Olympus TOUGH 3000

Category:	Type:	Image Sensor	:
Point-and-Shoot	Compact	Optical Zoom	:
Beginner	Ultra Compact	Image Stabilization	:
Serious	Ultra Zoom	Display	:
Advanced	DSLR	Shooting Mode	:
Pro	DIL	Movie	:
		Price check…	:

A is for Adventure and wherever your adventure takes you, however extreme your sports, you can take one of the Olympus TOUGH digital cameras with you. The Olympus Stylus TOUGH 3000 is the first TOUGH digital camera with 720p HD video. It is waterproof down to a depth of 3m (10ft) without the need to use an underwater case. Interior rubber gaskets and O-rings seals protect the camera from dust and moisture. A rugged metal body and shock-absorbing construction allow the sensitive parts inside the camera to withstand a 1.5m (5-foot) drop, bump, or other mishap. And if you live in, or plan to visit, the cold North, the TOUGH 3000 is also winterized to perform at below-freezing temperatures (-10°C / 14°F).

The TOUGH 3000 features 12MP resolution (1/2.3-in. CCD); a 3.6x wide-angle optical zoom (28-102mm equiv.) that is ideal for capturing wide vistas, large group shots, and underwater shots; built-in Sensor-shift image stabilization to help reduce camera shake and avoid blurred photos; and a 6.9-cm (2.7-in.) LCD display screen (230k-dot) — all in an ultra compact JeansPocket™ Certified body.

Intelligent Auto (iAUTO) can identify five common scenes (Portrait, Night + Portrait, Landscape, Macro and Sports) and automatically selects the appropriate settings. For more challenging shooting situations, match the scene yourself to the appropriate Scene Mode. For example, Night scene mode extends the shutter speed range to 4 sec. for creative night photography. And, of course, use one of the four preset Underwater scene modes when photographing underwater.

You can shoot HD movie 1280×720 pixels (720p) at 30fps with monaural sound using a dedicated one-touch button. You can also capture HD movies underwater. The camera features a water-repellent lens coating to prevent water droplets from forming on the lens when stepping out of the water.

For those who desire a bit more control, switch to Program AE (P) mode and dial in an exposure compensation to compensate for scenes that are too bright or too dark.

In-camera Art Filters come to the TOUGH digital cameras in the guise of the Magic Filter, which allows you to record your pictures as Pop Art (vivid colors), Pinhole (simulates the use of a pinhole camera), Fisheye (emulate the use of a fisheye lens), or Drawing (turn your image into a sketch outline for children to color).

In-Camera Panorama captures three images by simply pressing the shutter button and slowly panning across a scene; the camera automatically takes the next 2 pictures and then stitches them together to create one panoramic picture. Or, manually take up to 10 shots and then stitch them together in the Olympus [ib] software to create one panoramic picture.

Beauty Mode softens shadows and smoothes wrinkles and blemishes on your subject’s face.

If you’ve ever tried to operate a camera with Winter gloves on, you’ll appreciate Tap Control. Tap Control allows you to control the most common functions with a simple tap on the top, back or sides of the camera. An internal 3D accelerometer detects the direction of the force on the camera’s body.

Show your pictures on a HDTV (optional HDMI™ cable required) and use your HDTV’s remote to control playback functions and navigate the camera’s menus.

A new OLYMPUS [ib] software includes photography workflow, browsing, editing and a photo organizing function that allows you to organize photos by person with automatic face recognition technology, by location with a Geotagging function or by event.

As part of Olympus’ environmental commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, the instruction manual is now on the camera’s internal memory, always available at your fingertips. [There is no paper or CD-ROM Instruction Manual.] The TOUGH 3000 uses the SD/SDHC (up to 32GB) memory card.

The Olympus TOUGH 3000 is a point-and-shoot digital camera that is ideal for those who spend lots of time at the pool, on the beach, on the ski slope, on the boat, scuba diving, surfing the waves, trekking the rough outdoors, or on other less than ideal environmental conditions where you would normally leave your digital camera at home. The TOUGH 3000 comes in Sporty Red, Pink, Blue and Green, and is priced at about US $230 (CAD $250).

Here is how the TOUGH models compare.

	TOUGH 3000	TOUGH 6020	TOUGH 8010
Shockproof	1.5m / 5ft	1.5m / 5ft	2m / 6.6ft
Waterproof	3m / 10ft	4.8m / 16ft	10m / 33ft
Freezeproof	-10°C / 14°F	-10°C / 14°F	-10°C / 14°F
Crushproof	—	100kgf / 220 lbf	100kgf / 220 lbf
Tap Control	—	Yes	Yes
MP	12	14	14
Optical Zoom	3.6x (28-102mm)	5x (28-140mm)	5x (28-140mm)
I.S.	Sensor-shift	Sensor-shift	Sensor-shift
Display (in.)	2.7 (230k)	2.7 (230k)	2.7 (230k)
Max. Aperture	f/3.5(W) – f/5.1(T)	f/3.9(W) – f/5.9(T)	f/3.5(W) – f/5.1(T)
Macro	2 cm / 0.8 in.	3 cm / 1.2 in.	3 cm / 1.2 in.
Movie	1280×720 30fps	1280×720 30fps	1280×720 30fps
Price (US $)	US $229.99	US $299.99	US $399.99