Vital stats Olympus Tough TG-5
Olympus Tou h TG-5
A rough camera with a smooth processor
Olympus sticks a top-end processor in its latest action cam for stellar shots in the wild O Sharing chips When the thoroughly excellent OM-D E-M1 Mark II camera is in your extended family, it only makes sense to nick its highly capable image processor – which is exactly what Olympus has done with the Tough TG-5. Only, as the name suggests, this isn’t just another all-round snapper – it’s a rugged shooter with pro-level pedigree, packing a 12MP CMOS sensor that’ll capture wild snaps to make Mr Grylls pee with envy. And then drink it.
O Weather or not That is, provided his pee doesn’t freeze. See, the TG-5 can operate in temperatures down to -10°C. That’s handy for taking lovely postcard snaps of snowflakes, for example – something else this photographic survivalist can handle with aplomb, as its microscope mode combines the efforts of several in-camera software systems (including focus stacking and bracketing) to capture objects as close as 1cm. For warmer climes, it’s also waterproof down to 15m and can handle tumbles from 2.1m. Please don’t carry it around on your head, though. You’ll look silly.
O The full picture Besides that Truepic VIII processor, it’s also geared up to the hilt with kit to make the most of your offroad images. It’ll record footage in 4K, do 120fps slow-mo in Full HD and capture RAW stills for easier editing. Proper SAS types need more than pixels, though, which is presumably why the TG-5 also offers a field sensor system, which can attach GPS, compass and temperature data to your photographs before flinging them at your phone via Wi-fi.
O Access(orise) all areas Feeling creative? Sling your snaps through the in-camera art filters for Insta-ready shots, or shell out on some hardware accessories: the TCON-T01 teleconverter lens (£130) provides proper zoom, or stick an FD-1 flash diffuser (£50) to get up close. Cram it all in the PT-058 case (£280) and you can even take it down to 45m.