Pentax Optio W60

Opinion: Upgraded from the W30. It is a brand new looking camera with 5x optical zoom, all packed in a little water proof body.

I really like the smile shutter, the very responsive face detection functions. There is also a dedicated button for them. Screen is still of the same size, but much higher in pixel count. I was amazed by how light and little it is.
The 28mm wide angle is certainly a bonus and one of the many reasons why I could not wait to own one.

Over, I think the overall responsiveness of the camera has improved over the W30. It costs more than a normal 10mp pocket size, however, with its water proof abilty, the W60 opens up another world of photographing opportunities. In another words, I am loving it! Thanks Pentax!

Opinion: Good for underwater. Use something else for normal shots.

I had this camera for a test drive.
For an underwater compact camera this one is fine. Not great but fine. Image quality does not stand a chance compared with any of the Canon Ixus. However, I don't like the clumsy underwater housing for Ixus, so I've been looking for a camera like this to have with my fishing gear. Olympus has a few cameras in this category, but I don't like xD memory card format. IQ of Oly and W60 is similar. ISO 50 is somewhat noisy, ISO 100 is just on the edge of being usable. All higher settings are just for marketing. I wish the had not listened to the marketing guy that said "everthing less than 10 MP can't be sold". (this gives 36MP/cm2) I believe this camera would have been much better with an equally sized, more light sensitive 6MP (22MP/cm2) sensor. If you are looking for a compact camera, this is not the best choice unless you plan to take it swimming, fishing or in other places where you would not take your "real camera". You can make shots with this camera that you would otherwise miss, but I think I'll wait for a watertight Ixus.

Opinion: W60 is a fine little camera with convenient zoom range and satisfactory image quality. Images are better than with other P&S cameras at elevated sensitivity. Macro is just short of excellent and after using it for more than 3-4 hours underwater it has shown no stress at all. Mind you that although optical zooming can be used during movie taking it’s very noisy. In addition with the choice of continuous focusing on, a rattling noise is also recorded. There is also a minor issue of noise even at lower iso settings but nothing to make me regret for my choice. The conclusion is that w60 is a fun camera that will not betray you in many adverse situations.

Opinion: Great for kayaking! Slim, easy to use, fits in a pocket, excellent image quality. Just what I was looking for! Allowed me to create wonderful images at a sea kayaking workshop that I would not have otherwise been able to do - see my image gallery at www.leekrohnphoto.smugmug.com Have also found the true macro feature very helpful on other assignments, as well. Love being able to turn off the flash and have the setting "stick" so it never comes on.