Pentax Optio A30

 

Viewfinder (0.0)
The Pentax Optio A30 does not have a viewfinder, which is really only an issue in bright overhead sun (when most LCD screens are ineffective) and when trying to prolong battery life. While this may be a valid concern, most non-TTL optical viewfinders on point-and-shoot cameras typically provide inaccurate frame coverage that barely resembles the final composition. 

LCD Screen (8.0)
The Pentax Optio A30 is equipped with a 2.5-inch, 232,000-pixel TFT color LCD with a 160 degree angle of view and 100 percent field of view. The monitor has two brightness settings, selectable by pressing the OK/display button for more than a second. The LCD screen solarizes easily when shooting in bright sunlight, and outdoor use can be a hassle or even downright impossible without using a hand to shield the screen. The brightness adjustment can be useful when capturing images in low light situations.

The screen’s nice resolution and decent size are ideal for image review. Comparatively, some other cameras in this price range, such as the Panasonic TZ3 and Sony N2, have 3-inch screens but others such as the Canon SD40 have smaller, lower-resolution displays.

Flash (6.75)
The in-camera flash for the Pentax Optio A30 is positioned above and to the left of the camera lens, away from fingers that might possibly block the flash during shooting. The reported effective flash range is 23 feet in wide angle and 11 feet in telephoto in auto ISO. The flash is quite powerful for a small camera. Unfortunately, with such a small flash unit, the light from it often produce thick, harsh shadows.

Illumination levels can be adjusted by setting the Flash mode to Soft Flash, which reduces its power so it doesn’t overexpose subjects close to the camera. The camera’s flash options are accessed by pressing the left arrow of the four-way control when in Capture mode outside the menu structure. The flash settings are Auto, Flash Off, Flash On, Auto + Red-Eye, Flash On + Red-Eye, and Soft Flash.

The red-eye reduction mechanism fires a pre-flash and then a second flash to illuminate the scene. If red-eye is still an issue even after red-eye capture settings have been engaged, the Playback mode offers a red-eye compensation option for post-production adjustment.

Zoom Lens (7.25)
The built-in, telescoping 3x optical zoom (38-114mm 35mm equivalent) SMC Pentax lens is composed of seven elements in five groups, two dual-sided aspherical elements, and one single-sided aspherical element. The 3x zoom range is typical for a point-and-shoot camera, but the lens also benefits from mechanical image stabilization, built around the camera's sensor. This is comparable to other cameras' optical image stabilization systems, and is far more effective than digital image stabilization, which acts more like a scene mode.

The camera has a maximum aperture of f/2.8 in full wide-angle, and a maximum f/5.4 in telephoto. The maximum aperture for the A30 is pretty standard for this price range. The zoom lens is controlled via a horizontal rocker control on the back of the camera that is pressed left to engage the wide angle and right for telephoto. When the zoom control is engaged, an onscreen display appears horizontally along the bottom of the LCD screen. The zoom lens moves smoothly enough, but with such a small control it’s hard to achieve a variety of focal lengths.

The lens for the Optio A30 retracts into the camera when not in use, and is automatically covered with two plastic shutters that slide across the fully-recessed lens barrel.