Pentax Optio W60 waterproof camera gets reviewed

When it comes to choosing a waterproof digital camera, there's obviously one feature that matters above all others and, according to Trusted Reviews, Pentax's Optio W60 passes that test without any difficulty. What's more, it's also apparently reasonably rugged, and it takes some decent pictures for good measure. While you can expect the usual noise problems at the highest ISO settings (including a nearly useless ISO 6400), the W60 looks to actually perform decent enough up to ISO 800, which is more than you can say for some cameras. On the downside, the site found that the camera suffered from some "particularly bad barrel distortion" at wide angle settings, and it proved to be a bit more sluggish than the norm, which appears to be at least partly due to the camera's autofocus system. Still, if resistance to the elements is your top priority, it looks like this one will get the job done.

[who? @ Aug 15th 2008 4:59PM]

To the hotel swimming pool!

[chef @ Aug 18th 2008 2:11AM]

Dooduhlooduhdooduhlooduhdoo!

[Juxtah @ Aug 15th 2008 5:07PM]

I own an old Olympus waterproof camera, looks like this might be a worthy upgrade since the Olympus is great and built like a rock but I simply don't need to go down further then a couple of meters below sea level when I'm taking pictures, so this seems like the cheaper option that does exactly what I need.

[Stefan @ Aug 15th 2008 5:29PM]

I think the Olympus is still less expensive than this one.

[Liam @ Aug 15th 2008 5:08PM]

At 28mm, it goes wider than most compacts, so that explains/slightly excuses the bad barrel distortion.

[John @ Aug 15th 2008 6:12PM]

In the digital age, any barrel or pin cushion distortion is irrelevant. There are quite few ways to fix that in Photoshop; some incredibly easy and with very high quality (Camera Raw, Ptlens, Lensdoc, etc.).

[chef @ Aug 18th 2008 11:03PM]

...except that post-processing sucks to do for ALL your photos. It's far easier to have a better original image in the first place, especially for most consumers which won't touch photo-fixing tools in the first place. Instant printing options like printing from a camera or plugging your memory card into a printer or giving it to a photo printer are becoming more common too, and that's without touching any post-processing.

[MrSid @ Aug 15th 2008 7:37PM]

My friend has one of these cameras. I was fortunate enough to use it for two weeks during field research in the bush. It's a real nice camera. Engadget failed to mention this camera has a 1cm macro mode and internal 3x zoom. I got some real nice close-ups of some lichens.
Also did a pretty good job of keeping the forest bright and the sky clear (not sure what it's called, something to do with dynamic range?). My camera kicked the bucket that week, so I might be looking for another one...

[Bleck @ Aug 15th 2008 7:44PM]

So what is the main difference between these "waterproof" cameras and just getting a plastic bag and putting it over your camera?

[Al @ Aug 15th 2008 9:40PM]

This is safer when under water?

[AlphaTeam @ Aug 16th 2008 12:28PM]

And when your plastic bag leaks, so gone is your warranty too!

[Ford Mustang @ Aug 16th 2008 4:19PM]

I would think that is self explanatory. A camera in a bag isn't waterproof, just water resistant.

[AlphaTeam @ Aug 16th 2008 12:28PM]

I would have liked better optic glass.

[Marek @ Aug 17th 2008 3:03PM]

I've gathered a few reviews of Pentax Optio W60 camera in my "Paddling with a Camera" blog:
http://photokayaker.fit2paddle.com/C560391461/E20080815134022/index.html

Most pictures and movies in my blog were shot with Pentax Optio "W" cameras. I started with the original Optio WP, then upgraded to W10, and now I am paddling with W30.

[keven @ Sep 8th 2008 9:06PM]

I dont know much about all this techie stuff but this camera looks gr8 :-)
http://www.pricestealer.com/deal/1045/Intova-IC500-5.0MP-Underwater-Digital-Camera-with-3x-Optical-Zoom-and-2.4"-LCD/

[Stefan @ Jan 2nd 2009 12:18AM]

when I take a video with my W60 camera make a noise sound I lisen the internal motor zoom, pan and tilt, the video is a mess, any coments to correct that problem or if you have listen for that problem...


Thanks.

[Dave Perry @ Feb 10th 2009 3:53AM]

I purchased one with a view to taking underwater pictures in the Red Sea at Christmas.
It worked very well except for the sound of Dolphins (there were none around!) a kind of clicking sound during video shooting.
Even out of the water the clicking happens.
Also I found that sometimes when using the Zoom function prior to taking a photo the camera turns itself off and on again. (really annoying, often missing the moment!)
The 10 Mega Pixel images are really good overall, the HD video is really good, if a little jerky, so shooting video at a lower resolution whilst good in smoothness is not so cleaver in quality obviously, especially if you are in any zoom level.
Overall for the money I think its a great camera. I can't wait for next years holiday and for my supplier to replace it. The clicking is a real pain.