While
the look of the Pentax Optio 450 may be very similar to the Optio
550, this model is lower priced, and equipped with a 4-megapixel
CCD instead of the Optio 550's 5-megapixel CCD.
The Mode Dial, with a 2-stage shutter release positioned
in the centre and flush to its surface, dominates the top of the camera
on the right side. Nearby, a small round button controls power On/Off.
On
the upper right side of the Optio 450's back, the Zoom control
doubles in playback as a way to present an index (thumbnails) of the captured
images, or as a way to magnify an image displayed on the screen. In addition,
three small buttons occupy the space between the zoom control and the
optical viewfinder and are used to select:
Flash
modes: Auto, Auto Flash with Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced
On with Red Eye Reduction, Forced Off.
While
in Playback the button serves to lock images which prevents
them from being accidentally deleted.
The centre
button also has multiple functions in the shooting modes, and one in the
playback mode:
10 second Self-timer; Remote Control (optional) with
a 3 second delay; Remote Control (no delay); Continuous
shooting mode (frame rate varies with the image size and compression);
Interval shooting selectable for the number of shots and
the time in between, Multiple Exposure.
In
Playback this button is used to select which photos are to be printed
using the Digital Print Order Format.
The
third button in the group is primarily concerned with focus and cycles
through the modes that are available:
Macro mode; Super Macro mode (locks the lens to the
wide angle position and allows a focus distance of 2 to 65 cm (0.78
to 25.35 in.); Landscape (infinity) focus; Manual Focus;
and last, Focus Point selection which allows setting the
focus point to any of four other points peripheral to the normal
centre point.
During
Playback, the button can be used to delete images or other
types of recordings.
Playback mode on the Optio 450 is started with the
button, and when it is pressed immediately after the power button has
been pressed, the camera switches to Playback instantly and does not deploy
the lens.
A large 4-Way Controller occupies the space below the Playback
button and next to the 1.5 inch LCD monitor. The 4-Way Controller
serves to control a variety of functions in addition to providing for
menu navigation. At the centre, a small round button labelled OK
confirms menu choices. Furthermore, the arrows of the 4-Way Controller
offer additional functions when the Menu/Fn button is pressed simultaneously.
With the Menu/Fn button held down, a quick access is possible to Image
Size, Image Quality, White Balance, and sensitivity.
Last, below the LCD screen the Optio 450 provides one button to call-up
the Menu and access the functions listed above when used in conjunction
with the 4-Way Controller; and another, Display, provides control
over the information overlaid on the LCD monitor, including a real time-histogram
and composition grid.
The Shooting modes offered on the Optio 450 range from 5 basic still image
modes, one of which is an access to the Scene modes, to special purpose
modes that have become standard on Pentax digital cameras:
Program
Mode: is the easiest shooting mode of the Optio 450, aperture
and shutter speed are decided by the camera. But, unlike an Auto
mode, the user is provided with controls over a number of parameters
such as white balance, sensitivity, metering, etc.
Aperture
Priority: apertures are chosen using the Up/Down arrows of the
4-Way Controller, while the camera matches the selection with the
appropriate shutter speed.
Shutter
Priority: allows selecting the shutter speed, again with the
up and down arrows of the 4-Way Controller, while the camera adjusts
the aperture to match the selection.
Shutter
Priority: allows selecting the shutter speed, again with the
up and down arrows of the 4-Way Controller, while the camera adjusts
the aperture to match the selection.
Manual
Mode: provides full control to the user over the shutter speeds
and apertures. Over or underexposure is indicated on the LCD monitor.
The
Optio 450 is also programmed with specific Scene modes, and these are
accessed by the
Mode Dial position:
Beach
and Snow: lowers the shutter speed slightly to increase the
brightness of the exposure, compensating for the effect of the scenes's
brightness on the metering.
Night Scene: provides an extended shutter speed to allow night
photography, the flash remains useable and can be used to light
the foreground of a dark scene while allowing the background to
be captured.
Flower:
records using the macro mode and also enhances the saturation slightly.
Landscape:
enhances colours slightly to make landscapes more vivid.
Portrait:
prioritizes a wide aperture to blur the background behind the subject
slightly.
Fireworks:
uses a 4 second shutter speed with the focus set to infinity and
the flash forced off.
Autumn
colours: slightly increases the saturation.
Sunset:
warms colours noticeably to preserve the colours of a sunset.
Text:
switches to macro mode and increases contrast and sharpness to capture
text or graphics.
Finally, the Pentax Optio 450 provides 6 other recording modes:
Movie
mode: records video clips, with sound, using a 320 x 240 pixel
frame size. The recording speed can be adjusted from 1X at 15 frames
per second, to 2X, 5X, 10X, 50X or 100X, making the video clip appear
speeded-up when the movie is played back. Focus and white balance
are set at the first frame while exposure is constantly adjusted.
During video clip recording the optical zoom is locked to avoid
recording the noise of its motor, but the digital zoom can be used.
Sound is played back through a speaker on the top left of the camera.
Panorama
mode: records images sequentially so they can be assembled into
panoramic photos later. The direction for the series of images is
selected (moving towards the right, or towards the left), and a
portion of the previous image is shown on the screen to make it
easy to overlap each photo with the previous one, necessary for
the software to create seamless panoramas.
3D
mode: makes it easy to create 3D images by recording the first
image on one half of the frame, and then recording the second with
a slight offset. The combined image can then be viewed as a 3D image
using the glasses supplied with the camera. (See the Characteristics
section of the Pentax
Optio 33L review for an example of a 3D image.)
Digital
Filter mode: records the image with a selectable colour filter
(blue, red, pink, purple, green or yellow), or as a black and white
image, or sepia toned, or as Soft, which applies a slight blurring
effect.
User
mode: allows pre-selecting a variety of settings (image size
and quality, white balance, AF mode, metering, ISO, flash mode,
exposure compensation, auto bracketing, zoom position, etc.) and
recalling them simply by selecting the User position on the
Mode Dial.
Sound
Recording mode: turns the Optio 550 into a digital voice recorder.
Recording time depends on the capacity of the memory card in use.
Two discrete LEDs are positioned on the right side, but do not interfere
with the image. The upper one indicates focus, while the lower one indicates
that the flash is charging. Both blink when the camera is recording an
image.
The
Optio 450 is a worthwhile addition to the Pentax line of digital cameras.
Offering a slightly lower resolution and price than the Optio 550, it
still offers a large image size and, with a couple of exceptions, most
of functions of the Optio 550.
button, and when it is pressed immediately after the power button has
been pressed, the camera switches to Playback instantly and does not deploy
the lens.
Mode Dial position:
