Pentax Optio T10

Reviewed May 2006

Introduction

The Pentax Optio T10 is a very thin camera — it measures less than 2 cm (0.8 in.) in thickness — very compact, but still equipped with a 3X optical zoom that retracts completely into the body. Moreover, it is equipped with a 6-megapixel CCD, and more uncommon, with a 3-inch touch screen.

The satin-finish metal front section of the camera wraps back over the top and bottom and is accentuated by both the chromed ring that surrounds the lens and a thin horizontal strip. The back of the camera provides black plastic areas to hold the camera on either side of the 3-inch, 230,000 pixel monitor.

As mentioned above, the T10 is equipped with a touch-screen that comes with a stylus, although selections can be made with the fingertip. As a result, there are very few external controls: only 5 to be exact.

Starting with the button, at the top right: it serves to place the camera in playback mode. In addition, if held for more than a second, the button forces the camera to retract the lens, which it does only after a much longer time when the playback mode is in use.

The lower button, labelled , calls up the menu system of the camera (menu options are detailed in the Characteristics section of the review), or serves to return to the previous screen.

The remaining three controls are all on top of the camera. On the left is the Power Switch which has a small LED at its centre that glows green when the camera is on. While on the right is the shutter release which is surrounded by the zoom control.

The shutter release is a two stage system, establishing focus and exposure when pressed halfway and maintaining both when held at the halfway point. This allows re-framing the shot if desired, capturing the image only when pressed fully.

As has now become the norm, in addition to adjusting the zoom position, the control also serves, when the camera is set to the playback mode, to see captured images as an index (), presenting 9 thumbnails per screen, or to magnify () a section of an image under review up to 12X.

Touching the screen with the finger or the stylus while the T10 is set to the capture mode calls the Capture Toolbar to the top of the screen, making it possible to adjust frequently needed functions (note that it is possible to select and add 4 other functions , bringing the total to eight immediately accessible functions in the Capture menu. See the Characteristics section of the review for an explanation):

• Capture mode: See the modes below.
• Flash Mode: Auto, Forced Off, Forced On, Auto with Redeye Reduction, Forced On with Redeye Reduction, or Soft, which reduces the power of the flash.

• Drive Mode serves to choose:
  • Single: the T10 captures one image each time the shutter release is pressed.
  • Continuous: the T10 captures images as long as the shutter release is held pressed and there is space on the memory card. The shooting rate depends on resolution, and image quality settings.
  • Self-timer: allows activating a delay of 2 or 10 seconds after the shutter release has been pressed.
  • Remote Control: serves to activate the Remote control receiver for the option F remote control. A delay of 3 seconds can also be set. Moreover, another remote, E, also optional, makes it possible to control the zoom.

• AF Mode:
  • Standard: lets the camera focus over a range of 40 cm (16 inches) to infinity.
  • Macro: allows the camera to focus over a range of 15 cm (6 inches) to 40 cm (16 inches) locking the zoom at the wide angle end. A digital zoom is available in this mode.
  • Pan Focus: the camera locks the focus depending on the aperture used so as to obtain the greatest depth of field.
  • Infinity: lock focus at infinity.
  • Manual Focus: allows setting the focus using touch-screen controls that consist of arrows displayed in the lower corners of the screen while a distance scale is shown in between.
• Display:
  • Standard: the default display indicates the capture mode, the flash mode, the memory in use (internal or SD card), the remaining number of photos that can be captured, the battery's charge, the AF brackets and the date and time. And, when the shutter release is pressed halfway, the shutter speed and aperture are shown in the lower left of the monitor.

• Standard + histogram: replaces the date and time by the size and image quality, the white balance, the metering mode, the ISO setting and adds a real-time histogram that shows the distribution of brightness in the frame.
• No Info Display: removes all information with the exception of the AF brackets and the selected shutter speed and aperture.
• LCD Off: turns off the monitor.

	Flower mode serves to shoot close-ups and softens the sharpness slightly.
	Portrait mode adjusts the white balance so as to provide a natural look.
	Surf & Snow mode automatically applies exposure compensation, correcting for the influence of reflective and bright environments.
	Sport mode gives preference to a fast shutter speed so as to freeze movement.
	Pet mode allows selecting the colour of the pet's coat (dog or cat) from a second screen so that the camera takes it into account and adjusts the exposure accordingly. A choice of light, medium or dark for both dogs and cats is offered, but the selection of either dog or cat impacts only the icon shown on the monitor, not the image.
	Food mode increases colour saturation slightly.
	Frame Composite allows adding a frame to the image, selecting it from seven that are built-in the camera but which can be changed. The mode forces the image resolution to 3 megapixel. (See the Characteristics section of the review for more details on the resolutions available.)

Finally, two other capture modes are offered:

Movie mode offers two frame sizes, either 640 x 480 pixels or 320 x 240 pixels, with frame rates of either 30 or 15 frames per second and at any one of three levels of compression; while the length of the recording is only limited by the available memory space. The optical zoom is locked at the position it was set to at the first frame, but the digital zoom is available. Exposure, focus and white balance are adjusted continuously as the recording progresses.

Voice Recording mode turns the camera into a digital voice recorder, the camera automatically retracting its lens. The recording time is only limited by the capacity of the memory in use (internal or SD card).

When the Optio T10 is set to the Playback mode, touching the monitor displays the Playback Toolbar which contains:

• Playback Palette: displays another screen offering playback options (see the Characteristics section of the review).
• Image Enlargement: this function allows magnifying a part of the image under review up to 12X using an on-screen button (+ and - ). The same function can be accessed using the zoom control.
• Image Rotation: allows changing the orientation of the image under review.
• Image Deletion: serves to delete unwanted images.

• Display: controls the level of information superimposed on the monitor:
  • Standard: indicates that the camera is set to the Playback mode, places a sound symbol if one is associated with the image, shows the number of images on the card or in memory, the current file's name, and the battery state.
  • Standard + histogram: adds the image size and quality settings, white balance, sensitivity (ISO), the aperture and shutter speed used, in addition to the histogram for the image.
  • No Info Display: clears all information from the monitor.

Although the Pentax Optio T10 is quite a small camera it still accommodates a large 3-inch monitor and provides a sufficient amount of space to hold the camera securely. Nevertheless, because interaction with the camera requires touching its screen, it is advisable to use the wrist strap supplied with it, and slip a hand through it while handling the camera.

Much of the ergonomic design of the T10 relies on its touch screen, and the latter's generous dimensions allows for icons/buttons that are large enough that settings can be made with fingertips, which is easier than using a stylus.