Pentax Optio E10

Value
At fewer than two hundred bucks, the Pentax Optio E10 is decent value for the money. While it’s not bursting with fancy features or the latest image processing capabilities, it does a solid job of taking pictures quickly and easily. But be warned, Pentax: Olympus manufactures the D-series, a line of low-end point-and-shoots similar to the E10, many of which go for less than $200 online and Panasonic just released a $200 camera with their trademark MEGA optical image stabilization - a feature that alone makes it a better value than the E10. If the new Pentax cameras are sharper than the Olympus models and less noisy than the Panasonics, then the Pentax cameras will definitely be a worthy foe. But Pentax will have to price competitively. Keep checking back for our full review, with full testing results.

Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters – The E10 is easy to use without any fuss: the textbook definition of a point-and-shoot camera.

Budget Consumers – At less than two hundred bucks, this is a fine choice for the budget conscious shooter who isn’t concerned about the lack of manual control.

Gadget Freaks – This isn’t the smallest, fanciest or most drool-worthy camera by a long shot. Serious gadget freaks wouldn’t be caught dead with it.

Manual Control Freaks – Give this camera to a manual control freak and they’ll probably throw it straight back in your face. It just isn’t the type of camera for them.

Pros / Serious Hobbyists – This camera isn’t suitable for serious users as anything other than a frivolous $200 decoration. They’ll likely find the lack of modes and manual control a serious problem.