Free with the Olympus Mju Tough 8000 Break

Get a digital camera with all the great bells and whistles you want. Then, watch all that high-tech wizardry become useless the first time you want to take it somewhere a little challenging. The beach, the shore, or even a cold, frosty mountain in Fall. Useless, because the rough environment just destroys your camera's functionality.

Now, take a look at the Olympus Mju Tough 8000 (also known as the Stylus Tough 8000). Problem solved!

This baby is nearly indestructible. It can withstand falls from several feet onto bare rock. It laughs at high heat, low temperature, or wet weather. As the old Timex commercials used to say, "it takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

Take a trip to a wet forest. Swoosh down a winter ski trail. Go rock climbing during the dry, hot, dusty season in Utah. Go anywhere extreme. The Mju Tough 8000 is ready to go with you, without complaining. Reliable seals and ultra-strong construction keeps not just your camera protected, but your photos, too. Equipment can be replaced. That shot you just took of a Golden Eagle flying a dozen yards above your head is irreplaceable.

With the Olympus Mju Tough 8000, you don't have to sacrifice function to get durability, either.

The lens of the Mju Tough 8000 lives behind a 3.6x zoom (28mm-102mm equiv). Shoot everything from wide-angle flower shots to a portrait of your climbing partner. Rest easy, knowing that Dual Shakeproof image stabilization is working to keep your shot clear and crisp at all times.

Even skiing with gloves on you can still operate your Mju Tough 8000. The proprietary TAP control lets you just tap the body to snap the shutter. And, since this model will operate at -10°C, you know your camera won't freeze just because you do.

The Intelligent Auto mode does the thinking for you, so you can concentrate on art. But for those who enjoy manual control there are dozens of easy-to-access options. Adjust the White Balance. Change the Image Size. Select a different ISO settings.

In short, do anything you want to make the image according to your taste, not the camera's. And more options are just a few clicks away. There's even a built-in alarm clock to make sure you wake up in time to get that great sunrise shot.

The buttons have an ergonomically sound feel, and they're right where you need them. Zoom, shutter release, and the mode settings are intuitive. Adjust the most common functions without even using the Menu. Take control of your shots, rather than controlling the camera.

Crank away as fast as you want. The 8000 will be tough to keep up. Hi-Speed Mode engaged in 6fps (3 MP) for a maximum of about 16 shots. Few small cars that can boast of. Select the video mode records 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second, ideal for video online. Shoot or in cold climates and use the built-in gauge for measuring air pressure, a great tool for weather forecasting.

Of course, you will not have to worry aboutweather with the Olympus Mju Tough 8000. Frame. Snap. Enjoy. No matter where you go.