
Poor Pentax. The company puts out great cameras, but they suffer from an image problem. A public image problem. Pentax makes the sensible but dull cameras none of the cool kids want. Which is a shame as the new Optio W80 is a camera that only the cool kids will need.
The 12 megapixel W80 is rugged, with a capital arrrrr. Cold-proof (14ºF), waterproof (16 feet) and drop-proof (three feet), it is designed for outdoor and sporty use, and the features are cleverly tuned to this purpose. Auto-macro and auto-ISO shift (up to 6400, although the pixel count then drops to 5MP) are dead handy for shooting underwater. Face detecting auto-focus and shake reduction help, too (the anti-shake is actually done at the processor level instead of using a moving sensor). And the ability to shoot two hours of HD video underwater is surely a winner.
In fact, the only thing that doesn’t seem to fit the outdoor lifestyle is the LCD screen. Pentax tells us that it is “large”, but 2.5″, although fine, is not “large” anymore. And the 230,000 dot-count looks a little low (and a little fuzzy) in these days of 900,000+ pixel screens.
Then there are the gimmicks, some good and some just, well, gimmicky. An AF assist lamp is certainly useful and the Digital Wide mode stitches two pictures together to make a snap from the equivalent of a 21mm lens (the real zoom range is 28-140mm, 35mm equivalent). Less important is the Decorative Frame mode which can put some frilly edges on your extreme gliding pictures. The very best part though is the name of Pentax’s PC software: ACDSee. Genius.
The W80 will cost $300, and looks to be a very capable camera, wrapped in a tough body. The trouble is… well, look at it. That’s camera design circa 1982, and not in a good way.
Product page [Pentax. Thanks, Martin!]


