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Introduction
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01.Product Tour
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02.Color
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03.Noise
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04.Resolution
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05.Video
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06.Sample Photos
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07.Playback
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08.Hardware
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09.Controls
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10.Design & Handling
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11.Fuji Z33WP Comparison
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12.Canon D10 Comparison
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13.Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 Comparison
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14.Conclusion
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15.Photo Gallery
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16.Comments
Pentax Optio W80
Previous: Page 2
ColorNext: Page 4
ResolutionNoise
Image noise is low, yet high ISO images lack detail.
Noise (4.72)
The W80 was not a great performer in our noise tests: we found that images quickly became noisy as the ISO increased, meaning that shots taken indoors or underwater look rather grainy. The camera does try and correct for this by removing the noise, but it only does a moderate job of this; fine details in images shot under low light get quickly lost in the grain. More on how we test noise.
We examined how the noise increases as the ISO goes up in two different lighting conditions: 60 lux (equivalent to indoor lighting) and 3000 lux (about the same as sunny day). The amount of noise at the lower light level is lower, presumably because the camera is using more aggressive noise reduction to try and compensate for the longer shutter speeds that are required to capture images at these levels.
If we compare the noise of the W80 to other cameras, we find that it is noisier than most of them, even at low ISO levels. For examples of the noise in images, see the table below.
ISO (7.00)
The ISO range of the W80 goes from a minimum of 100 up to a maximum of 1600 at full resolution. Two additional levels of 3200 and 6400 are available if you don’t mind losing a lot of resolution: these settings are restricted to capturing images at 5 megapixel resolutions. As you can see from the samples below, the image quality is somewhat lacking, though; the images are very grainy and blurry looking.
| ISO Comparisons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
| ISO Low | |||
|
ISO 100
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ISO 64
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ISO 80
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ISO 64
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
| ISO 200 | |||
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
| ISO 400 | |||
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
| ISO 800 | |||
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
| ISO 1600 | |||
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
| ISO 3200 | |||
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
| ISO 6400 | |||
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| Pentax Optio W80 | Fujifilm FinePix Z33WP | Canon PowerShot D10 | Olympus Stylus TOUGH-8000 |
NOTE: The images above are not used in our testing or scoring, but are included here to show real-world examples of the differences between cameras at the various ISO settings.
Shop for the Pentax Optio W80
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