» Pentax Optio W30 7.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Pentax Optio W30 7.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Digital Camera
Comment: This digital camera was recommended by a friend. It was hard to find in the stores so I bought online. I love the way it focuses and needs very little preparation. I was shooting moving objects and also I was on a moving ferry shooting other moving objects. The pictures were great. Very clear. Also very misty and rainy days and no problem as the camera is waterproof. I would recommend this camera to anyone. Great price by the way. I paid $100.00 less then the going price. Thanks.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Pentax Optio W30 makes it Easy to Take Great Pictures
Comment: I've only had this camera about three months and will do a long term review at a later date. I bought this camera primarily to take pictures from my boat in Choctawhatchee Bay and on river canoe trips. I was looking more for splash resistance as I don't plan opn taking photos under water.
The W30 is easy to use and takes very nice rich looking pictures.The camera is well made and the size makes it easy to bring everywhere. The video is very good also but you must switch to pan focus or the sound of the auto focus motor is about all you will hear on playback. I plan to contact Pentax to see if there is a setting that will make it automaticly go to pan focus when movie mode is selected.
So far this camera has exceeded my expectations.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Worked great for one whole year! Then died for no reason...
Comment: Difficult to say what happened. It was a phenomenon. I took pictures of my child learning to swim at 1 year of age and then as he approached his 2 year birthday it died. Pentax was no help, a repair costs 70% of the cost of a new camera. What to do?

The camera worked like a dream for the first 12 months. Perfectly. I mean like a dream. Excellent quality, water proof. Durable. Good battery life, you name it. Then it up and died. Hmmm.....

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Customer Rating:
Summary: concerns...
Comment: I bought this camera a while ago. This week I gave it to my 16 yr old daughter because she fell in love with it. It's a great idea but for me, I was a little disappointed for two reasons:

1) I have familial hereditary tremors...a cute little phrase doctors use when they have no idea what it is. It's not Parkinson's Disease but I do shake, which makes it harder to get sharp photos with small Point-and-Shoots like this one. At least half of my shots came out blurred. Not the end of the world, since my 2-MB card holds LOTS of photos and I can pick and choose. But many times an important shot that looked good on the LCD turned out blurry and unusable on my Mac's screen at 4x6". This however is more the fault of being 61 and with the lightness of most P&Ss. However, I would LOVE to see Pentax make an underwater camera with real optical VR, rather than just upping the ISO.

2} I live on Maui. Several times a year we go out on whale-sighting boats. This time the sea was rough. I placed the W30 in a side pocket of my pants and the next time I took it out the screen was cracked. I could still take photographs, I just couldn't compose them on the LCD screen. This cost $120 to fix by Pentax Corp. I don't remember hitting said pocket against anything, so I was confused by how easily the camera was put out of commission.

So I just ordered the W60, the W30's underwater successor. Hope springs eternal, not to mention that being able to take the camera underwater and into dusty or sandy areas is so cool. I'm going to buy a small bean bag to use as a rest for the camera, which should eliminate the effects of my shakes. I also have a padded case for it to protect it from rough seas or whatever.

I hope this review proves useful to those who shake, and who still go down to the sea in ships.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good if you want waterproof
Comment: This camera works quite well and has all the normal features I would expect from a reasonable digital camera. The waterproof capability is the main feature I was looking for. I have a Canon SD750 (if I remember the model correctly...) that I use when I don't need a waterproof camera as the picture quality and overall camera are superior in my mind. However, the loss of picture quality and minor things I don't like about the Pentax are not enough to make me regret the purchase. I have used it several times in and/or under water with no issues and reasonable picture and film results.

I read a review from someone who added a closed cell foam type floating keychain to make the camera float. I did the same and it works very well. The keychain was around $1 at Wal-Mart. It seems like this could be a good feature to build into the camera. A thin closed cell foam covering in a few areas would serve the float the camea and provide some protection from bumps and drops. It doesn't take a whole lot to float the camera. The keychain can be a bit of a nuisance when taking pictures (it always flops in front of the lens), but this seemed like some good insurance.

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