|
Average rating:
4.05
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
|
The Pentax Optio W90 is a rugged compact sporting a tougher body than its predecessor, the W80. It is designed to be dustproof, waterproof up to 6 meters, coldproof down to -10°C (14°F) and shock-resistant for drops of up to 1.2 meters. An interesting Digital Microscope mode claims to deliver magnified images of tiny objects aided by three LED lights in front of the lens barrel. The camera features 12MP sensor, 28-140mm equivalent lens, 2.7" LCD and includes HD video recording and pet detection that apparently 'makes it simple and effortless to capture the delightful faces of active pets.''
| Quick links: | Announcement | Forum |
| Announced: | Feb 24, 2010 |
|
Average rating:
4.05
|
|
Opinion: Had the camera for a couple of days.
What i like:
Very solid feeling camera. Very rugged.
Interface is very good. Half pressing the shutter will get you out any menu or playback mode into a shooting ready mode. I love the built in intervalometer mode. W90 does an excellent job with macro photography. Nice wide angle image quality. Tons of great features. Green shortcut button is very handy. A grat camera for those days where you don't know what you may run into. (rain, snow, mudslide, apocolypse)
Auto-bracket exposure mode works nice and fast, and requires only one shutter button click. (Press and hold)
Some of the built in post editing features are great.
Auto ISO limit settings.
What i didn't like:
Lack of manual exposure mode or A or S mode.
No RAW files format.
Noisy above ISO 200, but a film-like structure.
Extreme end of telephoto range not very sharp.
Video mode works lousy with any light sources coming into frame.
Be sure to carefully read all of the instructions concerning underwater shooting.
Problems: No problems so far only 2 days in...will update later.
Tried it in a few inches of sea water...no leaks yet.
Opinion: Solid, well built and easy to use. I take my W90 when shooting in wet and extreme weather conditions.
The digital microscope mode is a nice feature. It activates three LED lights around the lens to produce a macro lighting effect and delivers clean, crisp 1920 x 1080 images. The IQ is acceptable but should not be compared to a P&S camera with a larger sensor. The noise level is noticable when shooting above ISO 200 but understanding it's limiitations, I'm still pleased with the overall results.
Opinion: I selected the Pentax WR90 over other cameras in the class for the following reasons (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/).
1- Slim design to fit in shirt and side leg pockets.
2- Pentax reputation for solid construction. (I used to repair cameras and found Pentax to have superior construction to Cannon.)
3- Recessed shutter and power button for ease of sliding in and out of pockets.
4- Centered lens (keeps fingers out of the frame)
5- 1 cm macro capability
6- SD card
The Canon was my first choice for image quality, but I wanted something slim enough to fit in my pocket for hiking and backpacking.
I purchased the Pentax WR90 in April from NewEgg and have taken it on a number of hiking and backpacking trips in below freezing weather. We have used it in the rain, snow, and under water. The kids have also given it a lot of use.
The daylight performance of the camera has been great. Dark images are a little noisy, but not unexpected given the small size of the lens.
The user manual is great.
The front lens cover is great. I just wipe it off when it becomes smudged. It seems to be very hard; so far, no scratches.
Overall, I am impressed with the camera. The menu and exposure settings are convenient, the motion video is good, still images are impressive, and the features are more than adequate.
Problems: I am still trying to figure out the motion video, which sometimes doesn't allow zooming during record. I chalk that up to my ignorance at this point.
Wish list:
- A standard mini USB port for connecting to camera to download images.
- Battery charge via USB while the camera is connected to a computer. (I'm spoiled by my Blackberry phone.)
- Elevated features to protect the display window when sitting on a flat surface. (minimal benefit)
- Larger (higher capacity) battery. We used it on a five day backpacking trip and had to be "efficient" (no flash) at using the camera. We captured over 160 still images and 15 minutes of video. The battery was on "empty", but was not fully exhausted.
Opinion: Overall I really enjoy this camera. I love the timelapse, the incamera panorama. P mode is great for taking quick shots- except under incandesant light and the very similar floresants- where no white balance preset is right and there's no way to adjust it. I like the customizableness that allows me to change vital parameters easily (with one hand as I ride down the road on my bicycle). The Customer service is good too as mine leaked- I shut if off before the water destroyed it, dried it out, used it a few times and then took it to the Pentax service center in Bangkok where they fixed my 10 month old camera I bought in HongKong. note that the camera had been in my pocket for 10 months (and it may have been the display model in a store before that) Pentax does say to replace the seals every year to maintain waterproofness of the camera. The speed of the camera was a nice treat after using a few really slow olympus waterproof cameras- start up and auto-focus most notably.
things pentax could add to the camera- more white balance control, AS and M exposure, a lens cover, and an optical viewfinder... and a more durable water/dust sealing.
overall a good package but occasionally dissapointing.
Reviews and specs
|
Galleries
|
Challenges
|
 | 22.3 megapixels 3.2" screen Full frame sensor |
