Pentax Optio M10

Auto Mode
The Optio M10 offers a so-called "Green" mode that essentially whites out most of the menu choices altogether, leaving a single menu of key settings. This is as automatic a mode as you can get. To cite just one change that "Green" makes, the self-timer jumps and stays at 10 seconds, rather that the 2 second/10 second choice you otherwise have.

Movie Mode
The M10’s movie mode has specs of 30 or 15 fps at 320 x 240 pixels or 160 x 120, which is subpar in a sea of cameras offering the same speeds at 640 x 480. Slow panning was handled adroitly with almost no trace of skipping or jumping and no evident artifacts. The autofocus stayed active, and you can zoom optically while shooting video. I did find the back rocker zoom switch a little too "nervous" for my tastes, however; a slower zoom would work better, in my opinion.

The camera records audio and clips with sound can be played back just as if they were still images, using the same transitions (more on this in the playback section of the review).

Drive / Burst Mode
The camera can operate in both single mode and a five-image burst mode. Burst images are about one second apart. Writing was quick enough that I noticed no delays, but I did not attempt to measure this. Normal shooting yields a delay of approximately three seconds. The M10 also has a self-timer with options of 2 and 10 seconds.

Playback Mode
The M10 has these options on the playback palette: Slideshow, Resize, Trim in-camera, Image/Sound Copy, DPOF, Protect, Voice memo and Image Rotation. To get back, you push the playback button or press the shutter halfway down.

Playback options are single and nine-image multiple, with magnification up to 8x. In Slideshow mode, you can set three transitions: wipe, checkerboard and fade, at intervals of 3-30 seconds in steps. You can set sound to record independent of the image, or on top of the image. Movie images are treated as just another still picture. You can save images and clips in a calendar mode. Jumping between images is almost instantaneous.

Custom Image Presets
Shooting presets are getting extensive these days, but this camera by no means offers the most. There are many icons visible and several have sub-choices. All the usual ones are there: Portrait, Landscape, Action, and Close up. Beyond that, we have a Kids mode, multiple Pet modes, Food, Fireworks, Self-Portrait, Soft Focus, Surf/Snow and Nighttime.

These presets are an attempt to simplify the act of photography, but the need--if there is one--for three "Pet" settings (light, medium and dark animals, I was told) seems a bit excessive.