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The Pentax Optio W30 is a 7 megapixel (CCD) compact camera with a 3x optical zoom and the ability to shoot underwater (to a depth of 3 meters) for up to 2 hours. It has an LCD screen that is 2.5 inches.
The Pentax Optio W30 is a replacement to the popular Pentax Optio W20 and it features ISO of up to 3200, Macro mode with the ability to take shots from as near as 1cm, face recognition priority (for both auto focus and auto exposure), movie mode at up to 30 frames per second and digital shake reduction.
Get a Price on the Pentax Optio W30
PENTAX Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new PENTAX Optio W30, a compact digital camera designed to be dustproof/waterproof. The waterproof function has been further enhanced so that it is possible to photograph underwater at depths of 3 meters continuously for 2 hours.
Major Features
1. Enhanced waterproof function The waterproofing capabilities of the internal construction of the camera and of the front and back covers, made from the metal used for the exterior, were further improved to make the Optio W30 capable of being used to photograph underwater at depths of 3 meters continuously for 2 hours（in the conventional model, underwater photography was possible at depths of only 1.5 meters for a period of 30 minutes). The protective glass is treated with SP (Super Protect) coating, developed exclusively by PENTAX, and is superior in water-repellency, making it hard for water droplets to attach to the surface. In addition to high waterproofing capabilities that are compliant with the JIS Class 8 waterproof standard, the Optio W30 is also equipped with dustproofing capabilities against sand and dust (JIS Class 5 dustproof standard), making it able for you to use the camera outdoors, such as for skiing, marine sports, and fishing, as well as for gardening and cooking, without having to worry about water and dirt.
2. New LCD monitor that is bright and easily viewable The Optio W30 is equipped with a high-intensity 2.5-inch LCD monitor with an LCD Bright Mode that can adjust the brightness of the screen as necessary, making it easy to view the screen even outdoors, where there is strong sunlight. AR (Anti-Reflection) coating, which controls and reduces reflections caused by light, is also used for the monitor, making the screen be even more visible outdoors.
3. Digital SR (Shake Reduction) mode that reduces camera shakes and blurring of the subject when photographing still images. The sensitivity is adjusted automatically, to as high as the ultrahigh sensitivity of ISO 3200, to match the brightness of the subject. This enables for photography with fast shutter speeds, and images with less blurs can be obtained.
4. High-quality movies with Shake reduction function The Optio W30 captures smooth, high-quality movies at 30 fps (frames per second) at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixles, which is comparable to movies taken with a camcorder. It is also equipped with the “Movie SR (Shake Reduction)” function*1, which automatically corrects camera shakes, and the “Interval shooting” mode that records images recorded during each specified time interval as a movie, allowing for movies to be taken more easily and without hassles.
*1 Using the “Movie SR" function results in a narrower field of view than that during normal video recording.
5. “Face Recognition Priority AF & AE” function that is convenient when photographing people The Optio W30 is equipped with a “Face Recognition Priority AF & AE” function*2 that automatically detects and focuses on faces, regardless of where the people appear in the photo frame. In addition, optimal exposure settings are automatically conducted so that the areas with faces are not darkened even if there is backlighting.
*2 Available when the shooting mode is “Portrait” and the camera is directed at people from the front.
6. Macro photography as near as 1 cm The Optio W30 can be used as close as one centimeter away from a subject for stunning close-up photography. Macro photography provides many fun photo options because you can fill the photo frame with subjects like flowers, insects, or jewelry.
7. Auto Picture mode automatically determines the best settings for the shooting conditions The Auto Picture mode lets the camera automatically determine the shooting conditions for Landscape, Portrait, Night Scene, and Program modes and choose the optimum settings for each subject. This PENTAX original function makes photography a lot easier for users since it eliminates the necessity of making a number of individual settings.
8. 3X optical zoom lens and 7.1 effective megapixels deliver outstanding pictures The Optio W30 includes a 3X optical zoom lens that covers focal lengths from 6.3 to 18.9 mm (equivalent to 38 to 114 mm for 35mm film) and features a refraction lens system so the lens never protrudes from the camera while zooming. And by harnessing the full power of the 7.1 effective megapixels, the Optio W30 produces extremely high-quality prints with crisp detail even when the photo is greatly enlarged.
9. Other Features
* New auto-lock mechanism that automatically locks covers, such as the battery cover, after they are closed.
