Olympus has updated its line-up of Tough cameras at CES 2013 in Las Vegas, with the announcement of the flagship Olympus TG-2.

The Olympus TG-2 Tough compact camera features a 12-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor and a 4x optical zoom lens, 25-100mm with f/2.0 maximum aperture.  

You also get the option of manual aperture control, so you’ll be able to take better creative control of your shots, for those nice blurred backgrounds.

The TG-2, as well as the other new tough cameras announced today, feature Olympus’s iHS technology, which pairs a CMOS sensor with the TruePic IV image-processing engine, promising high sensitivity and low noise.

Dual image stabilisation, GPS, and e-compass and a 3-inch 610k-dot OLED display mean this is a well-specced tough model.

You also get a macro zoom “microscope” mode, so you can get really close to your subject, along with full HD video capture, magic filters and four modes for shooting underwater, with the promise of natural colours when shooting in the water.

But this is a Tough camera and not just in name. It will give you waterproofing down to 15 metres, is shockproof at drops from up to 2.1 metres and crushproof withstanding forces up to 100kg. Of course, it will be happy down to -10 degrees C too.

The Olympus Tough TG-2 will be available from early February 2013 and will set you back £349.99.

Olympus TG-830

If that’s out of your budget, then Olympus has another two tough models you might want to consider. The more expensive of these is the Olympus Tough TG-830, priced at £249.99, available from mid-March 2013.

The Olympus TG-830 has a 16-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor with a 28mm wide angle lens running out to 140mm.

Despite being more affordable than the flagship TG-2, it still boasts impressively tough credentials, offering waterproofing to 10 metres depth, along with the same crush, cold and drop resistance.

Olympus TG-630

The Olympus TG-630 is the cheapest of the Tough bunch. Priced at £169.99, the TG-630 will be available from early-February 2013.

It offers you a 12-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor, but with lesser power to resist nature. Waterproof to 5 metres and happy to be dropped from up to 1.5 metres, it’s ideal for pools and snorkelling.