It's been a while since this question has been asked on this forum,
so I'm interested in what is new out there that has stood the test of pukka fire investigators.


A number of years ago, after wrecking my umpteenth DSLR on a fire scene, I took the leap,
being the first of my peers here to publicly tout a compact camera on a fire scene;
I found it most convenient when clambering about a fire scene, always having it always on hand in a breast pocket
vs a DSLR dangling from my neck or left forgotten somewhere down below.
Thing I missed most was surprisingly not the big-ass flash, but the viewfinder and manual zoom/-focus.

Anyway, I settled on an Olympus Tough TG-4 - sure was tough;
I accidentally buried it (during an excavation), reversed over it, and dropped it in a barrel of hydraulic oil - nothing a wetwipe couldn't take care of.
Main complaint (other than no manual zoom/-focus or viewfinder) was the flash so close to the lens would sometimes illuminate dust particles drifting right in front of the lens.

But, of late, I notice it's autofocus is a bit slow and erratic;
but 4 years and > 100 000 photos later, perhaps it's motordrive is a bit sticky/worn?

The latest rendition, the Olympus Tough TG-6 seems much of the same, perhaps just now with wi-fi and a few other gimmicks;
surprisingly it is only a f2.0 12 megapixel, which pails when compared to most modern mobile phones.

Other than it's proven robustness; Id consider another Olympus Tough simply because I have a ringflash for it;
it's stacked macro-function is ideal for extreme closeups (like beading).

What would you men of the world recommend?