Olympus MJU Tough 8000 Review

The Olympus MJU Tough 8000 certainly earns the tough part in its name. It is shockproof to a height of 2m, waterproof to a depth of 10m, crush proof up to 100kg and freezeproof to -10 degrees centigrade. Other features include 12 megapixels, a 3.6x wide angle lens, image stabilisation and a 2.7 inch LCD screen.

If you are worried your camera will take the off knock or you would like to be able to use your camera in or around water then this camera is a very good choice.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
This is a bright photo, with sharpness levels about average. As you move towards the right hand edge of the photo some of the sharpness starts to slip away. If you are planning to make large size prints you are likely to start to notice the picture looking a little softer. You are also likely to see a loss of detail in the lightest areas of your photos if they fall in direct sunlight.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
Taking into account the MJU Tough 8000 has a wide angle lens sharpness is in line with my expectations or perhaps a shade above. There is plenty of colour to the picture and I like the contrast between the blue sky and the green foliage.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
Again I like the colour and general look of the photo. As in the first test shot focusing starts to soften as you move to the right of the photo. This is also something I have noticed with other Olympus digital cameras in this series.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Looking at the brickwork in this picture confirms my earlier views about focusing. The shots may not be absolutely pin sharp, but they are good enough for most print sizes.

Outdoor Portrait
My outdoor portrait shot is one that any digital camera should be able to master. The MJU Tough 8000 has no problems at all. The camera gets the colour balance just about right.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
Lighting levels are good, with the brightness from the flash being spread throughout the picture. The artificial lighting makes the skin tones look a little harsh, but this is unlikely to be a major problem.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
Compared to other digital cameras the MJU Tough 8000 does well here. The photo is quite bright and noise levels are kept relatively low. This leads to more detail showing in this photos than I am used to seeing.

Colours
I am pleased with the colours in my test shots. Although they are vivid they retain a natural look.

Macro
Macro shots are not really a strong point. I am sure you will still be able to take decent enough close up shots as long as your expectations are not too high. The fact is if you are really serious about macro photography I would have thought it unlikely that you would have this camera as your first choice anyway.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
As suggested by my indoor portrait the MJU Tough 8000 is able to control noise relatively well. As is always the case I would still only opt to increase the ISO settings if it is absolutely necessary in order to get the shot.

Overall
I found no major issues with picture quality. This camera can handle most snapshot situations.

Shutter lag times could be a shade faster, especially when flash is being used. My times were 0.39 seconds for one shot and 11.78 shots for five. With flash turned on times were 0.53 seconds for a single shot and 20.67 seconds for five.

To turn on the camera and take the first shot took 3.39 seconds.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

With a square box around the lens in the top corner the MJU Tough 8000 looks different to most digital cameras. It has a highly reflective front piece too. You can buy black, blue and silver versions.

95 x 61.7 x 21.5mm

182g

Lithium Ion.

Olympus has built 45mb of storage into the MJU Tough 8000. It is also compatible with xD and microSD memory cards. The built in memory can hold around 18 photos.

Click here to save money on xD cards..

There is nothing too tricky about this camera. To help you along there is a menu guide available.

Robust features - ease of use

Watch out for a loss of detail in light areas of your shots

Also in this series is the cheaper Olympus MJU Tough 6000.

The Olympus MJU Tough 8000 does the job it sets out to do. It is certainly a tough camera. You can use it more or less anywhere. It takes a good snapshot for most photo opportunities.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Olympus MJU Tough 8000