Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

The first in a new line of cameras for Pentax, the Optio A10 is an 8 megapixel higher-end compact camera aimed at advanced users: the company has also launched a new line for point-and-shoot users (see our preview of the E10 elsewhere on the site). The A10 includes a new camera shake reduction system where the entire CCD sensor moves to compensate for small movements that can cause blurry images. Like many compacts, it has VGA movie mode at 30 fps with audio, but like many point-and-shoots it has 3x optical zoom. The 2.5” LCD, included memory of 24 MB, and its PictBridge compatibility could indicate belonging in either camp. It’s priced at $349.99 and will be available in February.
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Likes
- Compact, stylish design
- Includes shake-reduction
- Solid construction
- Menu system is logically designed and easy to use             
Dislikes
- Max ISO of 400
- Appeared to be significant shadow noise at higher ISOs
- Very limited manual controls
- No way to save and switch between custom setting sets
- Battery life is on the short side           

Conclusion
The A10 is a small, well-built compact camera, designed to be Pentax's new flagship of their Optio line with the addition of a shake reductrion system. But there are some serious omissions: the lack of access to commonly-used manual controls is a big problem for a camera supposedly designed for more advanced users. There’s no way to manually set shutter or aperture and the manual focus is a pain. The battery life is also on the low side.

But it does an effective job as a point-and shoot camera: the image quality is strong (although we should point out that our testing was limited: further testing in our full review may prompt other conclusions), but thus far, it appears to be a good pick for a user who wants high resolution images in a convenient package. Check back for the full review.

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