The Stylus Tough-6000 lives up to its rugged name.  All the doors and openings have special waterproof seals. The durable metal body is built to be shock-absorbing. Although we didn’t get as tough as the boy in the commercial who uses the camera like a fetching stick for his dog, we did put it through some rigorous testing. Even after numerous freezings, droppings, and dippings in water, the camera remained completely unaffected.

As you can see in Figure 12, the lens does not protrude from the camera body. It is further protected by a sliding brushed metal door that appears and disappears automatically, further protecting the lens from harsh conditions. In Figure 12 you can also see the flash and the LED light.

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Figure 12: The front of the camera.

The Tough’s 2.7” HyperCrystal LCD screen is crisp and clear. It is especially clear in bright sunlight and doesn’t have a glare, making this a good camera for outdoor activities.

This camera is waterproof to about 10’ (3 meters) making it a good poolside or water sport camera. The underwater pictures are bright and clear. Be advised though, that underwater the flash is slow. The slow shutter speed may hamper the photographer in fast action shots.

Whether you are using the camera underwater or on a ski slope wearing gloves, you will be impressed by the feature that Olympus calls "Tap Control". You simply tap the camera to make it perform certain tasks. For instance, tapping the right side of the camera adjusts the flash mode. Tapping the left side cycles through the Macro modes. Tapping on the screen switches to the Playback mode and tapping on the top confirms the selections. It’s a great feature that works amazingly well. You can even turn the tap feature on and off by tapping twice on the top of the camera.