Olympus has created a power duo with its new Tough TG-4 and it’s LG-1 LED Light Guide (sold separately). With Olympus’ “Rugged Technology” the new Tough TG-4 is waterproof, crushproof, shockproof, dustproof and freeze proof! And now, paired with the light guide, macro photographers will rejoice with how easily they can capture subjects extremely close while with stunning even illumination.
Olympus TG-4 shown here with LED Light Guide (available for purchase separately)
Hands-On Field Test
I had a chance to shoot an early production TG-4 and LG-1 LED Light Guide right here in NYC. And here’s what I found out:
Olympus Tough TG-4 vs. TG-3
Looking over the specs for the new camera it becomes clear that Olympus has carried forward all of the great features from last year’s model; same sensor, same fast aperture, same great zoom range, same Tough tech, etc. For those interested in what’s new and improved in the TG-4 over Olympus’ previous TG-3 the answer is simple: RAW! The addition of raw capture is a giant leap forward that takes an already great all weather, all terrain camera and elevates it to a truly professional image capture device. Macro photographers will love the TG-4’s impressive Super Macro microscope mode, which allows the photographer to hold the camera lens incredibly close to the subject, with an incredible auto focus ability.
L-G1 LED Light Guide
Additionally, Olympus offers a great range of accessories to maximize creative abilities for the ultimaterugged system. We had the pleasure of testing out the LED Light Guide with ours.
The LG-1 takes advantage of your camera’s built-in LED light to evenly illuminate the subject and draw out the best of your camera’s macro photography abilities. The simple device is designed to easily attach directly to the front of the camera via its ring connector and redirects light from the camera’s LED to a circular area that surrounds the lens.
Now annoying shadow casts will no longer be an issue for macro photographers, allowing the shooter to hold the camera at an incredible close range, even on a flat surface. In the photo below, you can see there are many shadows and if we got even closer with the camera to get the flower details, we would be losing even more light.
But with the LED Light Guide, and Microscope setting we were able to get really close to the center of the sunflower, in fact, almost touching. Just look at the stunning detail in the sunflower shot:
Sunflower detail captured using Microscope Macro mode and LED Light Guide.
Shooting the TG-4 felt both comfortable and familiar. Olympus has kept the tried and true ergonomic design of their previous Tough cameras, so it feels great in the hands and everything lies under the fingers just where it should.
The 3” 460K Dot LCD display is quick and responsive as is the multimode selectable area autofocus. I never missed a shot I was going for.
A sunny afternoon at Union Square’s Farmers’ Market.
Shooting in low light was a breeze with the TG-4’s blazing fast F/2.0 aperture. And framing up was no problem with the 25-100mm zoom range (35mm equivalent).
Of course the TG-4 includes a whole host of advanced functionality like wifi control and photo transfer, advanced GPS & geo-tagging, various Art modes, 1080p video, microscope/macro mode (with the optional LG-1 LED Light Guide), underwater shooting profile, etc. But for me the main attraction is the ability to shoot 16 megapixel RAW images. Having that control in post to pull back your highlights or dive into the details in the shadows is a revelation! This is an especially great feature considering the shooting situations this camera was designed for.
Here are some examples of the camera’s built in creative modes:
Example using Reflection Mode
Example using Dramatic Tone Mode
Conclusion and Recommendation
We had fun testing out the Microscope Macro mode and LED Light Guide, and think our customers will be excited about the ease of use of this amazing little camera. The compact size didn’t make it a chore to throw in a bag or even in your pocket, and it’s rigged construction guarantees a long life of happy shooting in all conditions. The Olympus Tough TG-4 is a fast, responsive camera, and if you’re into extreme sports, mountaineering, skiing even snorkeling and you want the ability to maintain the ultimate control of your images in post, give the TG-4 a serious look. There really is nothing like it right now. The TG-4 is available from Adorama in Black and Red for only $379.
Key Features
• 16MP BSI CMOS Sensor
• f2.0 High Speed Lens
• 4x Wide Optical Zoom
• Waterproof to depths of 50ft/15m
• Freezeproof to 14°F/-10°C
• Shockproof to 7ft/2.1m
• Crushproof to 220lbf/100kgf
• Dustproof
• RAW Capture
• Live Composite
• WiFi / GPS / e.Compass
• 1080p HD Video
• Underwater Modes with Underwater HDR
• Variable Macro System (4 Macro Modes)
• Quick-Access Custom Modes
• Aperture Priority Mode
