After 4 years our Sony TX10 finally took on some water even though they door was firmly closed, so I did a lot of research and picked up the Olympus TG-2iHS. Here are my initial impressions after a couple weeks use:
- The styling of the Olympus just cannot compare to the sleek looks of the Sony. Olympus just looks like a rugged camera.
- access doors - both had 2; one for cables, one for battery/sd. Olympus' gaskets appear to be a little thicker. The Olympus however has a double lock system on both it's doors to prevent accidental opening underwater.
- the TG-2 is a tougher all around camera by specs (deeper, falls higher, etc). However the TX10 is two generations older.
- the lens on the olympus is in the middle of the camera. Sony's is on the top corner. This takes a bit of thinking at first to make sure your fingers aren't in the shot. And when it becomes second nature, you'll ask someone to take a pic of you and it'll have their finger in it. Hold your cell phone sideways. Look where your fingers are. Not use your index finger, but all the rest too.
- startup speed: wow the olympus is quick to take the first pic on power up. Not quite dslr quick but much better than most p&s.
-underwater pic quality: what most of you are here for. I personally found the Olympus colours to be more vivid. There are 3 underwater scene settings, or you can do automatic mode and let the camera pick. Focus is good for underwater. -- Autofocus is quick and accurate, and face detection works well.
-videos: this is supposed to be the biggest area of complaint with the TG-2. Apparently the focus motor/zoom motor are very loud in recordings. I tried one and played it back on the camera and yes, you can hear it, but I did not find it horrible. Again, this was playback on the camera only so the speakers are not very big. Will upload it later and see how it is when played on my tv.
