Pentax Optio Z10

Auto Mode (7.25)
Pentax calls its most automatic mode Green mode. It’s easily accessed using the green button in the lower right corner of the camera’s back. The Green mode severely limits what options are accessible: the Recording menu doesn’t show up at all and few options are available on the multi-selector. Self-Timer, Macro and Panning modes, and the Auto flash can be activated. Besides that, the Green mode is completely automated.

Movie Mode (7.5)
The Movie mode is grouped in the Mode menu with everything else. The camera can record Motion JPEG files with mono audio. The video is recorded at 640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels; either one can record at 30 or 15 fps. The video resolution and frame rate, among other things, can be set in the "movie" option in the standard Recording menu. Within that option, there is a full submenu that allows users to adjust the quality level with the same three-star compression ratings as on still images. Movies can be recorded up to 2 GB.

Users can also activate "movie SR," the digital shake reduction system. Continuous autofocus can be turned on and off, along with the 7x optical zoom. The optical zoom is very useful and hardly makes a sound; it is the continuous autofocus with its low-pitched grinding noise that causes the most operational distraction in movies.

There are two Color modes in addition to the standard available from the movie portion of the menu: sepia and black & white. The Color modes go above and beyond what most digital cameras offer in the Movie mode, and are a nice inclusion.

Videos can be played back and edited. The options aren’t elaborate, but users can save low-resolution still images and divide and stitch movies.

There is more info in the Testing/Performance section, but the movie mode generally had good color accuracy in bright and low light. The noise was the difference though: it was nearly absent in bright light, but schizophrenically jumpy in low light. The resolution proved unimpressive, but the Pentax Z10’s movie mode gets an otherwise positive report.

Drive / Burst Mode (4.75)
The Burst mode can be difficult to find. It is accessible from the top portion of the multi-selector. The trick is that the button is labeled only with a self-timer icon, not with any icon that represents a Continuous Burst mode.

The options are single drive, self-timer, standard continuous, and high-speed continuous burst modes. The first option is the default and the second option has two settings: 2 and 10 seconds. These delays are indicated by the tiny flashing red light on the front of the camera. The standard burst mode takes about one picture every 0.9 seconds and does so for three shots before stuttering along at a slower and more random clip. The high-speed mode takes four shots at a quick pace every 0.3 seconds, but does so at the expense of image size: the resolution automatically shrinks to 3 megapixels. This unimpressive burst mode is common on pocket digital cameras though. The Casio V8 has the same 1 fps standard burst mode and a 4 fps high-speed mode that cuts resolution to 2 megapixels.

Playback Mode (8.0)
The Pentax Optio Z10’s Playback mode can be accessed when the camera is turned on or off. When off, users need only push the playback button for a full second. A much shorter push is required when the camera is on. Navigation through images is done with the left and right sides of the multi-selector. This scrolls through individual images, but pushing on the wide end of the zoom toggle shows nine pictures on the screen at a time. Pushing it again shows a calendar view, and pushing the Green mode button while viewing this screen shows pictures organized by folder. Pushing the zoom toggle to telephoto magnifies images up to 8x.

Pushing the top of the selector does nothing. Pushing the bottom, labeled "mode," enters the Playback menu. This is confusing considering there is another button labeled "menu." That button accesses only the Setup menu from here.

The Playback menu isn’t the typical menu. It isn’t a list of text; rather, it is a collection of icons similar to the exposure mode menu. Some of the options access functions directly while others go to sub-menus with more options.