Overview
The Pentax Optio P70 is small enough to slip into most pockets. It has 12 megapixels and a 4x wide angle, optical zoom lens. Extra zoom becomes available when shooting at lower resolutions.
Why Buy The Pentax Optio P70
The Optio P70 has High Definition movies and comes in at a substantially lower price than a number of pocket cameras.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
12
4x
2.7 inches
97 x 54 x 21.5mm
110g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
10cm
Yes
No
Lithium ion
SD/SDHC
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom):
I like the overall impression given by the colours and brightness in this photo. It is only if you blow the photo up and make large prints that you start to notice the picture is soft in places. There is also a lack of any detail at all in darker areas of the shot.
Outdoor 2 (No Zoom):
With the lens zoomed out the Optio P70 puts in a credible effort. No camera manages to produce a pin sharp image of what is a distant scene, but this camera does well in comparison to others.
Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom):
This is a mid range effort. The photo is sharp enough in most areas without really challenging the top rated cameras. There is a drop in focusing as you move away from the centre of the shot and the photo becomes a little more distant on the right hand side.
Outdoor 4 (Building):
As with the other scenic shots this photo scores average marks for focusing. You are unlikely to notice a great deal of difference with snapshot sized prints, but if you are more ambitious with the size of the prints you make you will start to see areas that could be sharper.
Portraits
Outdoor Portrait:
I am not quite sure about the colours in this shot. This is especially true of the skin tones. It has a faint orange caste to the colours.
Indoor Portrait with Flash:
The conditions used for taking my indoor portraits are quite favourable. There is some light and most digital camera manage fairly well. This photo is darker than I would like to see and it is also not as crisp as most cameras manage. Noise is creeping into the shot, despite the light given off by the flash unit.
Indoor Portrait without Flash:
I have noticed that whenever the light is not perfect the Optio P70 quickly pushes up the ISO rating to compensate. This can lead to higher levels of noise and therefore a lessening of picture quality than I am used to seeing.
Macro, Colours and Noise
Macro:
The macro shot is a decent effort, but the Optio P70 is handicapped by the fact it can only focus from 10cm away from the subject. This makes it difficult to get in very close. My test shot has been cropped for display.
Colours:
Aside from the tinge of yellow / orange in the outdoor portrait I have no complaints about the colours of my test photos. I am happy with the way the colours are balanced and the overall feel of the photos.
ISO 400 and ISO 1600:
With this camera it is not so much a question of how much noise shows in the photos as you push up the ISO ratings, but how often the Optio P70 resorts to higher ISO settings when taking standard photos. I felt that noise was more of an issue with this camera than I am used to seeing.
Summary
The Optio P70 works well enough as a snapshot camera in good light. If the light starts to fall noise can start to play a part in the photos and take an edge off the clarity and definition of the photos.
Style
The ends of the camera are quite rounded. This helps to give the Optio P70 a bit of a different look to a lot of pocket cameras. The lens unit looks larger than other cameras as well. You should have no problem slipping it into a pocket.
Shutter Lag Times

Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
Turn on Time
0.55 seconds
27.32 seconds
1.63 seconds
21.66 seconds
3.89 seconds
Ease of Use
There is little to trip you up with this camera. Pentax has added something it calls Green Mode. This is basically a very simple mode that turns the Optio P70 into a completely automatic camera.
Points I Like
Ease of use
Where it Could Improve
Macro shots are distant - noise creeps in from time to time - shutter delay times
Verdict
Not every digital camera can be fantastic. I was left with a feeling that the Pentax Optio P70 is not really cheap enough to overcome some of the problems I found. The problems may not always be that big, but I feel there is better value for money to be had elsewhere.
Product Shots
Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menus
Top Rated Cameras in this Category
Canon IXUS 310 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 310 HS is one of the best touch controlled digital cameras. It has 12 megapixels and a 4.4x wide angle lens. The screen is very responsive to touch. This is due partly to the larger screen size than many touch controlled digital cameras offer. Picture quality is excellent and the build quality is top quality. If you are looking for a touch controlled digital camera the IXUS 310 HS is worth a very close look.
Read Review: Canon IXUS 310 HS Review
Canon IXUS 220 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 220 HS is a pocket sized digital camera. It looks good, is well made and can take an impressive snapshot in most situations. It may not have every in vogue feature, but it has an extra touch of all round quality about it
Read Review: Canon IXUS 220 HS Review
Canon IXUS 115 HS Rating 86/100
The Canon IXUS 115 HS is a classy looking, pocket digital camera. It can shoot Full HD movies and has a high quality 3 inch LCD screen. When it comes to picture quality the IXUS 115 HS outclasses many of its direct competitors.
Read Review: Canon IXUS 115 HS Review
Related Pages
Pentax Optio P70 Review Pentax Optio P70 Specification Pentax Optio P70 Sample Images Pentax Optio P70 Features
Review Date
May 2009





