Digital Camera News and Reviews

Pentax Optio RZ18

Photography Blog has reviewed a new travel-zoom camera from Pentax that starts at 25mm and ends at 450mm. The camera is called Pentax Optio RZ18 and comes with 16 megapixels and a large 3″ LCD screen in addition to be able to record HD movies.

Some key features for the Pentax Optio RZ18 camera:
-16 megapixel image sensor
-18x optical zoom lens (25-450mm equivalent)
-3″ LCD screen
-720p HD movie recording
-Face detection
-Sensor shift image stabilization

The reviewer over at Photography Blog ends up giving the Optio RZ18 a “Above Average” rating with an overall score of 3.5 out of 5 possible stars. The Pentax camera scores highest on value for your money, a little lower on ease of use and features, while it scores lowest on image quality and design. This Optio camera comes with a pretty low price tag, but the average image quality and long processing times hinders it from getting a top score. Pentax really needs to work on the image quality if they want to play with the top camera brands.
Read the full review of the Pentax Optio RZ18 travel-zoom compact digital camera here.

Pentax Q

CNET UK has tested the smallest interchangeable lens camera on that is currently on the market. The manufacturer of this camera is Pentax and the camera itself is called Pentax Q.

Some key features for the Pentax Q:
-12.4-megapixel CMOS sensor
-Interchangeable lens system
-3″ LCD screen
-1080P high-definition video at 30 fps
-HDR capture
-Bokeh control

CNET UK ends up giving the Pentax Q an overall score of 3 out of 5 possible stars. The reviewer really like the compact size of the camera and the pictures it produces has good colors. But there are some point keeping the Pentax camera from getting a top score including pretty high price tag and while shooting video you can not change focal length. The Pentax Q seems like a nice camera, but at that price you might want to look at cameras with larger sensors.
Read the full review of the Pentax Q compact camera with interchangeable lens system here.

Pentax Optio WG-1

A reviewer from CNET UK has tested the new rugged digital camera Pentax Optio WG-1. The 14 megapixel camera works down to 33 feet under water, is crushproof, handles cold and is shockproof. Let us hear if it is also able to take good photos.

Some key features for the Pentax Optio WG-1:
-14 megapixel image sensor
-5x optical zoom lens (28-140mm)
-Waterproof to 33 feet
-Shockproof from drops up to 5 feet
-Crushproof construction
-Coldproof to sub-freezing temps of minus 10 degrees C

CNET UK ends up giving the WG-1 an overall score of 4 out of 5 possible points. On the positive side there are aspects such as rugged design that handles extreme conditions, HD video, HDMI output and the camera is easy to use. The Pentax also has some negative points including that some people might find the design ugly and softness in some images. If Pentax had worked some more on image quality it would get an even better score, but overall it seems like a good rugged camera.
Read the full review of the Pentax Optio WG-1 rugged digital camera here.

Pentax Optio S1

CNET UK has tested a budget camera from Pentax. The camera is called Pentax Optio S1 and comes with 14 megapixels, 5x zoom and it is able to record HD videos. Let us hear what the reviewer thinks about this cheap camera.

Some key features for the Pentax Optio S1:
-14 megapixel image sensor
-5x optical zoom lens (28-140mm)
-2.7″ LCD screen
-Able to capture 720p HD videos
-Face detection
-Smile capture

CNET UK ends up giving the S1 an overall score of 3.5 stars out of 5 possible. On the positive side the reviewer finds the Pentax camera to have a small design, it is easy to use, the zoom range is useful and the camera is of good value compared to the price tag. There are a few negative sides that keeps the camera from getting a higher score including small buttons on the camera body, poor video quality and the picture quality could have been better. Maybe it is worth shelling out a few more dollars to get better image quality?
Read the full review of the Pentax Optio S1 budget digital camera here.