Introduction

Ease of Use

Just like its predecessor, not a lot has changed when comparing the TG-6 to this new model, with it being hard to tell the difference between them when placed side by side.

The two prominent screws on the front panel have moved from near the hand-grip over to the other side, and the grip itself is slightly larger and has a more textured, grooved design that's easier to hold, especially if you're using it underwater or with gloves.

The OM System TG-7 has a somewhat utilitarian feel to it, as is often the case with tough or rugged type cameras. That's not necessarily a criticism, with the simple design no doubt helping to keep it as strong as possible.

Despite this it's still very lightweight at just 249g / 8.8oz and it measures 113.9x32.7x65.8mm in size.

Almost all of the buttons are found on the right-hand side of the TG-7, with the exception of the GPS/Log switch, which makes it easy to change settings when using the camera one-handed.

You'll also find that most of the buttons are slightly raised from the surface, which again makes it easier to quickly put your fingers on them when you're using the camera in more inclement conditions.

The only slight criticism here is that the buttons are a little on the small side, so if you're using thick gloves or even have large hands, it might present some problems.

On the top of the camera there's an on/off button, as well as the shutter release button which is surrounded by the zoom rocker switch.

You can move between the 1x wide angle (25mm) and the 5x (100mm) optical zoom lens - the zoom doesn't move super quickly, but goes quite smoothly from wide to telephoto.

Just next to the shutter release button is a small scrolling dial that controls different settings depending on the shooting mode that you're in - for example it might control the aperture if you're in that particular mode.

It's worth pointing out the GPS switch at the top of the OM System TG-7. This can either be set to “Off” or “Log”. In the latter setting, the camera will be continuously monitoring and recording its position, even when it's switched off.

If you need to conserve battery life, you might want to consider turning this feature off, as it very quickly drains the battery.

Flipping to the back of the camera, there's a decent array of buttons and dials to get to grips with.

There's a dedicated video record button which is slightly recessed just next to the textured thumb grip and is therefore relatively difficult to accidentally press if you didn't mean to.

Underneath this is a small shooting mode dial which you can use to chose between the different shooting modes available with the TG-7.

There's a fully automatic mode, as well as scene, program, aperture priority, microscope mode, movie mode, underwater mode and space for two groups of custom settings, which are worth setting up if you find you consistently need quick access to a certain configuration.

Although the OM System TG-7 gives you what appears to be some quite advanced shooting modes, it's worth noting that these are rather limited in their implementation.

Aperture priority, for example, actually only gives you three apertures to choose from - f/2.0, f/2.8 and f/8.0 when the lens is set to 1x/25mm and f/4.9, f/6.3 and f/18 when the lens is set to 5x/100mm.

Rather bizarrely, there's also no shutter priority mode or fully manual mode on the TG7, so you won't ever be able to set the shutter speed yourself.

The info button changes the display when in shooting mode, or you can press it to find the shooting information in playback - the playback button is just underneath the info button.

Next is a four way navigational pad with an OK button in the middle. Hitting the OK button brings up a quick menu where you can make changes to a variety of settings, such as white balance, ISO, AF mode, aspect ratio, switching on raw format and video frame rates and resolutions.

What's shown here will change depending on the shooting mode you're working in. Either way, it saves you from having to delve fully into the extended main menu, which is accessed via its own button just underneath the d-pad.

The rest of the navigation pad provides direct access to different controls, again which is sometimes dependent on the shooting mode you're in.

The up button controls exposure compensation, the left button toggles the digital zoom on and off, the right button gives you the different flash modes to choose from, while the down button accesses drive mode and the timer options.

The Tough TG7 can shoot burst sequences at 20fps for up to 46 RAW and 74 JPG files, although the focus and exposure are locked at the first frame.

This is also the first Tough-branded model to offer in-camera time-lapse movies, which can be recorded at 4K/30p and is composed of up to 299 individual frames. The camera will even smooth the exposure between frames if there any big jumps in lighting.

If you've ever used an Olympus camera before, then you might be familiar with the OM System TG-7's main menu system, which is divided into a number of different pages.

It's not always immediately obvious where to find certain settings, but if you persevere with learning it, you get to know its odd quirks. You'll find that some settings can only be accessed via the quick menu, such as being able to switch on raw format, which is initially rather confusing.

As this is a waterproof camera, it needs to be extremely well-sealed. To that end, in order to get to the memory card and battery slot, you'll first need to unlock the door, then use another locking mechanism to open it.

It feels very secure and almost impossible to accidentally open, so long as you remember to reposition the locks when you're done. The two locking mechanisms are very small and fiddly for anyone with even average sized hands, though, and are best operated using a fingernail.

