Harley Ogier finds the Optio W80 to be a surprisingly 
good example of a modern ‘take anywhere’ camera

Design

At a glance, the Optio W80 really doesn’t look waterproof. It doesn’t look particularly shockproof, either. But having left the thing in the sink (intentionally), it is quite clearly fine when dipped in water. It’s also far sturdier than it looks; the kind of twisting and bending that usually starts cheap plastic cameras creaking has absolutely no effect on the W80. If the definition of elegant design is to make the solution to a difficult problem look easy, Pentax has definitely managed elegance here.

The W80’s controls are taken from the most basic digital camera designs; everything is a simple push button, from the zoom controls to the four-way navigation pad. There are no wheels, rocker switches or anything else that would be difficult to make waterproof without also making unusable. The most complicated control is the shutter, with its universal push-half-way-to-focus mechanism.

While this makes the camera look a little clunkier than its non-waterproof counterparts, it also means anyone can pick it up and use it without wondering why the mode dial is so hard to turn (solution: there’s a mode button instead, which won’t get clogged with wet sand).

Image Quality

Shots taken in full daylight are reasonably sharp and detailed, though with a disappointing amount of image noise. Manually setting the lowest possible ISO speed for the conditions goes some way to reducing this, but it’s not an all-around fix and a fair amount of noise always remains.

Oddly, I found low-light performance in the Night Scene mode to be particularly good. Down at ISO64 or 100, noise was lower than the average compact camera and images came out fine using a tripod and the W80’s self-timer. This suggests that perhaps there’s hope in other shooting modes to fine-tune out the noise, but the lack of serious manual controls makes it difficult to experiment.

Face Detection

The W80 implements some amazingly good face-priority autofocus, claiming to detect up to 32 faces simultaneously. I managed to detect at least fifteen from a still image, so I have no doubt this is true.

Face detection is nearly instantaneous — definitely the fastest I’ve ever seen. Tracking of moving faces works well, as long as they stay oriented toward the camera. The down side is a few mistaken recognitions (nope, that’s a tomato). These only last for a fraction of a second and are probably what lets the camera track real faces so quickly. As soon as motion stops, only real faces remain.

I can see serious potential for this in outdoor group shots during the kinds of recreational or sporting activities where you might need such a rugged camera.

Conclusion

Deceptively simple to look at, the Optio W80 is a feature-packed digital compact. Although not the highest rated in maximum depth or drop distance, it’s still one of the better offerings in today’s range of waterproof digital cameras that you can take anywhere.

PENTAX 
OPTIO W80 – SPECS

Manufacturer: Pentax
Model: Optio W80
Effective Pixels: 12.1 million
Lens: 5-25mm (35mm equivalent 28-140mm)
Viewfinder: None
Monitor: 2.5-inch TFT LCD, 230,000 dots
Shutter: 1/1500 to 1/4 seconds, up to 4 seconds in Night Scene mode
Aperture: f3.5-f5.5
ISO: 64-1600 auto, 64-6400 selectable
Shooting Modes: Auto, Program, pre-set scene modes, basic ‘Green’ mode
Exposure Metering: Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot
Focus Modes: Face, multiple AF (9-point), spot AF, auto tracking AF, macro, super macro, infinity landscape, pan focus, manual focus
Internal Memory: 33.7MB
Media: SD, SDHC
File Format: JPEG, AVI, WAV
Flash: Built-in
Interface: USB 2.0, composite video out
Batteries: Rechargeable lithium-ion, approx 170 images
Durability: Waterproof (5m), dustproof, shockproof (1m), coldproof (-10°C)
Dimensions: 100 x 56 x 25mm
Weight: 136g with battery

CONTACT

www.irl.co.nz

PROS

• Waterproof, shockproof 
and coldproof

• Lightweight and compact

CONS

• Some problems with image noise

Design                      18
Performance             17
Features                   17
Image Quality           16
Value for money       16

TOTAL     84/100

This article is from D-Photo 32.

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