New element-proof Olympus Tough 3000 takes SDHC and removes purchase-roadblock

CES 2009 saw the last two new Olympus Tough cameras in the 8000 and 6000 models. Today they launch their first SDHC-tough model, the Tough 3000 with an opening price of $230.

It has a 12mp sensor, with a 28-102mm equivalent folded optics zoom lens, 720p video, and of course the element-proofness which is the existential raisin of this camera. In terms of price, this clearly undercuts the Panasonic TS1 and the toy-ish looking Canon D10 (which of course relies on the Canon name and Canon fundamentals), which go for around $280.

With the xD card no longer being a purchase roadblock, and with a tempting price of $230, it will be interesting to see whether Olympus can recover the ground it lost last year when Canon, Fuji and Panasonic entered the element-proof field. Perhaps that is why they announced only one model, so they can concentrate their promotional energies and firepower in grabbing people's attention and of course, market share.

Needless to say, this will depend a lot on how the camera performs in tests, reviews and head to head comparisons with the other element-proofs. We've already seen a wide range of test results, with some models over-performing (Panasonic TS1) and some cameras under-performing (Pentax W80).

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