Customer Reviews

Pentax Optio W20 7MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is my second Optio (due to an unfortunate accident snorkling in Hawaii) and I can't believe the pictures and adaptability of this camera. The W20 has more features than the W10 I had previously, and this takes even better pictures. I can pick a mode and take great pictures and video, either on land or under water. My only recommendation is to get the silicone cover that is available if you are going to use it underwater. It will keep your fingers from manipulating the lock mechanism that opens the waterproof door to the battery and memory card. The camera is a great size for those of us with larger hands that have a hard time holding the new smaller cameras, and it is an added benefit that the lens never protrudes from the camera body. All of the zoom and focus is internal in the camera. Makes it really easy to slip into a pocket. I liked this style of camera so much I went and bought another one. Even after I compared it to the Olympus and Casio.

I bought this for snorkeling excursions. I have three 7 MP cameras and was tired of using disposable underwater cameras. I used this camera for the first time while on a cruise a week ago. I also took my Sony Cyber-shot 7.2 MP as a back up.

Land Photos: I was very impressed with the quality and the great zoom feature. Easy to use menu and buttons. Pictures were actually better then my Sony ones due to the better zoom.

Underwater: I used it three times during the week under water. I only kept it under for the 30 minutes as stated in the manual for fear of damage. At first it was very hard to see the screen with a mask on, but I finally found the trick is to keep the shutter button pushed 1/2 way so the screen stays on all the time. Buttons very easy to use underwater. Just set it to underwater mode before you go in.

My first set of photos were of nothing, but after a few minutes of practice (on my fin) I got great shots of many fish at different depths. Works best in high light, shallow waters, but in the darker Atlantic at about 20 feet, I also got some nice shots.

Hint: Try and stay above the rocks/coral and in the best available light to get the best photos.

I love this camera and would highly recommend it and did to all who asked.

I bought this camera over a year ago before deploying to Iraq. I really put it to the test. It managed to survive intense heat, rain, mud, dust storms, and being constantly throw to the ground with me during combat. I carried it with me for over a year and it still takes great pictures.

I haven't used it a great deal underwater although I did test it out in the Lake a couple months ago. It did well.

As far as features I'm not a great expert in that area. It does have an incredible zoom (compared to my last camera-Sony).

I would recommend this to anyone needing a cameara for an "adventure."

I've had this camera about a month now and am extremely pleased with it. I've taken it into numerous caves, where dripping water and muddy conditions are common, and it has survived being dragged around. Moreover, it has taken fantastic closeups of tiny features. I am amazed at how good the macro feature is, especially when there is virtually no light.

The camera also fared well being dunked in muddy pools on a canyoneering trip. It was so nice to be able to keep taking photos and not worry at all.

Photos from a distance look okay, nothing too spectacular, but the camera exceeds in doing super for what I bought it for: going into wet and dirty places and not worrying about it.

I own several cameras, and I use each for different kinds of shooting. For snapshot stuff like vacations or parties where you don't want to hassle with a big camera, and are willing to sacrifice some quality, a tiny camera like this is great. Add in the waterproof feature and the great quality videos it shoots, and this thing rocks! I use it for sailing and skiing and all kinds of outdoor activities, and not having to worry about sand and dust and water is the greatest. It's not a 'dumbed-down' camera however. There are lots of sophisticated features that I'd love to see on my expensive cameras, like a detailed histogram that shows blown out and zero-level areas in real time. You can also just put it in "green mode" and point and shoot with reliably good results. The flash chooses pleasing filled exposures, too.

The white balance could use some fine tuning, the dynamic range is not as good as I would like for some outdoor situations, and the microphone gives fairly bad sound quality, but I highly recommend the overall package.

I purchased the Pentax Optio W10 this past July because of its waterproof capabilities. I was happy with the camera's performance until, less than a month after purchase, the flash function stopped working. It was over a month until I finally received my camera back from Pentax. The camera was never the same once I got it back. After having the flash repaired, my images always seemed washed out or overexposed. I was hesitant to send the camera in again because I didn't want to be without it for so long. I was forced to send it back when a crack appeared on the LCD screen. The camera had a screen protector on it and was sitting untouched in a protective case when the crack appeared. I can only assume the crack was a result of built-up pressure from the previous repair. I have now been without my camera for 2/3 of the time I have owned it.

After another four weeks of waiting, I called about the status of my camera. I was disappointed to learn that the repair would cost me 80% of what I had originally paid for the camera. When I tried talking to the customer service representative about my other options, she responded with utter rudeness. She made no attempt to make me feel that your company supports customer needs. Her supervisor was no better. He treated me not as though I was a customer, but rather like I was a nuisance to him. He was completely disrespectful and condescending. I was absolutely disgusted.

I originally bought a Pentax because of its waterproof capabilities. I decided to look past the warnings I recieved from a number of camera experts about Pentax's awful customer service. I was willing to overlook the poor service for a waterproof camera. I was hugely mistaken. I don't care if Pentax offers a waterproof camera that can swim on its own. Good customer service is more important than product features, and I will be purchasing my next camera from a brand with more reputable customer service.

Pentax Optio W20 7MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom is a great camera with many features that are only available on a much more expensive camera such as a really close macro mode and image stabilization to name a couple. I carry it in my shirt pocket with a neck lanyard so I can use it any time. It works great while skiing or sailing, etc. I purchased the Protective Skin for it to shelter it from hard knocks while on a boat. The added advantage is it keeps it from sliding out of my pocket when I bend over.

This is my third Pentax Optio. The W10 was my first. The W20 offers the bigger screen, some additional photo options, and better video quality. I love EVERYTHING about this camera and I recommend it to all my friends, family, and acquaintances... BUT - the only downside I have had with the W20 is the noisy video audio. When you zoom in or out, you hear the motor noise being picked up while video recording. I also get this annoying popping noise. The other thing I wish Pentax would have kept was the panorama setting, that was in the W10, but was dropped in the W20. I will be buying the W30 when it comes out later this month. So if you can live with the noisy audio when video recording (which I do by editing all video to music), then you can't go wrong with this camera. The size, the reliability, Pentax's customer service, and the quality of images obtained with this camera - is some of the best I have had the pleasure and experience with.

I bough his camera because I like the sumergible feature, but there are two things that surprise me. One is the close up mode, you can take photos up to 1 cm close. Other is the movie features. Good quality. Softer than all the others digital cam I have although the sound is mono 8 bits. The optical zoom 3X work also with video but generate a noise that records in the movie. It record in mov (quick time) format, who gives a good rate quality/compresion comparable to DivX. You can edit unnecesary parts of video controling frame by frame where the cut is made.
The lenses are good quality mode. They could put a less compresed images mode in photo. In poor light conditions is not so good as Kodak but for me it`s good enough.
It have a lot of modes, like Auto, Night, clear faces, submarine, Text, flower etc.. You can atach a voice record to a photo.
It has a button that you can program as a shorcut to a setting, or if you press again and again, up to four different setings, for example, quality of the photo, video, focus, memory. It alow you to select what you want to be stored when you turn of the camera, this settings will not change when you turn on.
I use it wiht a 2 Gigabite SD memory card and works fine and I can store up to 30 min with the best quality video.

I like the features of the camera and the ease of use. The body is small and the display is of good quality. I bought the camera because a family member of mine has the W10 where the picture quality is excellent. This camera is very disappointing in that the picture quality is sub-par. The tones of the pictures are not natural and the pictures are not sharp. I have owned several other digital cameras in the past and this one is the worst in picture quality. The video feature of the camera is relatively good.
I would not recommend this camera.