(Note regarding video: There has been some talk about how fast the start-up time is, so I uploaded a video so you can see for yourself. Pretty impressive!)
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I am so excited to be writing this review. At long last I have what I consider to be the *PERFECT* rugged camera.
Before I begin my review, here's my background:
I'm a wedding photographer by trade, so I have some pretty good experience-based insight about cameras (although more so with DLSR's) AND I have owned two other waterproof cameras. My first was the Canon D10 and I loved the new freedom it gave me to go underwater but it was huge and ugly (like a big bubble). I used this for years until it Nikon came out with their new Nikon COOLPIX AW100. This "upgrade" was actually a HUGE mistake as I found it more like a "downgrade" in many ways. Perhaps I'll write a review of the Nikon someday, but I'll mention some comparisons between the two below. To add perspective on that, I sold the Nikon at a loss and waited and studied the competition. Once the new Canon D20 came out, I was about to press `buy' when I saw an article on this Olympus. I ended up waiting a few more weeks for this bad-boy to release and I am SO GLAD I did.
Construction:
The camera looks great and feels sturdy. It's not oversized like the Canon, and not hollow-feeling like the Nikon. It just feels like a well-built machine, and this "feel" is important to me.
The lens is in the center! This is another one of the standout features of this camera. This allows you to hold it from both sides for even steadier shots. The other cameras lenses were off to the far left. Not only is that hard for lefties, but it makes them much harder to hold successfully with both hands (without blocking something).
The strap is thick and adjustable, which you'll want when you take it in the ocean. In comparison, the Nikon DID NOT even come with an underwater strap only non-waterproof hand strap, which I felt was an odd choice. The instructions even stated the strap was not to be used in the water. Perhaps it's like selling a DVD player without an HDMI cord? I never looked to see how much Nikon was charging for an underwater strap.
The buttons are well-placed, logical and were easy for me to use. Some are small, but they're located well so they're easy to push without pushing something else by accident.
The battery case and charger ports are protected with doors that have TWO locks on them. You lock the first, and then you need to lock the second. If you want to open them, reverse the order. I appreciate this added security as I am someone that likes to pick at things in my hands and several times on my Canon I had picked open the batter door in the pool (luckily above water).
The screen is big (3") and, because it is OLED, it is visible from almost any viewing angle and even clear in bright sun. With this being an "outdoorsy" camera, the benefits of this screen are great.
The 25mm lens is really WIDE! This is just what you want for ocean shots. You can really stretch out the underwater scene and add drama. This camera will be your best friend in Hawaii! I also like the wide angle lens in pools as well.
The camera supports add-on lenses that screw on OVER the current lens. In other words, there is no extra vulnerable location for water to get in.
Menus:
The menu system is exceptional and has a lot of similarities with my $3499 Canon 5d Mark III. When you hit the menu button, you get:
Camera Menu 1: compression, shadow adjust, AF mode, metering mode, digital zoom, image stabilizer
Camera Menu 2: accessory settings, AF illumination, rec. view, pic orientation, icon guide, date stamp, super-res zoom
Movie Menu: image size, IS movie mode, mic, wind noise reduction, recording volume
Playback Menu: slideshow, photo surfing, edit, erase, print order, lock, upload order
Settings Menu 1: format, backup, Eye-Fi, custom mode setup, USB connection, power on, sound settings
Settings Menu 2: file name, pixel mapping, monitor brightness, info, tv out, power save, language
Settings Menu 3: time, world time, reset database, beauty settings, tough settings, gps settings
On the Nikon, I would have to hunt and peck to find what I was looking for. I was maddening sometimes as I tried to find where the GPS settings were. This is such an issue on the Nikon, you can Google it and see how many people need help finding where to turn the GPS on/off.
One feature that has really come in handy is that when you stop the cursor on a menu selection, there is scrolling text at the bottom that says exactly what that button does in a complete sentence! This is a HUGE help for anyone who doesn't want to lug around (or memorize) the manual.
GPS:
Not only does this camera tag the pictures with the GPS location, but you also can turn on a feature where it will track your entire route for you. For example, if you hike the John Muir trail, you might take pictures every few hours and with another GPS camera you would have a general idea of the path you took but with this one you would have an actual line of your every step. This is an incredible keepsake for `off the grid' exploring hikes.
Taking pictures:
This camera is SMOKING FAST. Without having to lower the resolution of the photos, you can take 6 frames per seconds, which is the same as my Canon 5d mark III. Incredible! In fact, it takes pictures so fast that when you playback in the camera, it shows them in succession like a movie. This was an incredible way to watch my kids dive into the pool and then swim up to me!
