Pentax Optio W10 waterproof digicam reviewed

The Pentax Optio W10, announced in February, may look like a fairly straightforward point-and-shoot, but if you're familiar with the company's product line, you'll recognize this one's secret weapon immediately: it's waterproof. No, not waterproof as in scuba-diving, but waterproof as in, take-it-to-the-beach or take-it-on-your-next-fishing-trip. That's a distinction shared by very few other compact digicams, and could make this a good option for your summer activities. Digital Camera Review checked the camera out, and found it to be well-designed and durable. The lens is protected by a plastic cover, other openings are sealed, and buttons are harder to press thanks to waterproofing. The reviewer was impressed with the image-quality on the 6 megapixel shooter, saying images "showed accurate color and good exposure in a variety of conditions." The main gripes were shutter lag (hey, it's a compact) and an LCD screen that tends to be a little hard to view in bright sunlight. Given that you may be planning to take this one to the beach, and there's no optical viewfinder, that could be a problem, but chances are you'd rather deal with that than risk dropping your SLR in the water.

[Sam Bhavnani @ Apr 20th 2006 5:11PM]

does this waterproof definition include surfing?

[russ @ Apr 20th 2006 6:35PM]

i used to have a Cannon s20 which look skiing the first time I ever skied.. i thought it'd be fine zipped up in my jacket pocket. after a few hours of falling over i took it out of my pocket. a descent puddle had formed in there, plus a handful of snow. the camera didn't skip a beat! and was still going strong up until it got stolen a month or two later.

[Warren Long @ Apr 24th 2006 4:25PM]

I bought one a week ago. I used it in Florida for photos at a waterslide park (Disney Typhoon Lagoon including the big wave pool), splashing about in swimming pools and swimming with manatees in open water. Worked VERY well. Photos are excellent, video is excellent. All the different modes are fun too. I take lots of photos, and this is the camera that I an going to use when I expect to get wet. I took it down to about 5 feet deep (the maximum recomended). I got tumbled in huge surf. No problems. Salt water tends to make your lens a little cloudy as it dries. Hard to see lcd screen in bright sunlight, but this camera is MUCH brighter than the WPi. Photos will be uploaded to my flickr soon.

[John Pools @ Aug 7th 2006 12:27AM]

I've just bought one of these recently because I am going to the great barrier reef in Australia. Well just my luck, the damn camera breaks and it's going to cost me as just as much to fix it as it is to buy a new one. So, I haven't yet to try my dry case out.

Just my luck! lol

[Christine @ Jul 10th 2007 10:56AM]

I've had this camera for over a year and have used in in many different underwater circumstances. Just recently, it completely stopped working. I'm not sure if this is due to water damage as I'm always sure to seal the battery case, but the fact is that it has just quit on me. Just a word of caution for those who may be using this camera underwater a lot.