Customer Reviews

Pentax Optio A10 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and Shake Reduction

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

My Pentax Optio S died in Sapporo and I didn't have time or inclination for a travel repair, so I went in to Yodobashi Camera to see what they had. I looked at some Cannon but settled on Pentax again figuring I wouldn't have a steep learning curve. I was right. It runs very similarly to all the Optio family. It's slightly larger than the Optio S line but is still as small as it gets.

Yodobashi had 3 Pentaxes for me to choose from: 1 had a touch screen (useless IMHO), and the other was waterproof to 1.5 meters. At least at Yodobashi, viewfinders on digital cameras were things of the past. The A10 had 8 megapixels and a "Shake Reduction" which both looked appealing. I purchased it, swapped my SD card from the old to the new and headed for the old government building and a ramen shop.

Results:

The shake reduction is an option in both still and movie modes. However, I didn't notice an improvement unless I was using a small tripod. It really sharpened up a slightly shaky tripod but if you were moving, there wasn't much improvement.

The zoom sucked until I understood it. It is not a continuous feed but a step feed in 6 steps. You push the zoom button for just an instant and the zoom will move by a 1/6 increment. Not really a big deal, but it was annoying when I was expecting an infinite choice.

Also with the lens, the wide angle isn't quite as wide and the zoom is a bit more telephoto than on the old Pentax. I would prefer having the wider as on the Optio S but taking 2 steps back doesn't make that big a difference.

Green button - Great button. You can assign 4 function settings, shake reduction, re-initialize, or movie mode to this button. When I was taking short movies for a while, I assigned "movie" to this button and with 1 push I was in that mode. At all other times I assigned Fn to the button to quickly access EV compensation (back light), Saturation, AE Metering (Spot, Avg, full), and white balance.

Modes - You have to go here to record sound, unlike the S line, where you just hold the "on" button down for a few seconds. You also get a few more modes which I didn't use much. For example, "Text" mode increases contrast to bring out black writing on a light background, and with "Candles" you can get extra speed in low light, where it is not available elsewhere. Each mode may have its own little peculiarities. As mentioned by someone else, this is the only thing that doesn't reset to the defaults when you power off. When you power on again, it's still on "text" or "pets" and if you don't notice, you can ruin some pictures or make some color look black and white (I did this after taking a picture of a sign in text mode). I mainly use "P" so I can adjust everything manually and have it hold. If you use "Auto," many choices are grayed out and you have to change modes to change the choice.

Screen - LCD screens and sunlight don't mix. I've used a large Panasonic with an LCD screen and couldn't see a thing either. I generally put my palm over the screen to shade it and then bring it close to my eye to see the image. I may not be able to focus on it well at 3" but I can make out the borders of the image well enough to push. I've also noticed that view finders on small digital cameras don't match the "what you see" with the "what you get." On this one though, you don't have to worry about it because you have to use the screen.

Movies - I only take 30 second shots of something that's moving or has sound just as a memory. This camera gives two resolutions 320 and 640. It works for me since I'm really not taking movies and I'm satisfied with what I get (something good enough for a web site).

Controls - Easy - all the buttons are on the right side of the rear: zoom at the top, view under that, circle toggle for mode, focus, flash, and timer under that, then the menu and "green" button below that. The screen takes up the rest of the back. The top has the off/on and shutter, and a "Shake Preview" that doesn't do anything that I can tell.

Flash - the flash is a bit weak and you can notice darkening at just 10 feet. And yes, in every mode there's a pre-flash, in case that flower has its eyes closed. The "red-eye" is a bit more delayed than the standard. It doesn't bother me any more than the delay on the autofocus. If I want the shutter to go when I push I use manual focus and sports settings.

Grip - Until you develop the "4th finger under, index finger on top" 1-hand method, it's a 2-hand camera if you want to adjust anything. The big screen on the back only gives you a cm square place to put a fingerprint among the buttons.

Battery - the battery is the same that Pentax uses in their other Optios, the D-LI8. Because the battery never got a good review, I've always carried a spare. However, I've never used the spare and just a recharge every night has kept it good. You might be able to power it down in a day, but just taking around 50 pictures and a couple of short movies in a day never got me close to a dead battery.

