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Pentax's waterproof Optio W80 reviewed: tough as nails, 'so-so' image quality
We've always heard that life was full of compromises, and evidently Pentax made a few when it decided to build its toughest, most rugged point-and-shoot camera of all time. On paper, the Optio W80 looked mighty promising, but in practice, the all-important image quality was found to fall short. Over at PhotographyBLOG, critics found that the camera could withstand "virtually anything" within reason, and while the 5x optical zoom and HD movie mode were both appreciated, most everything else was at least somewhat disappointing. The anti-shake system was found to simply slow the camera down, and the image quality was hamstrung by excessive noise at all ISO levels -- even 100. Feel free to peek the full review down in the read link, but make sure to keep your expectations in check.
Pentax's Optio W80 point-and-shoot shrugs off water, haters
While Canon's PowerShot D10 has been hogging the spotlight in the waterproof point-and-shoot arena, Pentax is dropping in a formidable opponent this evening with the Optio W80. Said shooter measures in at just one inch thick and features a 12.1 megapixel sensor, a 5x internal optical zoom, a wide-angle 28mm lens and a SuperProtect coating that helps repel water, grime and finger marks from the len's crystal cover. The chassis is built to handle submersion in water up to 16 feet deep, not to mention extreme cold, dust and drops of one meter or less. There's also a 2.5-inch rear LCD, a 720p movie mode, face detection and shake reduction. It's slated to ship next month for $299.95; now you've just got to decide between Cardinal Red, Azure Blue and Gunmetal Gray. Tough call, right? The full release is just past the break.
Sony's Cybershot DSC-W80: their latest 7.2 megapixel camera?
Out of the gates early for PMA (Photo Marketing Association) 2007, we've got rumors of the latest Sony Cybershot, the DSC-W80. The cam's already made its appearance on a few German and Dutch web sites and certainly makes sense as the successor to the 7.2 megapixel W70 launched at last year's show. However, instead of 8 megapixels like you might expect, we're still talking that same 7.2-megapixel, 1/2.5-inch CCD (which won't help improve the high rates of noise above ISO 200 any), 3x optical zoom, and 2.5-inch LCD. Other than a new ISO 3200 sensitivity and slightly larger chassis -- up from 89 x 57 x 23-mm to 91 x 58 x 23-mm -- there isn't anything new on the surface to report. No one's sayin' but perhaps they've added some optical image stabilization to bring these in-line with most other compact shooters in this range. We've also got rumors of a new Cybershot DSC-W60 and Cybershot DSC-W90 -- both unannounced and both said to work with a new SPK-SA underwater case (pictured after the break). The W80 is expected to hit in April for around €280/$368. As to the rest... well, the PMA show starts March 8th so we'll know soon enough. [Via Let's Go Digital, thanks David]
