Home > Consumer Reviews > Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide Angle Optical Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver)

I bought this cam a month back before going on a snorkeling trip to key west and I totally love this cam. I was able to capture so many memories that would not have been possible with out a water proof cam ,took this to the beach , pool , snorkeling , para sailing , during wave runners .... every were i went :) and it worked great.

I already own a Nikon D5000 and I love it but i had been thinking about buying a compact cam that will fit in my pocket and can be carried every where . I did some research on do it all cams and Tough 8000 and Canon D10 were my top picks .I ended up buying tough 8000 as the D10 is too bulky to fit in pocket(and its ugly :)).

here are some of the facts I considered :

Pro : -Stylish
-compact - fits in your pocket( compared to D10)
-Good to OK image quality in day light and all the out door activities are in daylight
-Good battery life - did not run out of juice in two days of moderate use
-and of course the best part Accident proof - water/drop/freeze/crush(water and drop tested)
- fast response start up time and capture time

Cons : -bit heavier than others but not too heavy to bother you ( its piece of steel slab)
-Costly - will cost you over 300$ for sure so costly compared to others
-uses Olympus propitiatory cards and wires (XD card and data cable not same as the mini usb )so you
have to carry them around
-OK image quality ( not terrible)in high ISO( low light) - images were good with flash but as any
other compact cams objects close were over exposed and others were under exposed which is common
for any compact cam.

Bottom line : I love this cam.This is a cam you can take anywhere you go without being bothered about it getting broken .If you own a bigger cam are are looking for a compact one to take to places you dot want to carry a huge cam this is a ideal choice , but if this is going to be your only cam you should have a look at Canon D10( bit better image quality) or some other non water proof cam

Very rugged. Takes great photos. I've had it for 2 years and have used it in pools and the ocean.

I did have a moisture leak at the beach during the middle of vacation. I think it was caused by sand that prevented the seals from sealing. I found water inside the battery compartment AND inside the data port area. The camera continued to take photos, but the video screen blacked out, so I couldn't tell if it was working or not.

I used a tip from a friend to fix it. Besides the obvious drying off the components gingerly, I bought a couple of pounds of uncooked rice and a big tupperware-type container. I opened the camera doors and put it in the rice and sealed it all up. In theory, the rice sucks the moisture out. I had been told to give it 3 days, but I only waited 1 day to test -- and it worked good as new afterward. I took more care to remove all of the little bits of sand from the seals and use the camera in the ocean 2 more days without any problems.

The weakest aspect of this camera is the video recording. The videos come out a bit dark, grainy and jumpy, and the audio is terrible. But considering everything else this camera does so well, I can't take off any stars for that.

I bought the black camera, but after 2 years of rugged use, the black decal has completely disappeared. So now my camera is a super-shiny silver. I could probably use it as a signal device if I ever get lost at sea.

This camera should be rated splash proof. I have returned this camera twice to olympus and both times the problem persist. water in the batterycompartment. the camera is now dead. I really liked the camera, but i cannot understand why the reviews on this site are so diversed.

those that tested the waterproof and were successful must be very lucky.

I'm a Canon person, but I decided to stray from my successful formula and try this little Olympus. I'd always been interested in underwater photography, but not enough to spend real money on serious equipment. When I saw this little guy on display (in a fish tank) at the camera shop, I made an impulse purchase and spent 400$ on it. WHAT A MISTAKE! It worked okay the first time I took it snorkeling, but the second time it began to act up. Finally, it died and I found water in the battery/memory card compartment. It ruined my trip and I immediately sent it into Olympus upon my return. It came back all clean and seemed perfect...UNTIL I took it snorkeling again (on the next trip) and it immediately died. In fact, I found water in both the battery and the usb compartments the second time. I sent it back to Olympus and now it's supposed to be fixed, but I have yet to try it in the water. I'm going to try it in the bathtub before I get on a plane again and I'm hoping it'll work this time. Still, it's been a real roller coaster ride and I will never count on this camera to perform properly. I was also VERY disappointed that Olympus failed to fix it properly. Photo quality is also quite poor and the camera operates very slowly- if at all. AVOID. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!

We absolutely love this camera - great picture quality and very easy to use. It holds up very well to multiple users and kids with the "dropsies". And it is great to have the underwater feature.

So far we have been very pleased with our purchase.