Play - this camera also has a plethora of useless (and handy) but fun editing tools. In view mode if you push "mode" you get digital filters to turn the photo to sepia or black and white, or adjust the color balance turning off all green and blue and just leaving red and other combinations. You also get:
Slideshow
Resize
Crop (trimming)
Copy (to camera's built in memory and back)
Image rotate
Digital Filters (a bit of PhotoShop built in)
Brightness filter
Movie Edit (get rid of the ends)
Red-eye (after flash process)
Voice Memo
Protect
DPOF (print right from the camera)
Frame composite (put two images together - usually a frame around a pix)

I also noticed that on equal resolutions, the A10 files were stored at a smaller size than on the Optio S. I therefore increased my default resolution. I only use the 8 mega pixel 3* resolution for images I know I will want to get a large print from. I do this to save SD card space.

I got this one because I was in a bind. I think it's better than my old Optio S, but after use, I would like to see Pentax's second A10 model, whenever it comes out, and if my old camera were still kicking I would have waited, because with just some small changes this could be a much better camera. It's the camera to carry with you at all times to get that shot that you otherwise would have missed because the camera was back in the hotel.

Pentax has released a firmware update for this camera to improve the focusing, a version 1.01 that you can download from Pentax and install via an SD card. The instructions are contained in the zip download. There have been several reports that once the update is made, the lens doesn't return all the way into the body when powered off. I've had the update in for several weeks with no problem so it could be another problem.

Another problem reported is that of a broken LCD screen. Apparently, extra force or dropping the camera can easily shatter or crack the screen. This is not covered by the warranty and is a $120 repair from Pentax in Colorado. Get a good rigid case, and don't sit on or drop the camera. Perhaps one of the stick-on anti-glare screens would protect it from sharp contacts.

For examples of what the camera can do, I've uploaded several pictures that you can access in the upper left of the product screen. For being so small, it does a great job. If you want the best, you'll have to carry it like an SLR (K10D for example).

Just picked up my Pentax A10 at Costco a couple of day ago and here's my thoughts.

The shipping box was small, but heavy, so I felt good about the weight (must be well built - right). I unpacked the box, and notice the small size of the camera. I was quite happy about this since I wanted the smallest camera I could find. I noticed that the weight of the box was mostly due to the manuals inside, and while shopping around, I notice that the Pentax was just about the smallest mega pixel around.

About the size, I like to carry my camera in my pocket, or put it in my computer bag. The Pentax A10 fits the bill. The camera will not only fit in you pocket, but it won't fell like your caring a small brick. While at Costco, I sized up all the camera's on display, and was quite happy that the smallest (Pentax A10), was also a 8 MP camera, not just a 6 MP camera as several other units were.

In the box was every thing I needed, but I found out that you do not have to install the software to get going, unless you want to. I simply unwrapped the small battery that came with the unit, and plugged my power cradle into the wall, and snapped the battery in. I was pleasantly surprised that the battery took less than 1 1/2 hours to charge, enough time for me to scan the major details of the user manual, before putting the battery in the camera, and clicking away. The battery charger can fit both a camera and battery at the same time, and a little red light will tell you which one is being charged, and when it has fully charged (light will go out). I think the charger can charge a battery and a camera at the same time, but I have not confirm this - can anyone send me a extra battery, though I think I will not need it (I've use the camera for hours now, and it seams to hold a charge quite nicely).

Well, here's what I found about the Pentax A10 Camera. I went on line and started to compare the A10 with as many other smaller, ultra light, mega pixels camera's I could find. The reports show that the Pentax A10 was slow in response time. Well, I just couldn't live with this, so I visited the Pentax home web page, and notice that they have a firmware update for the A10. I looked in the manual to try to figure out what firmware I already had in my A10, but did not find a reference to how to display it. But, the web site had a README file which tells you to "hold the menu key down, while turning on the camera". I found out that I had version 1.00 installed. So I downloaded the update (version 1.01), and put .exe file on my desktop, and ran the self expanding program. The program will create two additional files (FWDC141P.ELF and README) on my computer desktop. The README file (almost the same as the instructions on the web site) so I was expecting the two additional files. I put the FWDC141P.ELF file on a "blank" Secure Digital card in the root directory, and inserted the card into my Camera. I then held the menu button down, while turning on the Camera, and - low and behold - the camera install the update automatically, and automatically turned itself off, after the firmware was installed in the camera.

