Pentax Optio W80

Viewfinder (0.00)

There is no viewfinder on the W80; everything is done through the LCD screen.

Display (3.90)

The screen on the back of the W80 is a 2.5-inch LCD with a resolution of 230k pixels. That’s a little on the low end, so you have to zoom in to get a real feel for when images are sharp. But it’s adequate for general use, and the screen is clear and bright. The screen also feels tough, which is important for an underwater camera that could end up being banged about by angry fish.

Flash (4.25)

The small flash is located just above and to the right of the lens. This is not particularly powerful: we found it only penetrated out to a few feet in complete darkness.The close proximity to the lens also means that it is rather prone to creating red-eye.

Lens (2.50)

The W80 includes a 5x zoom lens, which is impressive considering that the lens is completely within the camera body: the front of the lens is flush with the front of the camera body. This has a focal length of 5mm to 25mm, which is equivalent to a 28mm to 140mm zoom on a 35mm film camera. That’s a good range for a compact camera, especially with the wider end of the zoom range giving a wider view for shooting landscapes or group shots.

The aperture range of this zoom lens is limited, though: the widest aperture is f/3.5 at the wide zoom setting and f/5.5 at the telephoto end.

Zoom Ratio Examples
5.0 mm	13.7 mm	25.0 mm

Battery (5.00)

The power source of the W80 is a small Lithium-ion battery. This holds a rather small 680mAh of charge, which means that this camera does not last long; Pentax quotes the battery life as 170 shots, which seems a little optimistic to us.

Memory (3.00)

Images and video taken by the W80 are stored on an SDHC or SD Card that fits into a slot above the battery. A 4 GB SDHC card (which costs about $25) will hold over 8000 images or about 11 minutes of video at the highest resolution and quality setting.

Jacks, Ports & Plugs (2.00)

The W80 connects to the outside world through a single proprietary port on the bottom of the camera body under the battery and memory card port cover. Two cables that fit into this are included: a USB one and an A/V out cable that provides a single composite analog video and audio output. There is no option for a HDMI connection here, so you will only get a standard definition preview of the images or videos that this camera captures if you connect this to a HDTV.

Other Hardware (0.00)

Waterproof

The W80 is waterproof to a depth of 16 feet, which means it can be used for snorkel diving or other shallow dives. Pentax claims that it is waterproof at this depth for dives of up to 2 hours.

Drop-proof

The W80 is designed to withstand being dropped onto hard surfaces from heights of up to 3.3 feet.

Cold-proof

The W80 can keep taking photographs in temperatures of down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (around -10 degrees Celsius).