Pentax OptioWP Digital Camera Review

Auto Mode (7.5)
The Pentax OptioWP’s automatic mode is called Green Mode in the camera; this title may not be entirely intuitive to photographers. Simply calling it Auto probably would have been a better choice. However, its concept is still quite cool. The Green Mode is accessed by a green button conveniently located next to the zoom switch. The mode can be accessed at any time without entering any menus – easy. In this mode, all of the camera’s menus and functions are completely disabled. It is definitely the most automatic of auto modes – only it’s called Green Mode.

Drive / Burst Mode (7.0)
The Pentax OptioWP has two burst modes, accessed via the up arrow button on the four-way controller. When in continuous mode, the camera writes each photo to the memory card before capturing the next image, while the high speed continuous mode causes the camera to shoot at a rate of up to 3 frames per second. The high speed continuous burst mode records to the buffer memory until it is full, then writes to the memory card. Unfortunately, the high speed mode only records at the 1280 x 960-pixel image size. The burst mode is pretty quick for a compact digital camera, as most linger in the 1.5-2 fps range.

Playback Mode (8.0)
The playback mode on the Pentax OptioWP allows the user to view images in a slideshow, as a multi-up nine image thumbnail, or as a single image. Playback zoom is engaged using the zoom toggle in the upper right corner on the back of the camera body. The multi-up feature is simple and easy to navigate with the four-way controller. Slide shows can be played in intervals of 3-30 seconds with fades, wipes, and checkers as transition effects. When the bottom of the four-way dial is pressed, another colorful menu appears with the following options: Slideshow, Resize, Trimming, Image/Sound Copy, Image Rotation, Digital Filter (this is where all the cool color options are found), Brightness Filter, Movie Edit, Frame Composite, Red-eye Compensation, Voice Memo, Protect, DPOF, Image Recovery, and Start-up Screen. Movies can be played back as well, and even edited. Users can scroll through clips frame by frame and cut and paste sections of frames in different places, and although it is a bit tedious, it’s an incredibly versatile inclusion for a compact digital camera.

Movie Mode (4.0)
The movie mode for the Pentax OptioWP is accessed through the mode menu and offers image sizes of 320 x 240 and 160 x 120. Both sizes can shoot at either 15 or 30 frames per second. Before users begin recording, they can use the optical zoom. Once users press the shutter button to record, only the digital zoom can be used. Other options will be frozen to the user and automatically controlled by the camera.

Audio may be recorded simultaneously with video through the monaural microphone located on the top of the camera body beside the on/off button. The poor microphone placement means that the best audio will have to come from above, meaning that your movies may all have to be shot at knee-height looking up. Welcome to your new cinematic trademark.

Custom Image Presets (8.0)
The custom image presets are one of the most solid areas of control available to the user of the Pentax OptioWP. These presets represent a large number of general shooting situations which may be encountered, and the user can choose which preset best fits the shot. These settings are accessible using the Mode function/down arrow of the four-way controller. Once these options are opened, a series of images appear against a live background, allowing the user to select the desired setting while observing the compensation being viewed by the lens. Each setting can be further explained by highlighting it and pressing the green button for more information. The settings include Program, Night Scene, Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Underwater, Surf & Snow, Sport, Pet, Candlelight, Soft, Fireworks, Self-portrait, Natural Skin Tone, Food, and Museum. If you can’t find all of these on the main menu, don’t fret. Because only 15 modes can fit on this colorful menu – and this includes Voice Memo and Movie and such – some of the scene modes are hidden. They can be found by pressing the zoom toggle toward the wide angle, then selecting the mode preferred. This can be quite tedious for first-time users, but once learned, should include most necessary options.