Pentax Optio E30 First Impressions Review

Testing/Performance Expectations
Because we evaluated the E30 at a trade show, rather than in our own lab, we don't have anything specific to say about its imaging performance – we simply can't do reliable, quantifiable testing without the controlled conditions we maintain in our test suite at home. Compounding the issue, Pentax representatives say the unit we handled does not have finalized firmware, which can have a significant effect on camera performance.

That said, our test shots looked very sharp when magnified on the E30's LCD screen. We looked for color fringing in our images and didn't see it on the LCD. We noticed some barrel distortion at the wide-angle end of the zoom range. When we test a production version, we'll be able to verify these impressions.