I then removed the FWDC141P.ELF file from the SD card (on my computer), and reinstalled a blank card into the camera. I then powered up the camera, and Walla, the speed to take pictures increased by almost 1/2. Looks like Pentax listened to all the expert users out there who thought the Camera was bit slow, and speed it up with firmware updated 1.01. Note, you must remove the FWDC141P.ELF from the SD card, before re-inserting it into the camera. Also, I think you may will lose pictures in internal memory if you remove the battery, before you hook up to your computer, but I need to check this out.

I like the menu's of the Camera, the ease of navigation, the little pictures on the keys which tell you what the keys are for, the 8 mega pixel resolution, and the large LCD screen, and did I say, the small size of the camera.

The little amber light upfront on the camera, only comes on when there's a need for a flash - auto sensing. I have not confirmed this yet, but if a flash is needed by auto mode, the delay time to picture would be a bit longer. Also, the frame targets in the LCD screen will turn from white to green, and center on a object that it has focused on. Note, you do not need to re-align your screen! Let the little green frame targets move where they want to. Just make sure, what you see is what you want.

Both the SD memory card and battery are installed at the bottom of the camera, and both slide in really nicely. If your using a tripod, you will not have access to the compartment, and it looks like the tripod nut is plastic. By the way, it may look a little funny to have this small camera sitting on top a tripod, but anyway, the picture quality, at least for me, is not that funny (really nice). I did read some were, that the A10 night shot is a bit dark and cranny (aperture time). But I took a couple of night shots and they looked ok to me (I mean, how much are you expecting to see at night).

All in all, I'm pleased. The camera is just what we wanted - small enough to fit in ANY pocket, purse, bag, or palm; 8MP photos, which can be blown up to 8x11 detail prints!, nice 6 step zoom, movies if you want (with a nice movie count down feature to tell you how long you can go in movie mode, till it's all over - over due to your remaining disk space), input microphone, output speaker, programmable "display" mode of resent taken pictures, (I turned mine to 5 sec's delay so I could see the picture I just took), burst mode (to take several pictures, one after another - but with the LCD screen off) so just take your pictures in normal mode, unless you really want to burst; USB interface to computer (I have not done this yet), Audio Video interface to your TV (I have not done this yet), removable SD card to and from your computer (I have done this for the firmware update), a nice power cradle (no funny cable to stick in, just drop the camera into place), a auto lens cap, a nice "whistle sound" when powered up, nice little green LED light on top when powered up, a little small indentation for your left hand finger on top, you can hold the snap button 1/2 down to focus, or just hold it all the way down to take a picture (tell the other person taking a picture to just hold the button down - right), nice 9 picture slide show(s), if no SD card, you can still take pictures (24mb internal memory), to view internal memory pictures - hold the preview button down for 4 seconds, and on and on.

So, the only think which remains, is to compare the Pentax A10 with the Pentax A20. I did a quick compare of the 2 page online specification sheets and here's the difference:

1) A10=8.0 megapixels. A20=10 megapixels
2) A20 says it's got a kids mode, A10 does not say this in the same specification sheet under "exposure control"
3) A10=~$270, A20=~$350

The specification sheets were both two pages long, and vertically the same. I was happy that there wasn't a lot of difference between the two, except in the number of megapixels and maybe, firmware 1.01 is already in the A20 for kid mode (faster auto focusing).

Hope this helps a bit.

The camera has a "pre-flash" before the real flash. which adds a full second between the instant you press the button and the time the picture is actually taken.

That might not sound like much, but it's enough for you to miss that cute pose your kid HAD, a second ago... when you actually wanted the picture. You can get a kid to look at the camera for a split second, then the first flash pops, one full second later, the picture actually takes. Meanwhile your kid is a blur in the lens.

It's not a "red-eye reduction" flash, altought the camera has that feature (even longer pause between 2 flashes). And it can't be turned off, short of turning off the flash altogether.

Either I need a camera that takes the picture closer to when the button is pressed, or I need more patient kids.

Photos are wonderful! Color, sharpness, you name it. Love the new shake-reduction feature which makes all pictures crisp. There's a double flash, but I can't say that it bothers me. It's just for a split of a second. The movie mode is another great feature. Films comes out great, and as they are encoded inte divX, you can acctually room abit on your memory card (20+ minutes on a 512mb card) compared to canon models (3+ minutes on a 512 card) With the same quality.

It also looks great, and even my hard-core-gadget-freak friends were all really impressed by the design and the stunning 2,5" screen.

