Pentax Optio Z10: Review

Posted to Digital Cameras 2009-03-22

Pentax Optio Z10 Review:

The Pentax Optio Z10 comes in black or silver. It is a slim camera with a sliding spring-loaded lens that you must manually open and close (which also turns the camera on and off). However, holding the camera can be a challenge, because of the sliding door and its size.

The automatic picture mode is a useful tool, allowing the adjusting of the mode from normal to nighttime (or action) for you. However, if you want a portrait, you have to rely on the cameras auto mode function. Although Pentax has designed a program to automatically select the mode, there is no way to manually select which mode you want to shoot your pictures in, which is a definite drawback.

Rating:

3.2 out of 5

Value

The Optio Z10 from Pentax is an ideal camera both for nature photography and the person who just occasionally snaps pictures. It is equipped with Pentax's Shake Reduction technology which reduces some of the blur resulting from camera shake. Unfortunately, this feature is not as advanced as those with optical image stabilization technology

Features

The Pentax Optio Z10 has an internal memory card of 52MB (which is double what the majority of digital cameras offer). It also has the auto white balance feature, which helps to cut down on the blue and greenish tinted pictures you can get from indoor shots. It comes with a standard 2.5-inch LCD screen and offers a wide-angle view mode (allowing the user to see 170 degrees in every direction). The Pentax Optio Z10 also offers a 7x optical zoom lens (with a 35% magnification) brings the target subject up close and personal. If I had a preference, I would have preferred it to start with a wider (28mm) focal length. With that being said, the 38 to 266mm, 35mm equivalent, lens is very small and still produces a high quality clear image.

Performance

The shutter lag time is slower than average; taking longer to focus before releasing the shutter and the Z10 also is difficult to hold on to because of the sliding lens cover. In addition, the inability to manually choose a programmed mode is somewhat of a drawback.

Summary

The Pentax Optio Z10 is an incredibly small 7x optical zoom camera. If you are challenged holding larger cameras when you want zoom power, this Pentax should be worth a look.

Pros

7x optical zoom lens
2.5-inch LCD screen
Shake Reduction technology
Slim design

Cons

There are no cons for this product