 lens, Wi-Fi, £149
Ricoh WG-5 GPS, 14m, f/2.0 lens, GPS, £219
Have a look at more waterproof camera in our Top 10 Best Waterproof Cameras 2015. You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 Verdict
The Olympus Tough TG-4 offers a bright f/2.0 4x optical zoom lens, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, raw shooting and other features that other cameras don't offer, such as macro focus stacking / bracketing, as well as live-composite. The camera gives some level of control with aperture priority mode, although the number of apertures available is quite limited. You also have the option of adding accessories to the camera including a ring-flash adapter, wide-angle converter and telephoto adapter. There are also a large number of underwater accessories available including external flash units and underwater lens convertors, as well as several underwater scene modes designed to get the best results. Good battery life, and a 2 year warranty give extra confidence in the durability of the TG-4.
Image quality is reasonably good, with good colour reproduction, however, images are a little soft, which is fairly common with folded optics lenses. The lens is brighter than most other waterproof cameras, with an f/2.0 lens, which will help in low light or underwater. Image stabilisation is also included in the camera, although this struggled when we were recording video hand-held. The Olympus Tough TG-4 is more expensive than other waterproof cameras, however, for those that want the extra features on offer, as well as the option to add additional accessories, the TG-4 could be well worth the investment.
The Olympus Tough TG-4 goes beyond what you would expect from a compact camera with advanced shooting modes and a variety of accessories available.