Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Launched at the CES 2006 show in January, the Pentax Optio E10 is the flagship model in a new Pentax line of entry level, budget digital cameras aimed at users who want a simple photographic experience. Priced at under $200 and available this February, the new camera eschews some of the advanced features on Pentax’s more expensive and simultaneously launched Optio A10. It’s built around a 1/2.5-inch CCD that captures 6 megapixel images. To keep the price low it offers a common 3x zoom lens, runs off of easy to find AA batteries, and has low resolution on its 2.4” LCD.
Advertisement


Likes
- Simple mode makes point-and-shoot use very easy
- Comfortable to hold
- Controls are straightforward and easy to use              
Dislikes
- The LCD screen is grainy and doesn’t do justice to the photos
- Limited ISO range (even among point-and-shoots)
- Menus can be a little difficult to read           


Conclusion
It’s obvious that the E10 has been built to appeal to users on a budget. It’s not that the Pentax Optio E10 is a bad camera – it’s just that there really isn’t anything outstanding about it. In our limited testing, we found the image quality to be fair, but not great; there’s a certain amount of noise at the maximum ISO setting of 200, and this low maximum ISO will be a problem for low light shooting. At this price point, however, building an outstanding camera is incredibly tough. The E10 is an inexpensive camera, and you get what you pay for. The E10 will cost $199.99 and will be available in February.
Advertisement