Pentax Optio W30 Easy Digital Camera Review

The Pentax Optio W30 is the latest digital camera that is completely waterproof. The number of digital cameras that can be submerged in water without an external shell can be counted on one hand, and the W30 is listed among that lucky crowd. It has 7.1 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom lens, and a retail price tag of $299.

The W30 can go underwater as deep as 10 feet for as long as two hours. This is deep enough for most snorkeling trips, but scuba divers and those who go deeper will need an even sturdier camera. This Pentax has a consumer price tag and is designed for casual beachgoers and swimmers who have already ruined several cameras with sand or water.

This tough camera is water and dust-proof with its rubber-sealed port and battery doors and internal 3x optical zoom lens. The aluminum alloy body measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.9 inches and weighs about a half-pound. So if you let go of the W30 in deep water, it just might sink to the bottom of the ocean.

The Pentax Optio W30 comes with a wrist strap that should be worn to protect it from dropping below the 10-foot limit, as handling it isn’t easy. The W30 is small and slippery when underwater – especially if your hands are coated with sunscreen.

The camera has 20 scene modes and a “green mode” that automates everything except the zoom and image size. There are a few manual controls that include ISO from 64-3200, custom white balance along with presets, and exposure compensation to brighten or darken the image. Face recognition technology helps the auto focus track people in portraits.

There are two movie modes: one for standard stuff like band concerts and the other for venturing underwater. Videos record at 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels: both can choose from frame rates of 30 or 15 fps. Movies don’t look great because the colors aren’t very accurate and there is a lot of noise. When the lights are low, movies and still pictures look bad. The camera has a hard time focusing because it doesn’t have an assist lamp like on most models.

The Pentax Optio W30 has a 2.5-inch LCD screen, but you can see the individual blue, red, and green dots because it has poor resolution. It has only 115,000 pixels, when most other cameras coming out now have twice the screen resolution. Unfortunately, the screen is where all the action is at on this camera. The control buttons are tiny and there is no mode dial, so almost everything is accessed on the screen.

The waterproof W30 has some interesting features in its playback mode. Besides the standard slide shows and browsing, you can add just about any color effect imaginable. There are even a few odd effects such as fisheye and frames. Frames aren’t normally odd, but these ones are: one shows a generic cartoon character with a word bubble saying “Wow!”

With a waterproof body, the Pentax Optio W30 will wow lots of people. It’s easy to use and can go just about anywhere. It can be dipped in the sink and then in the sand – and still snap pictures like nothing ever happened. This is a great camera for a kid who has a habit of dropping things into the toilet. It certainly has its drawbacks, but it does well for the affordable waterproof camera that it is.

Pentax Optio W30 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 368.87

Likes

- Waterproof, dustproof - Attractive Design - Handles noise reasonably well at ISO 800 and under - Sturdy locking battery and port compartments - Built-in image recovery - Plenty of options for almost every setting - Good price for a waterproof camera - Kid-friendly

Dislikes

- Poor LCD resolution - Inaccurate, undersaturated colors - Limited dynamic range over ISO 400 - Lots of barrel distortion at wider focal lengths - Low light auto focus (no assist lamp) - Color fringing - Slow burst - Complicated menu system - Clumsy software that is hard to navigate through

Pentax Optio W20 Rating: N/A	Olympus Stylus 770SW Rating: 353.95	Olympus Stylus 720SW Rating: 311.86	Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX50 Rating: 346.48	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T50 Rating: N/A
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- Cheaper now, although started at the same $299 retail	- 8.1 megapixels - Waterproof to 33 feet - Shockproof to 5 feet - Freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit - Crushproof to 220 lbs - Better 230,000-pixel LCD resolution - Images aren’t quite as noisy - Takes 2.3 seconds to snap the first shot - Better movies in bright light - Comes in three colors - AF assist lamp	- Shockproof to 5 feet - 19.1 MB internal memory - Takes less time at 2.6 seconds to start up and take first picture - Auto focus assist lamp	- 3.6x optical zoom lens - Optical image stabilization reduces blur - 3-inch LCD screen - Records widescreen pictures and 848 x 480 videos - 230k pixels on LCD screen - Flash slightly more powerful; effective to 13.1 feet - Wider lens - Very accurate colors - Less noise in images - Lots of white balance controls	- Much better looking - Optical image stabilization - 3-inch touch screen LCD - 58 MB internal memory - 400-shot battery - Bright auto focus assist lamp
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 7 megapixels - 3x optical zoom - 2.5-inch LCD screen - No optical viewfinder - Underwater movie mode of 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per second - Picture effects including color filters - Same exposure modes - Green button for green auto mode	- No optical viewfinder - Internal 3x optical zoom lens - 2.5-inch LCD screen size - Similarly poor color reproduction - Flash fires to 12.5 feet - Tiny control buttons - 640 x 480 videos - +/- 2 exposure compensation	- 7.1 megapixels - 3x optical zoom lens - 2.5-inch LCD screen with 115k pixels - Waterproof to 10 feet - Similar flash effective to 12.5 feet - Skinnier at 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches - Voice memos - 640 x 480 movies - Slowest shutter speed of four seconds - Similarly inaccurate colors - No optical viewfinder - Tiny control buttons	- 7.2 megapixels - 18 scene modes - Simple mode much like green auto mode - Sells just under $300 - Similar thickness of 0.99 inches - Tiny controls - 640 x 480 movies at 30 fps - Exposure compensation range	- 7.2 megapixels - Internal 3x optical zoom lens - All shooting modes in the menu - Similar 0.94-inch thick body - Durable metal body - 640 x 480 videos
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- ISO tops at 1600 - Waterproof to 5 feet for 30 minutes only	- Costs about $80 more - 80-1600 ISO range - Flash has spotty coverage - Fingers often accidentally cover poorly placed lens - No manual white balance - Movies record choppy 15 fps	- Pricier - Waterproof for only one hour - Movies record at a choppy 15 fps - Slower 1.1 fps burst mode - ISO range of 64-1600 - No custom white balance - Fastest shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second - Smaller f/3.5-5 apertures - Must have xD card for Panorama mode	- Not waterproof - Lens extends, so it’s less sturdy - Burst only lasts three shots - Awful shutter lag - ISO 100-1250 range is shorter	- Not waterproof - Max ISO sensitivity is 1000 - Touch screen can be finicky - 10 scene modes - Memory Stick Duo Pro required for 30 fps movies - More expensive at about $350 - Flash to 11.2 feet