Olympus Mju TOUGH-6010 review

All-weather snapshot begging to be mistreated

Want a camera you can take out in inclement conditions, use during dangerous sports and not have to worry? The latest in a continuous line of punishment ready digital compacts from Olympus complete with rubber O-ring seals goes under the branding of Mju Tough and comes in three colours: Titanium Grey, Turquoise Blue, plus Lava Red.

Looking the part from the front but with disappointingly small and plastic-y controls accompanying the 2.7-inch LCD at the rear, this nevertheless solid-feel Olympus offering in the Mju Tough 6010 weds an effective resolution of 12 megapixels to a 3.6x internally stacked optical zoom, equivalent to 28-102mm on an old 35mm film compact. Its butch qualities are evidenced in metal faceplate and its shockproof (against drops of up to 1.5 metres), waterproof (to three metres) and freezeproof (to -10°C) spec. Because its controls are rather too small to be operated effectively wearing gloves, or with wet fingers, Olympus also features Tap control on this model, which, when implemented via the set up menu, allows users to simply tap the screen to play back images, or the sides of the camera to scroll through saved shots and key functions. A neat idea, albeit one that could have been improved on further with slightly larger buttons, as on Canon’s PowerShot D10 competitor.

Since there is not much on the camera’s shiny surfaces to get a firm grip on when shooting handheld, blur free photos and standard resolution 640x480 pixels video at a smooth 30 frames per second are promised courtesy of dual image stabilization – the belt ‘n’ braces of both digital and mechanical anti shake. As with the vast majority of its rough and tumble rivals – including also the Pentax Optio WS80 and Panasonic Lumix FT1 – user friendliness comes in the shape of an intelligent Auto Mode that compares scenes with on-board parameters and adjusts settings to purportedly deliver optimal results. All adventurous photographers theoretically have to do is point and shoot while avoiding taking a tumble into the nearest glacier or being eaten by a shark. Advanced face detection that can recognise up to 16 faces in the frame and Olympus’ exposure enhancing Shadow Adjustment Technology means that it meets our expected requirements for a compact camera these days.

With the camera powering up from cold in a couple of seconds, lens cover automatically retracting and rear LCD blinking into life with a musical chime, user friendliness extends to navigation of the 6010’s on board functions. Aside from a familiar halfpenny sized mode wheel, which contains settings for iAuto, program Auto, 18 scene modes, separate beauty mode, video plus playback, going on to press ‘Menu’ brings up a screen full of cartoon-ish icons. These run the gamut of recognisable settings that shouldn’t daunt the first time user, including Olympus’ own Magic Filters option, an image-enhancing junior version of the Art Filters found on E-series DSLRs and the Olympus Pen hybrids. Here users can choose from the saturation-boosting Pop Art, less garish pinhole camera effect, plus fisheye and sketch options. As these are applied at the point of capture, with a preview showing how the image might look, writing times are elongated. And, like on E-series models, they prove most effective used sparingly.

Image quality, in particular white balance, is unpredictable, and there’s a blizzard of noise visible at higher ISO settings. With no AF assist lamp to help out, left on iAuto the 6010 wanted to fire the flash even when there was seemingly plenty of light available, and, when faced with an expanse of the white stuff when shooting in snow scene mode, underexposed images were the order of the day – preferable of course to losing detail. Shooting handheld at maximum telephoto, every second shot was soft so you’ll want to take a few images to get one you’re happy with. With colours being a little flat, images benefit from adjustment to brightness and contrast in Photoshop. Ultimately the 6010’s a tool better suited to undemanding happy snapper than serious photographer, its performance too hit and miss to merit an unequivocal recommendation.

Underneath its hard outer shell the Olympus Mju Tough 6010 actually comes across as a bit of a sissy, its feature as modest as a camera costing £199, meaning you’re paying a premium for the additional padding. Would also be good to see HD video and HDMI output included on the inevitable next generation model. Despite being one of the most attractively styled of the resilient cameras out