Pentax Optio W80 Review

4.0

September 21, 2009 | Mark Goldstein |

Buy a Optio W90 12.1 Megapixel Compact Camera - Silver (6.9 cm 2.7" LCD - 5x Optical Zoom - 4000 x 3000 Image - 1280 x 720 Video - HDMI - HD Movie Mode)

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Buy a Optio W80 12.1 Megapixel Compact Camera - Azure Blue (2.5" LCD - 5x Optical Zoom - 4000 x 3000 Image - 1280 x 720 Video - HD Movie Mode)

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Conclusion

The Pentax Optio W80 is an easy-to-use, tough as old boots camera for all the family. Built to withstand virtually anything that you can throw at in (within reason of course), only so-so image quality lets the W80 down.

The 5x wide-angle zoom is a real bonus in such a small camera, and the wealth of beginner-friendly options make it a great choice for use by every family member. The HD movie mode is a bonus, although it does quickly eat up memory card space and the inability to use the zoom whilst recording is very frustrating. The triple anti-shake system sounds good on paper, but in practice the Pixel SR mode just slows the camera down, and the Movie SR mode physically narrows the angle of view.

The Pentax W80's achilles heel is average image quality, with noise in particular proving a real problem with the relatively slow speed of ISO 100 suffering from easily visible noise. The camera did handle chromatic aberrations well, and the 1cm macro mode is a real highlight, but you may not be able to literally see past the noise that will afflict virtually all the images that you'll take.

Which is a real shame, because otherwise we'd be recommending the Pentax W80 more strongly as a great all-round point and shoot camera that is also very competitively priced. The W80 just offers enough to warrant our Recommended award, but make sure to check out the Sample Images before buying...