UKH

I'm looking for advice for a replacement for my Olympus Mju 850SW camera which I have been using for around 10 years. Essentially I want a similar compact, robust camera that I can take out and not have to worry about but I would like a better picture quality which I presume I can get from a more modern camera. As a comparison, I'd be looking for a picture quality similar to my phone which I've used on a couple of nice weather days but don't want to take out on a nasty Scottish winter climbing day. For the record it is an iPhone SE which seems to be ~12 megapixels and my mju 8 megapixels.

Any recommendations from users here would be very useful. 

From the internet and previous posts there appear to be a number of possible alternatives. The Olympus Tough TG4/5 which is recommended by many. However, the Tough cameras are bigger and perhaps are a bit more faff to carry in your jacket chest pocket or trouser pocket (mju is around 2/3 of the size).

I'm also concerned the glass in front of the tough-4/5 lens could get easily scratched. Does anyone have any experience with this? The mju has a lens cover that moves away when the camera is switched on so I have never even bothered with a case for it and it is still going strong after all this time. It seems you need to buy a conversion ring to fit a lens cap to the tough cameras.

Panasonic DMC FT30 seems smaller and more compact but not sure how good it is. Has anyone used it?

In the great UKC tradition of answering a different question to the one actually asked...

If you're happy with the photos your phone takes, have you considered a tough, waterproof case for the phone with a lanyard? For much less than the price of a worthwhile camera you could get a pretty bombproof case.

Thanks, interesting idea. I guess my major concern might be the fact that it would be difficult to operate the phone with gloves on. Can manage the Mju with Dachsteins on! 

Yeah, I've got shortcuts set up on my phone to let me launch the camera and take photos without having to touch the screen at all, just using the physical buttons. A quick google suggests that's not an option on the iPhone though. You can snap photos using the volume buttons but getting the camera open in the first place requires at least one touch screen swipe, or talking to Siri, either of which could be difficult in Scottish winter.

I've recently bought a second hand Olympus TG4, primarily for sea kayaking and really like it, being fully waterproof.  All of the moving parts including zoom lens are enclosed in the waterproof body, this is what makes it really tough.  I've found other non waterproof cameras eg Canon G16 right back to Rollei 35b film camera can be susceptible to getting sand etc in the zoom or sliding lens cap mechanism.  For climbing I just carry the camera down front of my tee-shirt on a neck strap, this protects the lens.  Because it is so slim I don't notice it's other dimensions.

A limitation of all waterproof compact cameras is that the sensor size is smaller than similar sized compacts to allow the enclosed zoom to fit in the body.  On the Olympus this is compensated for by a very good lens with wide f2.0 aperture and the ability to save raw files.

On balance I'll use the Olympus in preference to by Canon G16 on future climbing and skiing trips, primarily because of it's slim form, toughness and water proofing.

Before I bought the TG4 I used by iPhone in a waterproof case, however the lack of an optical zone and increased faff in using made it impracticable

Hope this helps

Thanks, that is useful. Had the glass protecting the lens held up ok on your Olympus Tough? I can imagine it becoming marked easily or simply easily getting water drops on it because it has no cover.

The lens has held up well but I've only used it for a week so far.  The lens seems to shed water drops well, some people apply a hydrophobic coating but I'm not sure it needs it.  The camera and lens is protected in my buoyancy aid pocket when not in use.  I 'm hoping that the inside of my tee shirt will do the same job when climbing.  And of course I keep it in a case when not wearing it.

Great, that’s really helpful. Thanks very much.

I have a TG-4....I bought the Olympus lens adaptor for the camera which takes a 40.5mm filter & put a nice Hoya Revo UV filter on. This gives extra protection. I also fitted the Olympus silicon body glove to the camera, 3M screen protection film (Vikuliti?) made my own hand strap using 3mm mountaineering cord as better than the OEM one. About the best camera I have ever had easier to use IMHO than the TG-5.....

The TG-4 can do 100ISO, has an f2 lens, & in microscope mode close focus to 10mm from the lens!!!

Link to one of my macro pictures taken with it:-

https://www.dreamstime.com/water-drops-sidalcea-flower-close-up-macro-shot-...

I now have a bigger & better Olympus OM-D EM-I MKII with a 12-40 on all the time...only reason was due to more pixel peeping from the admins when I sell my pictures on microstock sites...

Thanks, sounds good although more gaff with accessories in order to protect the Tough properly.

Panasonic LUMIX LX5 or any of its successors. Good in low light. Can be used one handed with gloves. 

The TG-4 is more protected than all the other "tough" cameras.....just I like to improve things...I hate scratches on the body..so the silicone sleeve stops that & as for the lens....as standard its tough enough..I have an older Fuji xp "tough" & that is still ok...just on the oly TG-4 there is that option of adding an additional layer of protection with a adaptor & uv filter.....which answers your original concerns in the first post..

I also have an Olympus TG 4 - it's been abused on a lot of climbing and mountain biking trips. Still works fine with no scratches. I did splash out on the optional fish eye lens (pun intended) which is fantastic and you end up with a lens cap too.

I don't think the tg-5 is worth the upgrade unless you are likely to shoot lots of video. 

I'll add my recommendation for the Olympus Tough.  Having used an SLR for years the picture quality is great on this but I really like the design - big buttons which you can use with gloves on.  I keep mine in a camera pouch on my rucksack strap to combine protection and easy access.  Works well in all weathers (including Scottish winter!).

I also have a TG4 - seems indestructible and the photo quality is great.

A quick search suggests it might be a struggle to get hold of a TG-4 other than 2nd hand...

Very useful, thanks all. Will be looking into trying out a Tough TG4 I think.

It may be over budget (it's not what you'd call cheap at c£700) but have you looked at the Sony RX0? No zoom but a fantastic full sized sensor in something not much bigger than a Go-Pro. Fully waterproof to 10m, drop resistant to 5(?)m, and tough as anything. Aperture is fixed at F4.0 but the quality of shots it produces is incredible. Having briefly borrowed one I was looking at getting one at the tail end of last year. However I have decided to hold off for the new MkII which is about to become available as that has in built image stabilisation which should help with low light situations much better. You can even get additional waterproof cases for it for use beyond a depth of 10m that help correct the optical distortion caused by the increased water pressure. It's a bit niche, but it's really very, very good.

I have nothing to offer on the subject of the thread but on your rare posts I like to say hello as a fellow fan.

The alternative to the TG series is the Panasonic FT series. Andy K has reviewed it on here. They're about the size of a fag packet, but may not have much in the way of manual settings if you're looking to do arty stuff.  They do have a very useful zoom range though. Proper cameras will do better than phones in low light and be less susceptible to damage - phones are a lot mroe droppable than cameras and a pain to use single-handed.