Customer Reviews:
  Pentax Optio W10 January 3, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought the Optio W10 for rafting trips and the rain. Normally, I use a Canon EOS 10D so I wondered how a pocket camera like the W10 would compare, since both took the same 6 megapixel images. Though not up to the 10D's high quality, the W10 has proved to take very good photos and I am very impressed. Bright parts of an image, such as surf or snow tend to have less detail than in the Canon, but the general contrast level is better. I haven't used the camera underwater but it has done well in heavy rain. The only real drawback is the lack of an eye-level viewfinder. The LCD screens is bright and big but it is tough to see in bright sunlight (a common problem in almost all LCD screens I have experienced). Overall, I have found the Optio W10 to be a very good camera and highly reccommend it to those who like to get wet.
Convenient, yet fragile December 27, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'm a professional photographer and I bought this camera as a constant carry around. It has seen duty underwater to shallow depths, at several fire scenes (I'm also a volunteer fireman), and in our generally wet weather. In those respects it performed admirably. The only fault I found was that flash photos were often marred by halos throughout the photo.
However, sometime on Christmas the LCD was broken. The camera was inside my jacket pocket, in a case, and at some point during the day it received an impact hard enough to break the LCD. The camera shows no scratches of a hard impact, and the outer plastic cover of the LCD isn't harmed. But when turned on, you can see hairline cracks in the LCD that radiate from what appears to be the point of impact. What harmed it I don't know, but I'm surprised that with it in a case it was able to be broken. It can still take pictures but without the LCD you can't change functions or modes, or even frame your photos since there isn't an optical viewfinder. I'm still debating whether it's worth $169 dollars to repair a camera I paid $250 for.
Pentax Optio W10 review November 2, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
After extensive research in regard to an underwater point and shoot digital, I purchased the Optio W10 because it had more positive reviews than the Olympus underwater digital.
Have used it in clear water, all the seals seem to hold, takes nice pictures, will try it in salt water on next vacation.
Have taken several outdoor and indoor photos, the shutter lags a bit too long for me, but flash pictures have been very clear. I noticed on outdoor pictures, if there is any glare anywhere, say off a car bumper it really seems to pick that up in the picture like a sun spot.
Overall I am very pleased with this camera, very simple to use, my only dislike is the slow shutter speed.
K.Ringland
California
Buyer Beware -- Warranty does not cover "liquid" damages October 11, 2006
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
It states clearly in the warranty policy that liquid damages are not covered. Therefore, the waterproof nature of this camera is disclaimed and not covered by the 12-month manufacturer warranty. It seems from the failure rate of users ~20%, that this product is quite a gamble without an additional warranty.
Bottomline: you buy this camera AS IS with regard to its waterproof features.
Annual "Waterproofing". October 5, 2006
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
The W10 (and W20, 7MP) is/are waterproof as indicated by Pentax.
What is not indicated is that to retain the waterproofing, you need to return the camera to a Pentax service center every year to have the seals replaced, at a current price of about US$50.
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