The Optio W30 has a simple interface.
The monitor provides two levels of information, one that places
some very basic camera settings near the edges of the picture,
making it easy to frame the shot, and a more advanced level
that adds a histogram and makes the potentially over- or under-exposed
areas of the image flash in bright colours. The latter mode
has the advantage of showing the aperture and shutter speed
selected by the camera when the shutter release is pressed
halfway, but the flashing colours can be distracting and make
it difficult to see the details of the image.
Aside from the fact that the Playback menu is presented only
as icons and is accessed through the Mode button that serves
to select the shooting mode, the menu system is also very
straightforward. The same 2-part menu appears whether the
camera is set to a capture mode or to the playback mode, with
the only difference being that in the capture modes the menu
opens on the Rec. section, while in the playback mode it opens
on the Setup section. Options in the menu are presented on
a semi-transparent gray block that is superimposed on the
image coming from the lens, or an image under review. Legibility
is good, unless the monitor is under direct sunlight when
it can become harder to decipher. The Setup menu is composed
of 4 screens, but the last of these only contains one option.
The Setup menu serves to adjust the camera for:
Format: serves to format either the internal memory,
or a memory card. Formatting deletes all files, including
those that have been protected.
Sound allows adjusting settings
for:
Playback Volume: controls the playback volume
of either voice annotations or movies (5 levels or Off).
Start-up Sound: controls the sound produced
by the W30 during start-up (3 sounds, a user-recorded
sound or none).
Shutter Sound: selects the sound produced by
the W30 when the shutter release is pressed (3 sounds,
a user-recorded sound or none).
Operation Sound: selects the sound made by
the W30 while it is operated (3 sounds, a user-recorded
sound or none).
Self-timer Sound: selects the self-timer sound
(On, Off or a user-recorded sound).
Date Adjust: serves to adjust the internal clock
and calendar of the W30, and select the date format.
Alarm: serves to set the time and frequency
of the alarm.
World Time: serves to set a Home location, and
a Destination, making it possible to have the camera adjust
the time automatically when on a trip in another time zone.
Language: selects the interface language (Japanese,
English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish,
Dutch, Russian, Thai, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified
Chinese).
Folder Name serves to change the way the camera
creates folders: Standard (XXXPENTX) or based on the capture
date.
USB Connection allows selecting the USB protocol:
PC (Mass Storage) is to connect directly to a computer,
and PictBridge is to connect the camera to a PictBridge
compatible printer.
Video Out: selects the A/V out signal, NTSC or
PAL.
Brightness Level: allows adjusting the brightness
of the monitor (Dark, Normal, Bright).
Power Saving: serves to save battery power by having
the monitor turn off automatically after a pre-selected
period of time (5, 15, 30 seconds or 1 or 2 minutes, or
Off).
Auto Power Off: serves to set the time delay after
which the camera powers off when inactive (3 or 5 minutes
or Off).
Quick Zoom: serves to display an image
immediately at the maximum magnification when the button
is pressed in playback.
Green Button: allows assigning additional
functions to the green button when the camera is in a capture
mode.
Guide Display: decides whether the Guide Display
— a description of each icon's function — will
appear when an icon of the Capture Palette or Playback Palette
is called up using the MODE button.
Reset contains two options:
Reset Menu Settings returns all settings,
with the exception of the date, time, language, world
time, and video out to their original factory settings.
Reset Menu Item Order: returns menus
to their original configuration.
As is always the case to date, Pentax supplies the camera
with a well-written and easy to understand printed manual.
All aspects of operating the Optio W30 are covered, and anyone
who takes the time to read the manual will feel confident
using the camera very quickly.
Software
In North America Pentax includes
a single CD-ROM with the Optio W30, containing ACDSee for
Pentax 2.0 in a number of languages, as well as QuickTime
7 and DirectX 9.0. The primary application is composed
of three applications: ACDSeeversion 6,
FotoSlate version 3 and Showtime!.
ACDSee is one of the most
powerful image organization, image presentation, and image printing
programs on the market today, and is now up to version 9, making
the version included with the camera a few years old.
The program makes it possible to view images in a number
of ways as the primary program window can be reorganized at
will (full-screen, thumbnails of various sizes with or without
details, personalized menus, etc.)
A part of ACDSee, Edit,
provides tools to adjust images, and once an image is selected
for editing, it opens in a new window.
The Editing window makes it
possible to adjust the image for exposure, colour, correct red-eye,
adjust sharpness, crop and save the cropped image, resize it,
rotate it, and convert it to another image format. In addition,
the image can be converted to sepia or black and white, and
effects such as oil paint, swirl, magnifier, etc. can be applied.
Whatever the processing being done, a before and after view
is always provided.
FotoSlate is designed to print photos, to create Index
prints, albums, calendars, postcards, or even to create templates
that can be reused.
Showtime! is designed to create presentations containing
photos, movies and sounds. Worth noting, its installation
requires the prior installation of Microsoft Windows Media
Player version 7.0 or higher.
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Interface & Software
button
is pressed in playback.
