Pentax Optio W30

Likes

- Waterproof, dustproof - Attractive Design - Handles noise reasonably well at ISO 800 and under - Sturdy locking battery and port compartments - Built-in image recovery - Plenty of options for almost every setting - Good price for a waterproof camera

Dislikes

- Poor LCD resolution - Inaccurate, undersaturated colors   - Limited dynamic range over ISO 400 - Lots of barrel distortion at wider focal lengths - Low light auto focus (no assist lamp) - Color fringing - Slow burst - Complicated menu system - Clumsy software that is hard to navigate through

Conclusion
The Pentax W30, simply put, is a fun camera to use. It will likely find a wide audience, eliciting praise from Michael Phelps types to kids wanting to play Mikey from the Goonies. With waterproof, dustproof (and kid-proof) abilities, the Optio W30 functions as an all-around camera that can be transported on land or water. It also includes basic PDA functions such as alarm and calendar. With an array of internal editing, the camera makes it easy to bypass the computer.

There are a few downsides though. This menu-heavy camera offers so many options that it may overwhelm a new user, although it does provide plenty of customizable options to grow into. Coupled with hard-to-navigate software, W30 users may need to invest some time to figure out their equipment.

The W30's biggest quality issues were its inaccurate color reproduction, limited dynamic range, and slow operation. The minimal 115k pixels on the camera's LCD screen also made it difficult to gauge focus and share photos on-screen. The W30 did handle noise better than its competition and produced clean images through ISO 800 and usable images up to ISO 1600.

The Pentax W30 gets props for improvements made to the previous model, including increased waterproof times and submergence depths, and a new locking system. Overall, the Optio W30 makes solid strides in its targeted areas and offers an effective all-around waterproof camera at an affordable price.

Overall Impressions	Page 10 of 13		Sample Photos
Pentax Optio W30 Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance	Components	Design / Layout
Modes	Control Options	Image Parameters	Connectivity / Extras
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