* Auto-tracking AF continuously focusing on a moving subject
* Compatible with new SDHC memory cards, in addition to conventional SD memory cards
* Mode Palette provides quick access to 25 shooting modes and 15 playback modes
* Image Recovery function lets you retrieve accidentally erased pictures
* Soft flash function avoids overexposure during close-up flash photography
* Digital zooming provides up to 4X magnification
* Digital Filter function that lets you enjoy editing photographed images
* FotoNation’s red-eye correction function for correcting red eye after shooting, which occurs easily when photographing with flash
* Approximately 21.9 MB of built-in memory
* Includes the ACDSee for PENTAX image viewer/image management software
* Supports PictBridge, DPOF functions, Exif Print, and PRINT Image Matching III
Digital Camera Info has a first impressions review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, The Pentax Optio W30 offers some great features for a slim, pocket camera, like multiple scene modes, customizable menus, programmable control button, good macro focus range, and of course, the waterproof qualities. However, unless you’re only interested in shooting underwater shots, it remains difficult to recommend this camera due to the lens’ poor focal length and aperture range, and the inadequate LCD screen."
Digital Camera Review has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "The Pentax Optio W30 offers water enthusiasts a limited underwater digital camera capability and terrestrial users a camera they won’t need to worry about if the environment suddenly turns wet. While the camera does a good job of image capturing when conditions are optimal, its foul-weather capability makes the W30 a viable choice for anyone who needs a compact digital that can shoot in places and conditions that would pose a risk to more typical cameras of this class."
Steve's Digicams has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "The overall image quality of our samples was good for a 7-megapxiel consumer model. ... the Pentax Optio W30 is yet another "Cool" underwater model. It can produce nice photos along with good shooting performance, loads of exposure modes, and lets not forget the added versatility of being able to take pictures underwater! At about $US250 or less, I feel the Optio W30 offers a great value for a camera in this category, and is sure to be a very popular digicam this year."
Trusted Reviews has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "Picture quality is about average for a 7MP compact. Exposure is generally good, although in standard multi-zone metering mode it does tend to under-expose in strong backlighting. Colour rendition is very good, and the lens performs well despite its unusual configuration. It has noticeable barrel distortion at the wide-angle end of the zoom range, but overall detail and corner sharpness are a match for any other 7MP pocket compact. As I’ve already mentioned, the W30 does suffer from quite bad image noise at high ISO settings, but as long as you keep it under 800 it isn’t a major problem."
Megapixel has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "Although we find the image compression at the highest image quality to be a bit too strong for our liking, the images the W30 produces are on par with many of today's compact cameras, and make very good prints. So, since this camera has the advantage over others of being waterproof, it should ensure that it gets to accompany a lot of people on their summer and winter vacations."
PhotographyBLOG has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "The Pentax Optio W30's image quality is only average. The camera's main drawback is noisy images, with the relatively slow speed of ISO 200 showing some noise and blurring of detail. The noise gets progressively worse as you go from ISO 400 to ISO 800 and finally to the completely unusable 1600 and 3200 settings. On a brighter note, the Pentax Optio W30 handled chromatic aberrations extremely well with very limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations."
PhotographyPress has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "In terms of image quality, the Pentax performs well enough up to sensitivities of ISO400, above this setting things get noisier (as you’d expect) but with a top ISO of 3200, by the time you ramp up the sensitivity to cater for, say, low light shooting with moving subjects you want to freeze, noise is a real problem. And it is this high sensitivity setting the camera uses for its anti shake system, so it is not an anti shake system per se, but like other makers who use this type of blur reduction, it as really a software anti shake solution. This actually just bumps up the ISO and along with the noise issues associated with higher sensitivities making images very noisy indeed."
PopPhoto has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "Underwater images came out sharp and satisfying in Auto or Program picture mode, with good color balance, but the dedicated underwater mode simply adds a blue appearance to the image and otherwise acts as Program mode. I found the color to be too blue in this mode, and much preferred the normal color balance underwater ... Images out of the water were simple to shoot and gave pleasing results. There's a shooting mode for just about any situation, though the sheer number available can be confusing at times. ... Overall, there's little not to like about this camera. It's similar to many other shirt-pocket compacts on the market, with the added bonus of going with you into the pool or ocean instead of sitting behind on the beach. So go ahead, jump right in - the Optio W30 will happily go along with you."
DigitalCameraInfo has a review of the Pentax Optio W30 and writes, "The W30's biggest quality issues were its inaccurate color reproduction, limited dynamic range, and slow operation. The minimal 115k pixels on the camera's LCD screen also made it difficult to gauge focus and share photos on-screen. The W30 did handle noise better than its competition and produced clean images through ISO 800 and usable images up to ISO 1600. The Pentax W30 gets props for improvements made to the previous model, including increased waterproof times and submergence depths, and a new locking system. Overall, the Optio W30 makes solid strides in its targeted areas and offers an effective all-around waterproof camera at an affordable price."
Get a Price on the Pentax Optio W30
Posted by Darren in our Pentax category on February 22, 2007