Pentax Optio W10 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

I bought this camera two years ago as an alternate camera 2 take along in my purse or when riding horse back. My main camera is a Canon EOS D-60.

I have two Pentax 35 mm that I used before digital, & I really liked them, so I figured this would be a quality camera.. boy was I wrong.

The zoom is great if you use a tri-pod or can stabilize against something, and... if the sun isn't bright so you can focus on your subject..

but basically.. any shots without stablization or in the sunlight are worthless.

I am very dissappointed in this camera..and wish I had bought another Canon.

This is my second one of this camera. (First one got waterlogged because I forgot 2 lock the battery compartment & left it in the water a few minutes longer than I was supposed to.) The picture quality isn't as high as that of my regular digital cameras, but I guess you can't have it all. I love that I can take my camera into the lake 4 up-close pictures of my daughter splashing! It takes nice pictures ... they just disappoint me when I try 2 zoom in. Also, it sometimes looks as if it is focussed on exactly what I want a picture of then switches 2 something else last-second when I click. (One time I tried 2 get a pic of my daughter building a sand castle. ... last second it switched focus over 2 her pail & shovel!)

I hope that in the future, this camera is lowered 2 under $200 and/or much better ones come out in the $300-350 range. ... Next time I might just look 4 a waterproof case 4 my Kodak Easyshare.

I've had this camera 4 about a year & a half. While it worked right it was a great camera. Recently the backlight quit working while in camera mode. It still took fantastic pictures but you could not see your subject in the screen on the back (well you could see it but it wasn't lit up). Local camera shop charged 30 bucks 4 estimate...of course factory repair issue. Factory repair was 160.00 including the thirty already put down 4 estimate. Normally 4 a 250.00 camera I would never consider paying so much 4 a repair but a friend of mine wanted the camera & so he paid 2 fix it (couldn't buy one new 4 what he paid 4 the repair & there would be a warranty on it too). I don't know if they changed the seals as a part of that repair....they better have 4 all that money! It came back better than it was, I can only assume they've improved the firmware or the motherboard itself as that was most likely what they did, replaced the whole insides. I know it's the same outer camera because of a blemish on the outer body. This is a fantastic camera 4 its size, like all the small ones, the flash is only good 4 nearby shots, not good 4 a group picture etc. but it does far better than many small cameras like this that I've played with. The sensor on this camera does better than most small ones at high iso (usually high iso is so grainy you can't stand it on these little ones) but I still set it down 2 200 as much as possible it improves the pictures a lot (you can also run noise ninja on the shots 2 improve them even more). The movies this little thing takes are excellent but they are quicktime file format & 4 me using xp 64 bit apple has not seen fit 2 release a 64bit quicktime player so I can only play the movies on a machine with 32 bit xp or probably vista. The options offered on the camera are great, it even has onboard image editing......which would be really useful if you carry a mini printer around & want 2 print straight off the camera. There are two newer incarnations of this camera the w20/w30. I do not like the way the battery door is arranged on this unit, it's on the bottom & it's a bit easy 2 open accidentally, on the w30 the battery door has been moved 2 the side, probably a slightly more intelligent location. The competing product 2 this is made by Olympus & is about 80 bucks more no matter where you shop, the olympus product seems 2 have more anti-shake tech built into it. I've owned Pentax film bodies in the past, only one gave me huge problems so they generally make good products. I think what messed me up with this camera was taking it with me in the car & something may have fallen on it but otherwise it is a very sturdy camera & I had no problems with leaks as others seem 2 have experienced. I've seen reviews where folks put this thing in boiling water & it survived so it's a pretty sturdy little beast. I can't decide yet 2 get a w30 or give the olympus a try, all I can say is read consumer reviews & form your own opinion, the only turn off 4 the olymps is it uses xd cards & I really don't want yet another flash memory format 2 deal with (they're also more expensive 4 the size).

Pros:
Battery life is pretty fair, extra batteries available cheaply on Ebay.
Movie mode with antishake
Onboard picture editing (light/dark/some basic effects)
Large view screen
SD card
Tough/waterproof

Cons:
I don't like battery door placement (bottom)
After a year & a half had a problem, expensive repair
Like someone else mentioned, 2 maintain waterproof integrity you must have seals changed occasionally
Two newer models w20/w30 with more megapixels
Flash only good 4 close subjects (that's pretty normal)
Antishake only works 4 movies apparently
Typically slow on the uptake, not good 4 fast action

I love this camera! It is not perfect (I would have preferred 2 give it 4.5 stars), but it is very close. I love being able 2 carry this camera with me & use it 4 any occasion. Sure, it is not the best 4 low light or professional quality pictures, but you can't expect that quality from something that will easily fit in your pocket. Many times i have had it with me & it started 2 rain & other people have 2 put up their camera, but i just looked at them & smiled!

I've taken it all over (Hawaii, Costa rica, florida, utah) & put it through all sorts of trouble. I've had it snorkeling, surfing (less than 5 ft waves), snowboarding, weddings, & even at disney world. I've dropped it several times & it is still fine. I don't recommend dropping it just 2 see what will happen, but it should be able 2 withstand the accidental drop.

The pictures turn out remarkably well, but low light conditions are definitely not the best. You have 2 be extra careful unless you have a tripod when taking any low light pictures 2 avoid blur. The biggest problem that I have with it when I am in the water are water drops sticking 2 the lens. This results in a fabulous shot, except 4 the big blur spot right smack in the middle.

The video is also really good is you overlook the sound. I would say that the video quality rivals my old time mini-vhs camcorder, if not better. As long as their is sufficient light (overcast & brighter is ok), the quality will be great. I've played some of my videos on a 50" plasma & everyone that saw it was amazed that it came from a small digital camera.

I would highly recommend this 2 anyone. You may want 2 upgrade 2 the w20 or w30, but the only real difference is the ability 2 go a few feet deeper & 1 more megapixel.


Pros: good still pictures, great video, small enough 2 carry everywhere, WATERPROOF, SD media, lots of settings, quick start up

Cons: only good still pictures, poor audio recording with video, video files are huge (15 minutes per gigabyte), only waterproof 2 5 feet 4 30 minutes, water drops stay on lens, no optical view finder

I PURCHASED MY W10 2 YEARS AGO, TOGETHER WITH THE SILICONE CASE (NOT IN GOOD SHAPE ANYMORE) AND 2 EXTRA CHEAP BATTERIES (STILL WORKING JUST FINE), SINCE THEN IT HAS TAKEN GOOD AND SOMETIMES EXCELENT PICTURES AND VIDEO IN ALL KIND OF WEATHER, RAIN, COLD, HOT, OVER AND UNDER WATER, IN USA, MEXICO, VIETNAM, LAOS, CAMBODIA, PHILIPINES, THAILAND, MALASIA, INDONESIA, PERU AND IS GOING BACK TO CHINA AUGUST 31TH, WHAT ALSE CAN I SAY...