Olympus TG-5 Field Test

What a bold move by Olympus, going against the grain in the Great Megapixel Race with the 12mp TG-5. Yes, Sony did it with the full frame A7S series at 12mp, but they shielded themselves to a degree by the fact that buyers had choices for higher resolutions from them in the A7 and A7R lines as well. For Olympus, this is their only shot at luring potential buyers out there to invest in a tough camera, in an age where smartphones have already taken away so much of the compact camera market. A big gamble indeed.

We at IR have been very vocal about applauding any move away from the megapixel insanity, especially as relates to smaller sensor sizes. Complain all day if you want about how small a 1/2.3" sensor is, but the same crowd would complain a lot louder if the camera got too bulky as a result of a larger sensor. After all, these things also need room for protective seals and gaskets to keep the lethal water out, yet still fit snugly into a pocket, pouch or other water-bound carry-all. The Olympus TG-5 aims to be a complete waterproof, rugged solution for both novices and enthusiasts, and in addition to the healthy trimming down on the pixel count, it also comes sporting a number of rather interesting upgrades to the TG line.

In our first Olympus TG-5 Field Test, written by Dave Pardue, he looked at the camera's revised design, image quality, the optional converter lenses and much more. If you have yet to read his Field Test, it would be good to do so before reading this second Field Test.

In this Field Test, I will be focusing on the TG-5's overall performance, autofocus, video and sharing some general thoughts about using the TG-5 in the field.

Performance, Autofocus and Usability

The Olympus Tough TG-5 is powered by the TruePic VIII image processor. This is the same processor that powers other recent Olympus models, such as the OM-D E-M1 II flagship Micro Four Thirds camera. The new processor allows the TG-5 to have some features the TG-4 lacked, including in-camera RAW processing and the ability to continuously shoot RAW files.