Viewfinder
There is no viewfinder on the Pentax Optio T10 and this shouldn’t come as any real surprise—the touch screen leaves little room for even the buttons. Even if there were a viewfinder, often the optical viewfinders on small portable cameras only offer about 70 percent frame coverage with minimal visibility.
LCD Screen
The LCD screen is perhaps one of the most drastic innovations in the Optio line this year, and with the T10, Pentax is looking to shake up a camera layout that was not too long ago relegated to camcorders. The “T” in T10 refers to its touch screen interface, a feature which allowed Pentax to do away with complicated, tiny external controls. The Pentax Optio T10 has a 2.5-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels and a touch screen design that displays transparent menus throughout the menu structure; this enables users to monitor the alterations made to their photographs in real time without leaving the menu system. The LCD screen may be navigated either with a finger or an included stylus, though the stylus is likely a better idea so that users don’t grease up the screen. Controls are well sized on the LCD and menus are broken up into logical structures, enabling fast navigation without getting tied up in long lists or circuitous menu paths.
Flash
The in-camera flash for the T10 is to the left of the extending lens of the camera, which is less than stellar in placement. This will most likely result in images that suffer from a shadow cast at an angle across the subject because of uneven lighting. The flash control options for the Pentax Optio T10 are located in the display menu under the flash submenu and allow users to select among flash settings of auto, flash on, flash off, auto plus red-eye, flash-on plus red-eye and soft flash. The effective range for the flash is an advertised wide angle of 0.49 feet to 14.8 feet (possible with Auto ISO), while a telephoto range of 1.31 to 8.2 feet is possible when the camera is set to Auto ISO.
Zoom Lens
The zoom lens for the Pentax Optio T10 is located on the right side of the camera when facing it, and is an extending barrel which eliminates the likelihood that the user would accidentally cover the optics when shooting. This 3x zoom lens is controlled via a ring with a tab that is positioned surrounding the shutter button on the top of the camera. The zoom was smooth and quick and stopped on a dime once the proper level was set. While some variance was possible in the speed of the zoom, the user won’t have a huge amount of control over the speed. The 3x lens has 6 elements in 5 groups, with 2 dual-sided aspherical elements and a focal length of 6.2 mm to 18.6 mm and a 35mm equivalent range of 38 mm to 113 mm. The smc PENTAX power zoom lens has an aperture range of f/2.7 to f/5.2. When not in use the lens retracts into the camera and is immediately covered by an internal lens cover.
