OM System

OM System Tough TG-7

Dedicated underwater compact waterproof to 15m without a housing, with 1cm macro focus and RAW support that action cams generally lack.

Dive-ready without housing

Rated waterproof to 15m on its own. No separate housing required for recreational depths within that rating.

OM System Tough TG-7
3.8Comparison Score
$549.99
Buy on AmazonBuy on Scuba.com
Released2023
Typeunderwater compact
Resolution12 MP
Max video4K30
Sensor size1/2.3"
Native waterproof15m
StabilizationYes
RAW supportYes
Housing depth rating—
Housing material—
Weight253g

Dive housings for this camera

Goes past its 15m native rating with one of these.

Ikelite Underwater Housing for OM System TG-7
Ikelite
Ikelite Underwater Housing for OM System TG-7

Rated to 60m

$350
Pros
  • RAW photo support is unusual for a rugged compact and matters for divers who color-correct topside, since most dive-ready point-and-shoots are JPEG-only
  • Macro focus down to 1cm plus a dedicated microscope mode makes it a strong choice for nudibranchs and other small-subject reef photography
  • 15m native rating with physical zoom and shutter controls suits divers who want a simple point-and-shoot without ever buying a housing
Cons
  • 12MP sensor resolution is modest next to modern smartphones and action cams, a deliberate tradeoff for the rugged, sealed body
  • 15m native limit is shallower than SeaLife's dedicated dive cameras, so open-water certification-depth dives need the optional Ikelite housing below
  • Fixed lens with modest zoom range compared to a full compact camera system; wide-angle and macro conversion lenses are separate accessory purchases
Diver community sentiment
Mixed opinions

On Scubaboard, divers are consistent that the TG-7 is a macro and stills camera first: one experienced shooter put it bluntly that "there is no comparison between video from a GoPro and video from a TG," and the thread's consensus is that anyone prioritizing video over photos (roughly 80/20 or more) would be better served by a GoPro-based rig with a video light instead. Video quality also degrades once the battery drops below about half charge, an issue owners say carried over from the TG-5 and TG-6 as well. Where the TG-7 draws real praise is macro work, with its close-focus capability repeatedly singled out as the reason to choose it over an action cam. The overall picture is mixed: strong for photographers and macro shooters, weaker for anyone whose priority is underwater video.

Scubaboard: TG-7 video quality discussion

Summarized from public forum discussion (Scubaboard, Reddit, and similar), not a survey we ran ourselves. See the linked threads for the original conversations.

The OM System Tough TG-7 (the continuation of Olympus’s long-running Tough series) is a rugged compact built around a 12MP sensor, native waterproofing to 15m with no housing, and 1cm macro focus aimed squarely at reef and muck-diving photographers. It’s one of the few dive-ready point-and-shoots that shoots RAW, which matters if you plan to color-correct images after the dive rather than relying on in-camera JPEG processing. For dives deeper than its 15m native rating, Ikelite sells a dedicated housing that extends it to 60m without needing a different camera.