My new camera is an Olympus TG 860

[Assurancetourix]

Hi everybody here,

I wanted to buy the fabulous Fuji XT 1 , expensive ( for my purse ) one ;

or maybe the new Pana Lumix FZ300 , less expensive but still too much ;

But I saw sense ,

First I'm not Cresus

Second which is the most important, I'm living in a country , The Far East for multiple reasons;

often it's the middle age here if I compare with my native country : France

And I'm a cyclist , many kilometers each month on the dusty roads of Thailand ;

each year I cycle about 15,000 km ; many of you don't do that with your car or motorbike !

The Fuji and the Lumix are tropicalised, it's good;

but the Olympus TG 860 is waterproof , antichoc ;

I can shoot a photo or a video inside a swimming pool, under the water if I want;

it can fall on the ground;

and it has also a super wide angle : 21 mm ; a very good Macro system ( 1mm from what I want to shoot )

It's light , it's a little camera , I can put it in a pocket of my bicycle jacket .

I will receive it beginning of november, coming in the luggages of my friend who is going with me for our great journey in north Lao and Thailand .

If we have time we will go to Boten, border with China .

I forgot the price ; with a second battery because sometimes I cannot charge the first one somewhere ? 300 euros .

Do u have something to answer;

Is it a good choice ? ( I think so )

[Fiddlesticks]

Hi Assur. . ., (name is too long!)

True, this camera is rugged and works when you fall off your bike into a lake or deep puddle but... and to me, this is a big but, you can only take jpeg photos with it and not RAW. This means that it is very limited if you have any desire to grow with your photography. You limit the post processing that can be done on your images. If post processing is not something you are overly interested in then I say go with it! The focal range of 21-105 (I think that is right), means its a good all around, all purpose lens.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck with your new camera and look forward to more of your photos appearing on TV as I enjoy your posts! Also wish you luck staying upright on your bike and not having to take photos under water!

[Assurancetourix]

Thank you for your nice answer ;

I don't shoot in Raw because I don't want to use Photoshop or The Gimp which are too complicated ; a huge gas mill for me.

I shoot photo for my pleasure not for sell them ; it's not my job .

On the forum, you can see many photos which are made with very " rustik" cameras like Olympus FE 4030 or my TG-610 which is also waterproof like the TG 860 ;'

using the free logiciel FastStone which is NOT a gas mill I can send some " regardables " photos .

And cycling on sometimes very difficult roads, about some of them I like to say bed of a torrent dries , with more stones and sand than good conditions .

Hope I have not to shoot photo under the water with me on the MTB ;