Overview
The Pentax Optio WP is a waterproof digital camera. It is waterproof to a depth of 1.5m for half an hour. Therefore you can take this camera to the beach with you and even into the sea and you should not have a problem with it. In terms of general specification the Optio WP is a five megapixel camera with a three times optical zoom lens.
The camera is easy to use and is a point and shoot type model. It is likely to appeal to someone who is looking for a fun camera that can be used in a wide variety of conditions and locations.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
5
3x
2 inches
102 x 51 x 22mm
120g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
1cm
No
No
Lithium-ion Rechargeable
SD
Image Quality
To be honest the image quality out of the water is not great. You can have a lot of fun with this camera in and around water and if you are considering buying this camera that is the best way to look at it rather than anything more serious.
The outdoor landscape type photos show mixed results. These clearly show that you can take acceptable pictures, but they also highlight some of the weaknesses the camera has. For example there is a clear fall off in sharpness as you move away from the centre of a photo. Colours are good and photos are well balanced too with no one colour clearly dominating. Bright areas of a scene are handled very well, but the camera struggles to bring out much detail in darker, more shaded areas.
Once the light gets low the camera finds difficulty in focusing. Both of my indoor test shots highlight this fact. The indoor portrait and the beer bottles test shot both came out blurred. Therefore you are likely to find problems in any lowlight settings.
The outdoor portrait is fine. I have used flash to help brighten up the picture and the Optio WP manages to produce the right level of flash so the picture does not appear over exposed and too bright.
The dedicated test for colours is fine and this is one area where the camera manages to produce good results. The colours are deep and rich.
The macro shot is very good indeed and stands up well when compared to all the other digital cameras I have reviewed.
I have carried out a couple of underwater tests. The results are fine although I must admit to not having anything to compare the results against.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
I managed to take a single shot in 0.55 seconds. This is much slower than the times I have become used to recently. It took 13.21 seconds to take five consecutive shots. This works out at a rate of one photo every 2.64 seconds. Again this is slower than I am used to seeing. Overall shutter lag times are a disappointment.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The three times optical zoom lens has a focal length with a 35mm equivalent of 38 - 114mm. It has an aperture range of f3.3 - f4. For close up and macro shots the camera can focus from 1cm away from the subject. There is also a four times digital zoom feature.
Images are composed on a 2" LCD screen. This is made up of approximately 85,000 pixels. There is no viewfinder available.
As well as a fully automatic mode there are also ten pre programmed scene modes. These help you to take the best possible shot in differing photographic situations. The scene modes are Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Night scene, Surf & snow, Sport, Underwater, Pet, Candle and Soft Focus. All you need to do is select the most appropriate scene. There is also a panorama assist mode to help you put together panoramic shots.
The built in flash unit has a limited range of 2.5m. This falls to 1.3m when the zoom lens is in use.
The flash modes are automatic, always on, always off, soft and red eye reduction.
There are a range of focusing modes you can select from. These are auto focus, infinity, pan focus and manual focus.
Short movies can be captured. There are two resolutions you can select. The first is 320 x 240 and the second 160 x 120 pixels. You can choose to shoot at either 30 frames per second or 15 frames per second. Movies are only limited in duration by the capacity of the memory card. You can zoom in and out while shooting. Movies can be recorded in black and white as well as colour.
Up to twenty seconds of sound can be recorded when you are taking a still shot. For when you would like to appear in the picture there is a self timer mechanism. This can be set to either a two or ten second delay.
In playback mode you can apply a number of different colour filters to photos already taken. These are Black and White, Sepia, Red, Pink, Purple, Blue, Green and Yellow. There is also a soft focus filter. There is also a red eye reduction feature that helps you to reduce red eye in shots already taken.
Among the more advanced settings are multi segment metering, ISO equivalents of 50, 100, 200 and 400, exposure compensation (+/-2 EV (1/3 steps), shutter speeds between 1/2000 seconds and four seconds and white balance controls for Pre-set, Manual white balance; Available Settings: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten light and Fluorescent light. Continuous shooting is also available.
Pentax supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the Optio WP to a PictBridge compatible printer, a computer and a television set.
Ease of Use
Pentax tend to make digital cameras that are easy to use and I had no problems getting to grips with the Optio WP. This is a very straightforward camera. Buttons controlling flash, macro, zoom, self timer and reviewing images are all located on the back of the camera. The menu system is also simple enough to use.
Cost
You can pick up a Pentax Optio WP for around £175. This compares to around £225 for a Canon IXUS 55, £200 for a Fuji Finepix Z1 and £175 for a Pentax Optio S5z.
It is worth noting that none of the other cameras listed are waterproof. They all have a similar specification though as they are all classed as ultra compact digital cameras with five megapixels and a three times optical zoom lens. The Optio WP cannot match any of them for image quality, but the fact it is a very rare waterproof model suggests it is fairly priced.
Style
I like the style of the Optio WP. It has a simple design and its rounded corners help to make it look a little different to the run of the mill digital camera. The camera is silver, but with a darker front section. It has an aluminium alloy body which is rust resistant. To keep the water out it has rubber sealants and lens protection. With dimensions of 102 x 51 x 22mm it is small enough to fit into a pocket. It is a lightweight camera weighing 120g.
Batteries and Memory Cards
A rechargeable lithium ion battery is used to provide power to the camera. Both a battery and a charger are supplied with the camera.
There are approximately 10.5mb of storage built into the camera. Therefore Pentax does not supply a memory card with the Optio WP. I was able to take eight photos with the camera before the internal memory was full. This was using the camera's default settings. Therefore I would recommend picking up a high capacity card when you buy the camera. The camera is compatible with SD cards.
Click here to save money on SD cards..
Points I like:
Fun camera
Waterproof
Ease of use
Where it is not so hot:
Picture quality
Shutter lag
Limited flash range
Summary
Whether the Pentax Optio WP is the right camera for you depends on what you are looking for in a digital camera. This camera is waterproof and you can use it on the beach and around the pool without a problem. Picture quality is not as good as you are likely to find with more standard cameras, but you can have a lot of fun with this camera without worrying about it getting wet.
Pentax Optio WP Front View
Pentax Optio WP Back View
Pentax Optio WP Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Pentax Optio WP Review Pentax Optio WP Specification Pentax Optio WP Sample Images
