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.
