Pentax Optio W30

Reviewed June 2007

Image Quality

Being waterproof up to a depth of 3 metres (9.8 ft) is obviously the major strength of the Pentax Optio W30. Indeed, the camera is nicely waterproof and can even capture a photo of the tap that is rinsing it off. By the same token, the camera is also dust proof, and as long as some care is taken to ensure that the holes that cover the speaker and microphone on top are not plugged up, by dust or sand, it can be used in some environments that would put 99% of all other cameras out of commission.

The W30 captures images in JPEG format exclusively and, like many other recent compacts, Pentax appears to be following the trend to increase the compression on its point and shoot models, a trend that some have said reflects many manufacturers' belief that everyday users do not place a great deal of value on image quality, but tend to focus on features.

With the W30, three levels of JPEG compression are offered, and as is generally the case with Pentax cameras, these are represented by stars.

While the W30's images retain a reasonable level of detail, there is little doubt in our opinion that they would be even better and far crisper if they were less compressed, and that it would allow them to be printed out to quite a large size.

As it is, the compression seems to soften details slightly, and the only advantages it seems to offer are that first more images can be stored in memory, either internal or SD, and that second it may impart the camera with a slightly faster burst rate as the images that need to be stored have smaller file sizes.

But, in view of the dropping cost of memory, the value of the first of these possible advantages may well be moot. Yet, overall, the image quality is good and when printed, and even when seen on a monitor at 100%, only a close look at the detail reveals the softness.

Still, the Multi-segment metering of the W30 is usually perfect, and only when the camera is faced with a strongly backlit subject is there a need to switch to a pattern that gives greater importance to the centre of the frame. Likewise, colour rendition is also very good, and shows excellent consistency shot after shot, whatever the focal length of the zoom.

Focusing, just like the way the camera reacts to its controls, is fast. When used in the Multiple mode, which lets the camera select the focus point, however, the camera tends to select the closest focus point, making it sometimes necessary to set it to Spot.

Used within its low ISO range, from 64 through 400 ISO, the noise level in the images is quite acceptable. After the 400 ISO level, noise becomes increasingly obvious in the images, even when printed, and at 1600 and 3200 ISO, the images are mostly noise, making the value of these sensitivities doubtful.

At the wide end of the zoom the images show very little barrel distortion, and the little there is should be undetectable with most subjects. At the telephoto end, the zoom is free of any pincushion distortion, and in both cases as well as throughout the zoom range, sharpness is uniform across the frame and from corner to corner.

Moreover, purple fringing is minimal with subjects that contain strong contrasts.

As is so often the case with compact cameras, the flash of the W30 has a short reach and works best when it acts as fill-light. Nevertheless, if the subject is not too distant, the flash can serve as a primary source of light.

Although we find the image compression at the highest image quality to be a bit too strong for our liking, the images the W30 produces are on par with many of today's compact cameras, and make very good prints. So, since this camera has the advantage over others of being waterproof, it should ensure that it gets to accompany a lot of people on their summer and winter vacations.