Pentax Optio W10

Viewfinder (0.0)
The Optio W10 does not have an optical viewfinder, a design choice that allows a smaller profile and a larger LCD but prevents the user from saving battery power by shutting off the LCD.

LCD Screen (7.0)
The LCD is a 2.5-inch, 115,000-pixel screen with a matte finish akin to some laptop displays. The matte surface is fine, but low resolution made the screen pretty fuzzy. We noted stair-stepping in diagonals, and wish that the text was sharper – not to improve legibility, which is fine, but to make it more attractive. Using the camera outdoors, in a swimming pool, revealed that the LCD really wasn't visible in bright sun. Not many LCDs are, but users who expect to check shots at the beach or pool will have to cup their hands around the display to review images, and they'll only manage a vague impression of framing – judging color or exposure won’t be possible.

Flash (7.25)
With the lens set to wide angle, the Optio W10's flash reached out nearly 20 feet at ISO 200. In the same setting – a large room with a low, white ceiling – shots at ISO 100 were underexposed. It is unfortunate that the flash is offset from the lens. If it were directly over the lens, the subject's shadows would fall directly behind them and be hidden in the pictures. As it is, the flash casts deep shadows to the right of its subjects.

The Optio W10's flash modes are: auto flash, always flash, never flash, auto flash with red eye reduction, always flash with red eye reduction, and "soft flash," which allows for longer shutter speeds and less-bright flash to balance flash light with available light. Soft flash is an appealing choice in settings where the available light is relatively bright – a well-lit home is an example.

Lens (6.5)
The 6.3mm to 18.9mm Pentax zoom has a maximum aperture that runs from f/ 3.3 to f/ 4. The lens approximates a 38-114mm lens on a 35mm camera, for a slight wide-angle to moderate telephoto effect. All in all, the lens is unimpressive – the zoom range is short and the maximum aperture is typical, if not a bit below average. The lens shows color fringing – fine lines of color silhouetting objects. It's hard to separate lens sharpness from chip and image-processing sharpness, but it appears that the lens itself is fairly soft.