The picture quality is fantastic. On both the Canon and the Nikon I always felt let-down by my end results. Something about these underwater cameras makes them produce pictures without enough contrast. This means that the pictures would lack the "POP" that I love so much in regular photography. Of course you can artificially add this in post-processing, but it's an extra step I don't need. This OLYMPUS doesn't suffer from this problem so the pictures really look great straight out of the camera.
Movie Mode:
I have only done a little with the movies, but the ones I've done so far are beautiful. There's something amazing about being able to shoot a video underwater. It's a lot of fun. As time goes by, I'll report back to add more about the video capabilities.
Fun Modes:
In addition to the standard modes (auto, P, action, low light, and scene), there are also "Magic" modes which are very fun to play with. They are akin to Instagram pictures in that they apply effects to the picture but what makes them more fun is that you see the effects as you take it! Here are the modes with brief descriptions:
Pop art oversaturated colors
Pin hole vignette, like an old camera
Fish eye simulates a fish-eye lens (really fun!)
Line drawing turns the picture into something like a coloringbook page
Soft focus like old school wedding photography (eek!)
Punk turns pictures pink and black (actually more fun than you might think)
Sparkle simulates a star filter, which turns any points of light into stars (great for Christmas lights or city lights)
Watercolor mutes the colors, adds line (see `Line' above)
Reflection like a kaleidoscope
Miniature simulates a tilt-shift lens. If you haven't heard of this style of photography, Google it. Super fun.
Fragmented like a shattered mirror
Dramatic processes pictures with a "grunge" look
I am not usually a fan of these types of special effects, but for the review I thought I'd test them out. A few are gimmicky for sure, but some, such as the fish-eye, sparkle, pin-hole, and miniature are actually quite fun and a few of those will be useful for more than just goofing around (i.e. sparkle at Christmas, fish-eye of skateboarding, etc.)
Conclusion:
I have finally found what I've been looking for in a waterproof camera. Something I don't have to baby that takes GREAT pictures without any of the sacrifices typically associated with "rugged" point-and-shoot cameras.
I wholeheartedly recommend this camera with no reservations.
If you found this review helpful, please let me know! Also, if you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments and I'll try my best to answer them.
---7/3/2012 UPDATE:
I continue to enjoy this camera! The amount of fun pictures I've taken this summer that I wouldn't have been able to take on my other camera (because of exposure to water, sand, etc) has been worth the cost of admission alone. Here's something else I love:
The mode dial on the camera is a such a useful feature (more than you would think). Recently I had the camera in the middle of a lake at a floating obstacle course with my kids. I was taking pictures of them diving off this platform in 60fps mode and then I wanted to switch back into standard mode and all I had to do was twist the dial. It was hard enough treading water in the choppy lake, so having the ability to switch with ease was such a help. It I had to dig through a complicated menu system, I probably would have sunk to the bottom! ;)
Here are the modes available from the dial:
iAUTO Camera chooses the mode based on the scene
Program Auto (this is what I use mostly) Like iAUTO, but allows you to make changes to: flash, macro, self-timer (12 sec, 2 sec), exposure compensation, white balance, ISO, sequential (1 fps, 6 fps at 12mp, 60 fps at 3mp), and photo size (megapixels).
Low light mode Again, thanks Olympus for having this just be a dial so my wife, who doesn't like to spend as much time learning the ins-and-outs of my cameras can just switch it over with a twist of the dial when we're indoors
Action mode Capture fast moving subjects without blur, enables sequential shooting
Scene mode Changes modes based on subject. This is a great way to ensure you get the best picture you can without having to rely on auto-mode.
The choices are: indoor, candlelight (for birthdays), self-portrait, sunset, fireworks, cuisine, documents, beach and snow, snapshot, underwater wide, underwater action, underwater macro, pet mode cat (lol), pet mode dog, snow, panorama, 3d photo, backlit HDR, portrait, beauty, landscape, night scene, night portrait.
If you shoot a lot, it should be pretty easy to speculate what settings each mode makes. For example, sunset mode bumping up the saturation on reds, purples, yellows; fireworks mode using a longer shutter-speed to get light trails; beauty mode using a softer focus, neutral skin-tones, etc.
Magic mode See description above in original review
C1 and C2 These custom modes are incredibly useful. If you find yourself dialing in certain settings for situations you encounter often, you can just assign those settings to one of these 2 modes on the dial. For example, my brother-in-law likes to examine my nephews pitching on the 60fps (3mp) mode so he has assigned these settings the the C1 mode and just remembers that C1 mode is "Zach's Pitching Mode." Now when he takes pictures during a game, he can just flip over the C1 from iAUTO mode whenever Zach pitches. Super-useful!
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