Before Christmas, we reported that Olympus had rebranded its Mju SW range as Tough cameras and it promised a whole host of new arrivals for the New Year.

Well here they are – the 12 megapixel Tough 8000 and 10 megapixel Tough 6000.

Olympus claims that they are waterproof, shockproof and freeze proof as well as featuring a 3.6x wide zoom lenses, Dual Image Stabilisation and TAP Control, which means that they
can be operated by simply tapping on their casings so you don’t have to take your gloves off in cold climes.

The Tough 8000 is waterproof to 10m, shockproof to falls from up to 2m, freezeproof down to temperatures as low as -10°C and crushproof to weights of up to 100kg while the Tough 6000 is no wimp either being freezeproof, waterproof to 3m and impervious to drops from up to 1.5m.

You also get Face Detection Technology in both models – the 8000 can recognise up to three faces whilst the 6000 can detect a whooping 16 as well as boasting a handy Smile Shot feature which automatically takes the picture as soon as the subject smiles and a Beauty Mode that can retouch subjects’ skin as the shot is being taken. 

Expect to see them in UK stores in
mid-January and early February 2009 in a range of colours.

The Olympus µ TOUGH-8000 features:

• Shooting in toughest situations – shockproof  to 2m, waterproof  to 10m, crushproof to 100kg and freezeproof to -10°C

• Available in Platinum Silver, Midnight Black, or Steel Blue

•  3.6x wide optical zoom (28-102mm) to capture landscapes through to stunning close-ups even in extreme conditions

• Avoids camera shake and blurry images thanks to Dual Image Stabilisation (combines mechanical and digital image stabilisation)

• TAP Control Menu for great convenience also when wearing gloves

• 12 Megapixels to make prints up to poster-size

• 6.9cm/2.7 inch HyperCrystal III LCD (230,000 dots)

• Face
  Detection and
  Shadow Adjustment Technology.

• Intelligent Auto Mode which detects the five most commonly used
  scenes and adjusts settings, focus and exposure automatically

• Easy checking of air and water pressure thanks to on-screen manometer

• LED illuminator to lighten up underwater or macro sceneries

• Movie recording with sound (up to VGA resolution at 30fps)

• xD-Picture Card and microSD Cardcompatible

The Olympus µ TOUGH-6000  features:

• Shooting when it’s getting tough, wet and cold – shockproof to 1.5m, waterproof to 3m and freezeproof to -10°C

• Available in Lemon Yellow, Pure White, Arctic Blue or Sunset Orange

• High-precision 3.6x wide optical zoom (28-102mm)

• Dual Image Stabilisation (combines mechanical and digital image stabilisation)

• TAP Control Menu for great convenience also when wearing gloves

• 10 Megapixels to make prints up to poster-size

• 6.9cm/2.7 inch HyperCrystal III LCD (230,000 dots)

• Advanced
  Face Detection of up to 16 persons and Shadow Adjustment Technology

• Intelligent Auto Mode which detects the five
  most commonly used scenes and adjusts settings, focus and exposure
  automatically

• LED illuminator to lighten up underwater or macro sceneries

• Movie recording with sound (up to VGA resolution at 30fps)

• xD-Picture Card and microSD Card compatible