The same kind of mechanism can be found hiding the charging and HDMI ports. You can charge the TG-7 via the new USB-C port, which is great news for those taking it on their travels and so on.

You're prompted on the screen to choose charging when you attach a USB cable. Unfortunately you can't use the camera while it's being charged, which means that you can't attach an external power bank and use the TG7 at the same time.

That means you'll need to carry a spare battery or two, because despite having an official life-span of 330 images per charge according to CIPA testing standards, we found that it ran out well before that, especially if you use the GPS/Log function.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which produces an average image size of around 6Mb.

Noise

There are 8 ISO settings available on the OM System TG-7. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and Raw files.

JPEG	Raw
ISO 100	ISO 100
ISO 200	ISO 200
ISO 400	ISO 400
ISO 800	ISO 800
ISO 1600	ISO 1600
ISO 3200	ISO 3200
ISO 6400	ISO 6400
ISO 12800	ISO 12800

Focal Range

The OM System TG-7 has a 4x optical zoom lens which starts at 25mm and zooms out to 100mm.

1x / 25mm

4x / 100mm

Chromatic Aberrations

The OM System TG-7 handled chromatic aberrations quite well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Macro

The OM System TG-7 has a Supermacro mode on its command dial which you need to switch to in order to focus down to 1cm. We found that the main issue with this mode is getting enough light between the lens and the subject.

If you don't use the Supermacro mode, the closest that the TG-7 will focus to is 10cm, which isn't a useful close focusing result. However, it has to be noted that the camera can focus to 10cm even at full zoom, which is very useful for sending backgrounds out of focus.

Vignetting

Light fall-off isn't really an issue even when shooting pale scenes that fill the frame wide open at f/2 / f/4.9.

Distortion

On the whole, distortion is very well-controlled at both ends of the 4x, 25-100mm focal range.

Flash

With the flash turned off, the OM System TG-7 doesn't show any obvious signs of vignetting at wide-angle or full zoom. However, it does occur when the flash is on. Certainly at wide-angle, at least. It's less so at full zoom, but on a plain white wall, it's still noticeable.

Flash Off - Wide-angle

Flash On - Wide-angle

Flash Off - Telephoto

Flash On - Telephoto

Flash Off

Flash On

Flash On Redeye

Night

The OM System TG-7's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds in the Manual shooting mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography.

Picture Modes

Olympus' Picture Modes are essentially pre-set combinations of saturation, contrast and sharpness, except for the i-Enhance mode that aims to optimise each photo individually. You can tailor each Picture Mode to your needs.

i-Enhance	Vivid
Natural	Muted
Portrait	Monochrome

Art Filters

The OM System TG-7 offers 16 different Art Filters, which allow you to quickly apply an artistic effect to a photo before taking it (JPEG images only).

Pop Art	Soft Focus
Pale&Light Color	Light Tone
Grainy Film	Pin Hole
Diorama	Cross Process
Gentle Sepia	Dramatic Tone
Key Line	Watercolor
Vintage	Partial Color
Bleach Bypass	Instant Film

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the OM System TG-7 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel SuperFine setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The OM System TG-7 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some OM System RAW (ORF) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

Product Images

Conclusion

The TG-7 is a very modest, OM System branded upgrade of a long-standing series of tough cameras that really will withstand almost everything that you throw at it.

This is really the key factor for considering the TG-7, or indeed any other tough camera, as the tech inside them is now several generations old - the crucial selling point is the protection and sheer peace of mind that they offer.

So if you're off on the adrenalin-filled experience of a lifetime, or just want a camera that the kids can happily use on the beach and in the sea, the new Tough TG7 definitely has what it takes to survive.

Talking of new things, the TG-7 isn't actually that different to its already well-regarded predecessor, so if you're thinking of upgrading from a TG-6 or even TG-5 (they all share the same image sensor and processor), we'd advise not to bother unless you really want one of the cooler new features like vertical video or timelapse movies.

What the TG-7 does have going for it is a serious lack of competition. With the discontinuation of the TG-6 and fewer rival models from the main camera manufacturers than ever before, this really is the best tough compact camera that you can purchase in 2023.

Perhaps recognising this scarcity of choice, the price of the TG7 has been hiked up to £499 / $549, some £$50 more than the previous model, so you really do need to think about if you'll benefit from the extra protection that a tough camera like this provides.

If you do, though, and you'd prefer a more traditional camera to something like a GoPro, or a dedicated waterproof housing for your smartphone, then the OM System TG-7 remains our number one choice as the go-everywhere, survive-anything compact camera.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4.5
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4
Image quality	3.5
Value for money	3

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the OM System TG-7.

Review Roundup

Reviews of the OM System TG-7 from around the web.

Specifications

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