Pentax Optio 50 Review

The Pentax Optio 50 is a five megapixel digital camera with a three times optical zoom lens. It is a straightforward, easy to use model. Where the Optio 50 offers something a little different is there are very few digital cameras offering five megapixels that are available for around £100.

It has a standard set of features and although it has all you need to take photos you will not get lost in a maze of complicated settings and controls. This camera is aimed at anyone who is looking for a simple point and shoot camera that is easy to understand and you can get started with as soon as you have loaded the batteries.

As with the majority of cameras in this price bracket the Optio 50 performs much better outdoors than it does inside. Outside I feel that this camera compares very well with other cameras in this category. Inside you may find it hard to get good pictures once the light falters unless the artificial lighting available to you is very good.

Working through my test shots I was very happy with the landscape style shots. If this is the main type of photo you are planning to use your camera for then you should have few problems. The colours in the shots are good and are a fair reflection of how each scene looked when the picture was taken. As ever detail is lost in dark, shady areas, but this is to be expected and again this camera is no worse than others you will find for around £100.

The outdoor portrait shot is also fine without being outstanding.

The dedicated test for colour produced a good result. The colours are strong without being overpowering and this bodes well for just about all types of photography.

The indoor portrait is the most disappointing shot of the batch. This highlights the limitations of the flash unit, but also shows that the camera can have problems focusing in less than ideal conditions. The other indoor test shot of some bottles produces a better result. Although some way from being perfect it is a fair attempt and compares well against other models at this end of the price range.

To finish on a high note I was very happy with the macro shot I managed to take with the camera. It compares well against many other digital cameras, even those that are a lot more expensive.

The Optio 50 managed to take a single shot in 1.6 seconds. This time is a slow time. It took 9.48 seconds to take five consecutive shots. This works out at a rate of one photo more or less every 1.9 seconds. This is a fairly fast time for this type of camera. Therefore you should get a good response from this camera if you wish to reel off two or three pictures in a row, but the time it takes to take a single photo is definitely a problem.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 32-96mm in 35mm format. There is also a 4x digital zoom function. For close up photography it has a macro mode that lets you get in as close as 6cms from your subject.

In addition to automatic mode (known as simple mode on this camera) there are four preset scene modes. These are portrait, landscape, sport and night. By selecting the appropriate mode you help the camera to take the best possible photo.

The built in flash unit has four modes. These are automatic where the camera decides whether or not flash is required, always on, always off and red eye reduction. The maximum range of the flash is 2.5m. This falls to around 2m when the zoom lens is in use.

For composing images you can choose between a viewfinder and a 1.8" LCD screen. The LCD screen is also used for accessing the menu system and reviewing images. You can adjust the brightness of the screen. This can help in lowlight situations and also on sunny days.

To add something different to your photos you can adjust the saturation and sharpness levels. You can also take pictures in black and white and sepia.

For when you would like to appear in a photo yourself there is a self timer. The delay can be set to either two or ten seconds.

You can shoot short movies with the Optio 50. These have a resolution of 320x240. Movies are shot at a rate of 20 frames per second. The duration of each movie is only limited by the capacity of the memory card. The movies are silent and the camera is unable to record any sound.

The camera has two types of metering you can choose from. These are centre weighted and spot. Exposure compensation is available (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps) and shutter speeds range from 1/1000 seconds to 1/2 seconds. There are six white balance settings: Automatic, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten and Fluorescent. These help you to get the correct colour in a shot. You can also select from four different ISO settings: automatic, 50, 100 and 200. Changing the ISO setting can help you to produce brighter pictures and to also freeze action.

There is a continuous shooting mode. This allows you to reel off three consecutive shots. Bracketing is available as well. By using bracketing the camera will produce three shots of a scene. Each shot will be produced with a different level of brightness. You can then select the best shot of the three.

Pentax supplies all the necessary software and cables to connect the Optio 50 to a television set, computer and PictBridge compatible printer.

This is an area where the camera scores very highly. There are very few buttons to confuse you on the back of the camera, but all the main controls are covered. The menu system is also easy to find your way around. If you buy this camera then it should not take long before you are up and running.

You can pick up a Pentax Optio 50 for around £110. This compares to around £120 for a Sony DSC S40, £102 for a Canon Powershot A410 and £110 for a Fuji Finepix A345. As you can see there is not too much to choose between these cameras when it comes to price. It is worth considering that the Canon Powershot A410 and the Sony DSC S40 are both four megapixel cameras whereas the Optio 50 is a five megapixel mode. I would say the Optio 50 is a fairly priced.

The Optio 50 looks similar to an awful lot of digital cameras and is a shiny silver rectangle. Its body is made of plastic. In my view it has a better finish than the majority of digital cameras in this price range.

The camera has dimensions of 91 x 61 x 31mm and weighs 130g.

Two AA batteries are required to run the Optio 50. The camera does seem to eat its way through batteries pretty quickly. You may find that buying a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger helps to keep the running costs down, especially if you are looking to use the camera on a regular basis.

Pentax have built 12mb of memory into the Optio 50. Therefore a memory card is not supplied as standard with the camera. I was able to take five photos using the default settings before the internal memory was full. As you can see from this figure it is advisable to buy a high capacity memory card to go with your camera. Click here to save money on SD cards.

Ease of use
Outdoor photos

Shutter lag
Indoor photos

The Pentax Optio 50 is a good entry level digital camera. With five megapixels it offers something that many other cameras in this category do not. As with a lot of its direct competitors it is much better outdoors than inside. It scores very well for ease of use and anyone who is looking for a straightforward point and shoot digital camera could do worse than taking a look at this one.

Pentax Optio 50 Front View

Pentax Optio 50 Back View

Pentax Optio 50 Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Pentax Optio 50