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

Customer Reviews:

Over 2 years, and still loving it.......2007-11-06

I love this camera! It is not perfect (I would have preferred to give it 4.5 stars), but it is very close. I love being able to carry this camera with me and use it for any occasion. Sure, it is not the best for 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 and it started to rain and other people have to put up their camera, but i just looked at them and smiled!

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

The pictures turn out remarkably well, but low light conditions are definitely not the best. You have to be extra careful unless you have a tripod when taking any low light pictures to avoid blur. The biggest problem that I have with it when I am in the water are water drops sticking to the lens. This results in a fabulous shot, except for 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 and brighter is ok), the quality will be great. I've played some of my videos on a 50" plasma and everyone that saw it was amazed that it came from a small digital camera.

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

Pros: good still pictures, great video, small enough to 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 to 5 feet for 30 minutes, water drops stay on lens, no optical view finder

AROUND THE WORLD AND STILL TICKS.......2007-08-06

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...

Bogus warrentee.......2007-07-12

I liked the camera while it worked. After 6 months and about 500 pictures, the images became very distorted. When I tried to get it fixed under the "Extended Warrentee", I was told that I would have to send it to the manufacturer as it was still under their original warrentee.

After waiting for about 5 weeks, Pentax returned the camera unrepaired with a cryptic note saying: "... dirt or sand found on the battery/card cover which comprimised the camera's waterproof functions. Extensive water damage exceeds the price of a new Pentax product."

There was no dirt/sand on the cover! And even if there was, it was supposed to be a waterproof AND dust proof camera. There was also a statement that I did not send a battery or flash card. I think they were just too lazy to get a battery and flash card to test the camera. I don't think they even bothered to test it.

good care-free camera for the beach.......2007-06-20

The last two compact cameras we had broke from sand/dust at the beach or dropped in a pool. So I decided to get compact camera that survives the beach, the pool and other children activities.

I chose the W10 over the W20 model, because the W20 is the same as W10 inside, just 7MP instead of 6MP. I compared the picture quality, and the 7MP resolution is not better at all, only the newer W20 is slower and files are bigger.

The picture quality is not great, but is ok for a compact camera. It is fuzzier than my deceased Kodak V530, but does the job.
Sharpness is mediocre for 6 or 7MP. Colors are good. It has a tendency to wash-out the whites (lose detail in very bright parts).

In "general" shooting mode (P-mode), it prefers to shoot at 1/60s speed, which can be a bit slow and yield blurry pictures. Just don't yank the camera away right after you hear the "click" sound.

It has at a dozen of shooting modes. The "children" mode uses faster speed and alleviates the above problem.
Please, try the different shooting modes, see what settings (speed, aperture, etc.) the camera chose and find your preferences.
I am taking much better pictures once I got to know the camera.

Flash is a bit weak, but that's true for most compact cameras.

Picture download is very slow. I think it's USB1.1 instead of USB2.0. You're better off using a card reader. That's not a big problem, since you have to open the bottom cover anyway to expose the USB port, you could very well take out the memory card at that point.

No lens cover. There is a scratch-resistant glass in front of the lens, but I'm still concerned about long-term exposure to my wife's purse - loose change, car keys, etc.

Video quality is good, full frame, full resolution. One can zoom in video mode, but the zoom noise gets recorded. It's probably because the moving parts of the lens are inside the camera body.

With all the negatives said, the best part about the W10 is that I no longer worry about dust, sand, water or misuse. If the camera gets dirty, I rinse it under running water.
The peace of mind compensates for all picture quality weaknesses.

I also looked into the Olympus Stylus 720SW, but the video quality was so bad, that it was a no-go from the start.

Awful customer service from Pentax not worth the highest quality camera.......2007-02-28

I purchased the Pentax Optio W10 this past July because of its waterproof capabilities. I was happy with the camera's performance until, less than a month after purchase, the flash function stopped working. It was over a month until I finally received my camera back from Pentax. The camera was never the same once I got it back. After having the flash repaired, my images always seemed washed out or overexposed. I was hesitant to send the camera in again because I didn't want to be without it for so long. I was forced to send it back when a crack appeared on the LCD screen. The camera had a screen protector on it and was sitting untouched in a protective case when the crack appeared. I can only assume the crack was a result of built-up pressure from the previous repair. I have now been without my camera for 2/3 of the time I have owned it.

After another four weeks of waiting, I called about the status of my camera. I was disappointed to learn that the repair would cost me 80% of what I had originally paid for the camera. When I tried talking to the customer service representative about my other options, she responded with utter rudeness. She made no attempt to make me feel that your company supports customer needs. Her supervisor was no better. He treated me not as though I was a customer, but rather like I was a nuisance to him. He was completely disrespectful and condescending. I was absolutely disgusted.

I originally bought a Pentax because of its waterproof capabilities. I decided to look past the warnings I recieved from a number of camera experts about Pentax's awful customer service. I was willing to overlook the poor service for a waterproof camera. I was hugely mistaken. I don't care if Pentax offers a waterproof camera that can swim on its own. Good customer service is more important than product features, and I will be purchasing my next camera from a brand with more reputable customer service.

Product Description

Metal body construction . Rubber-armored handgrips . Compact, lightweight design. Roof prism. 419-ft field of view

Customer Reviews:

Santa scored big!.......2007-01-20

This was ordered for a Christmas present for my Dad. We live in the country and he wanted one to watch the animals that come in the yard. Thanks to another review that someone else left I knew it was just what we wanted.

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