I've had, and been using quite a few digital cameras before (Canon, Konica-Minolta, Samsung etc) and this is by far the best one.

The only downside is the battery life. Today many cameras can take up to 400+ photos without recharge, this one can do between 120-150. Luckily I had an extra battery from an old Pentax camera that I could use. I would recommend getting an extra battery. That's also the reason why I give it 4 stars and not 5.

The Optio A10 is a camera that really could have earned 5 stars, but fell through in one area: lag time.

The strong points are numerous. It's small and stylish. It has a very good 3x zoom with image stabalization, and delivers excellent photographs. Video is one of the best in it's class. Menus are easy to use.

The docking charger is wonderful. Just drop the camera in, and it charges. Have an extra battery? It doesn't have to be in the camera to charge. In fact, you can charge BOTH batteries (one in camera, on out) at the same time!

But then there's the lag time. It just doesn't fire as quickly as it's better competitors. Kid got a great expression? Not with this camera...you get the back of their head.

This is a fine camera for adults looking for a small travel camera with excellent clarity of photos. Just don't give this one to parents of small children.

I was very pleased when I opened the box. The camera seemed small and well designed.

I had owned Pentax cameras (35mm variety) in the past and they worked very well.

My first disappointment was the lack of a viewfinder although this was manageable indoors. The large LCD was fine.

When I took the camera outside in the bright Texas light, however, I could not see anything in the LCD except my beard and nose. The LCD is extremely reflective and has no coating. I tried using skins without much effective. I also purchased a hood which I attached with Velcro. This helped but seemed to violate the whole point of having a small camera.

I thought maybe I had received a camera with a manufacturing fault - that maybe mine had missed the step where a reflective coating was put on.

I emailed a question about it to Pentax but have had no response after four weeks.

A week after I received it I bought a Canon which is excellent. It has both a viewfinder and an LCD which can be seen outside.

I cannot believe that the Optio A10 is supposedly Pentax' flagship.

I really like this Camera, HOWEVER, the CCD had a dead spot on it from Day one, it's visible in the same place on all darkish pictures/video as a bright white pixel visible on all media, whether it's the camera's LCD, viewed on a PC screen, a TV or even prints. VERY annoying.

I am still waiting for feedback from Pentax after a week. WHEN YOU RECIEVE YOUR CAMERA CHECK FOR THIS RIGHT AWAY - if you order one of course.

Dissapointed

Brett

I may have a camera that is defective, but i found that this camera can only take a crisp photo in excellent OUTDOOR only light conditions. But even then after a while, only ever 4th picture would come out. I am a true lover of the self portrait, but every time you try, the people in this close up come out black, and the back senery comes out great... This could just be my own loss in skills, but i dont think so since my last Casio 5MP, did not have this problem, even though it also had a pentax lens.

I found that also indoor pics were not good, and even with a flash, the flash timing was never right on making half the pic come out shadowed. Without it the pic would be dark or blurry.

I returend the camera and got a Panasonic Lumix FZ7. Although this camera is not small like the pentax, and you cant compare this one to that since it is a superior camera even though they are the same price, i just cant get a good shot out of this snap shot camera.

After trying to have faith in my camera, since did manage to get a good 500 shots since i opened it, i found that after taking 4 pics to get 1 good one, the battery is now not good enough to last one or two exciting days. I was face to face with a grizzle, and it ran out of battery... Interesting story, would have been nice if it didnt run out....

Get a Sony for snap shots. They are the best of the best. Hands down. Then Canon, but they are a little large, Then Casio does a mean remix of the pentax cameras. If you want to take excellent photography try the Lumix FZ7...

Hope this helps....

Nothing but problems with this camera, customer service is horrible. One word of advise don't buy this peace of junk! They even charged me to repair a defect! I'm going to file a complaint with the consumer protection agency.

This camera is ok, but not great.

It takes sooo long from the time of the flash to the actual time of the picture, your subject has already moved and you miss that great shot!!

I took the camera to Walt Disney World and out of 3500-4000 photos only 10 or so were good shots and those were of things that didnt move!! (like the castle) The shots that you actually get are good quality but I like to take a lot of pic's and I dont have time to waste with making sure everyone stands still for 2-3 seconds (or more) after the flash!

I am saving money right now to buy the Canon EOS Rebel XTi. It will take 8-10 pic's in the same time as the Pentax A10's 1.