Review: The Olympus Tough TG-6 is another mid-priced waterproof camera, one that is particularly tailored towards beginner user level. In many way’s it’s similar to the SeaLife Micro 3.0; being able to shoot 4K video at 30fps or 1080p at 120fps, as well as having image stabilization and RAW support.
However, there’s a few key differences between these two waterproof cameras. The Olympus TG only has 12 megapixels, whereas the Micro 3.0 has 16. This means that stills captured by this underwater camera are not quite as detailed, resulting in lower image quality.
That said, unlike the Micro 3.0, the Olympus TG does have an optical zoom with a zoom range of 4X – nice!
Another really cool feature of this underwater camera is it’s dynamic range – it has the ability to focus on images as close as 3.9 inches (10cm); which allows it to take shots that are far more up-close than the SeaLife Micro 3.0, which can’t focus on anything closer than 15inches (38cm).
To further compliment this, the Olympus TG also has an effective macro mode built in meaning that it will have no problem getting those super up-close shots and will easily get the focus just right for the user. For those who prefer wide-angle photography, it’s also possible to mount a separate wet lens on it.
This waterproof camera is also quite a bit cheaper than the SeaLife Micro 3.0. However, whilst it is waterproof without a housing to 50ft (15m), for it to go deeper, you must purchase the underwater housing separately. The underwater housing costs another few hundred dollars and when this is taken into consideration, there’s less of a price gap between the TG-6 and SeaLife Micro 30.0.
Even for newish scuba divers, fun dives often exceed 50ft, so having the Tough TG-6 as a dive camera without the underwater casing, isn’t going to work out long term!
Also, it’s important to note, that whereas with their included underwater housings the SeaLife Micro 3.0’s have an impressive depth rating of 200ft (60m), the Olympus TG is only waterproof in it’s casing to 147ft (47m). That said, 131ft (40m) is the maximum depth for recreational scuba diving, so this shouldn’t be a problem.