Pentax Optio A30

Model Design/Appearance (7.0)
The Pentax Optio A30's rectangular body has rounded edges and comes in a matte finish with polished silver controls. The camera is constructed with a smooth aluminum alloy body in either an alluring matte black or more standard silver finish. This design lacks a grip or handle for one-handed shooting comfort. The A30’s back face is largely consumed by a 2.5-inch LCD screen. This camera isn’t going to win any design awards, but what it lacks in stunning layout it makes up for in straightforward functionality and shooting ease.

Size/Portability (7.0)
The Pentax Optio A30 is a compact point-and-shoot that fits easily in the palm. The A30 lacks protrusions when turned off, and photographers will find it’s easy to slip this model into a back pocket or purse. The camera measures 3.5 x 2.3 x .9-inches and weighs 5.3 ounces with the battery and memory card.

Handling Ability (6.0)
Handling is an area where the camera could be improved. The only "grip" for this camera is located on the back of the camera above the four-way control, but I rarely found it useful. When trying to shoot with one hand, I found myself awkwardly maneuvering my hand to grip the camera. Users can more easily shoot one-handed with larger point-and-shoot cameras that feature a right hand grip. The surface of the camera is very smooth, so when shooting in the midst of summer there’s a danger of sweaty hands losing their grip. Benefits of this camera’s design, however, include the position of the in-camera flash toward the center of the camera, far away from fingers that may wrap around onto the front.

Control Button/Dial Positioning/Size (6.25)
External controls on the Pentax Optio A30 are minimal. But that doesn’t limit the features on this little camera, with most of its features stored internally and accessed through a simple menu and palette system. The buttons are to the right of the LCD and on top of the camera. The controls on the back of the camera are spread out enough to ensure you won’t hit any buttons accidentally. The zoom control could be better designed so more focal lengths could be accessed. Other than the zoom control, however, the buttons are adequately sized and placed for smooth control.

Menu (7.0)
The Casio Optio A30’s menu system appears as an opaque display over the live view. Text titles are used in the Record and Setup menus and icons in the Playback and Capture mode palettes. Both menu structures are simple to use, although some users may find using the down arrow to access the mode palette and the menu button for the Record and Setup menus confusing at first.

Many of the Pentax Optio A30’s manual controls are listed within the Record or Shooting menu system. Settings including image size and quality, green button control, and image parameters such as sharpness, saturation, and contrast are located in the Record menu. Moving through this menu system is done by pressing the up and down arrows of the four-way control. Once a desired submenu option is highlighted the user makes adjustments by using the left and right arrows of the four-way control and selects with the OK/Display button.

Shooting Menu
Recorded Pixels	10M (3648 x 2736), 7M (3072 x 2304), 5M (2592 x 1944), 3M (2048 x 1536), 2M (1600 x 1200), 1024 (1024 x 768), 640 (640 x 480)
Quality Level	* (Good), ** (Better), *** (Best)
White Balance	Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light, Manual
AF Setting	Focusing Area, Focus Limiter, Aux AF Light
AE Metering	Multi-Segment, Center-Weight, Spot
Sensitivity	Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 ISO
EV Compensation	+/-2 EV in 1/3 step increments
Movie	Pixels, Quality Level, Movie SR
Shake Reduction	On, Off
Digital Zoom	On, Off
Instant Review	Off, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 5 seconds
Memory	Flash, Drive, Focus, Zoom, MF Position, White Balance, AE Metering, Sensitivity, EV Compensation, Digital Zoom, Display, File #
Green Button	Green Mode, Shake Reduction, FN Settings
Sharpness	+/- Horizontal scale traversed using the left and right arrows of the four-way control (soft to hard)
Saturation	+/- Scale, left and right arrows of four-way control adjust this parameter (low to high saturation)
Contrast	+/- Scale, left and right arrows for adjustment of setting (low to high contrast)

Once in Playback mode, pressing the down arrow of the four-way control interface enters the Playback menu system. The Playback menu is an icon-based system navigated using the directions of the four-way control. Its cartoon-style symbols are supposed to make this menu structure more "user friendly," but some users may find a text-based menu system is less of a hassle.

Playback Menu
Slide show	Interval, Screen Effect, Sound Effect
Resize	Image Size and Quality Adjustments
Cropping	Zoom toggle alters cropping frame, four-way control moves the frame coverage
Image/Sound Copy	Internal memory to memory card or memory card to internal memory
Image Rotation	Rotates 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise each time the left and right arrows of the four-way control are engaged
Color Filter	B&W, Sepia, Eight color filters, B&W + Red, B&W + Green, and B&W + Blue
Digital Filter	Soft, Illustration, Special Effect 1, Special Effect 2, and Slim
Brightness Filter	Right arrow brightens and left arrow darkens the image between +/- 2 EV in 1/3 step increments
Movie Edit	Save as still image, Divide movies, Extract, Cancel
Red-eye Compensation	Pressing the OK button will initiate red-eye compensation processes
Voice Memo	Allows the user to add audio files to recorded images
Protect	Select image/sound, Select all images and sounds, Cancel
DPOF	Select image, All images, Cancel
Start-up Screen	Select between Pentax pre-recorded graphics or previously captured user images
Frame Composite	A series of digital "frames"

The Setup menu is entered through the Record menu by using the up arrow on the four-way control to highlight the Record menu tab, then pressing the right arrow of the four-way control. The Setup menu uses the same text-based list structure as the Record menu, and navigation is both fast and easy.

Setup Menu
Format	Format, Cancel
Sound	Operation Volume, Playback Volume, Start-up Volume, Shutter Sound, Operation Sound, Self-timer Sound
Date Adjust	Date style, Date, Time
World Time	Select time, Destination city, Hometown
Language	English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Russian, Thai, Korean, Chinese (traditional and simplified), and Japanese
Folder Name	Standard, Date
USB Connection	PC, PictBridge
Video Out	NTSC, PAL
Brightness Level	Seven levels of brightness
Power Saving	2 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, 5 seconds, or Off
Quick Zoom	On, Off
Auto Power Off	5 minutes, 3 minutes, Off
Guide Display	On, Off
Reset	Reset, Cancel

Ease of Use (7.5)
Pentax has done a great job when it comes to ease of use, producing cameras that feature a limited number of external controls with logical list-style menu structures. The simplicity becomes a bit muddled, however, with the icon-based grid of the Capture mode palette and the Playback palette. Theoretically the cartoon icons should be easier to move between, but the vaguely-designed icons hardly allow for instant comprehension. The camera’s Green mode, discussed in more detail below, limits settings that can be adjusted by the user – it is automatic and easy to use.