Harley Ogier puts Pentax’s dSLR lookalike through its paces to see if it performs as good as it looks

Pentax’s X70 is a high-zoom digital compact camera. Built in the form factor of a dSLR but with a non-removable lens, the X70 offers a compromise between the ease and portability of a digital compact, and the raw power of an amateur digital SLR.

Serious glass

At first glance the X70 really does look like a dSLR. The lens contains some serious glass (14 elements in 11 groups), and when fully extended equates to 624mm in 35mm terms. Despite this, Pentax has got the X70 down to just over 400 grams loaded and ready. Sadly, the lens cap is of the push-on variety: there’s no locking mechanism to keep it in place. This means it’s easier to knock off than it should be, which isn’t great when you’ve got so much glass exposed.

Image quality

The X70 takes great images, crisp and sharp under good lighting conditions. Contrast isn’t perfect and, without the ability to shoot RAW files, there’s not as much room for adjustment. Still, choosing the right shooting mode or manual settings can really improve the results. You can get a lot out of the X70 if you take the time to learn its extensive functionality.

I did notice a fair amount of noise when the sun was low and the sky wasn’t quite so clear. No amount of fiddling corrects this — the X70’s image sensor is a third the size of a full-frame dSLR’s and it just isn’t as good at pulling light out of nowhere. If, like myself, you’re a nightscape enthusiast, results will disappoint.

Viewfinder

Further emulating the dSLR form, the X70 features an electronic viewfinder (EVF) in addition to its LCD monitor. The two may be toggled between with a dedicated button, though there’s some delay in doing so. Often I found myself pressing the button twice thinking it hadn’t worked, only to see the camera switch screens then immediately switch back.

At 230,000 dots the LCD isn’t the highest resolution available. This may contribute to the aliasing problem when viewing images, where narrow lines such as overhead cables appear blocky and jagged on-screen. Zooming in shows that the images themselves are perfect — this is a playback issue only, your photos will be fine. The EVF is a similar 200,000 dots and is visibly an electronic display.

Smile

The X70 features reasonable face detection, though not the best I’ve tried. Smile detection is implemented quite well, as long as your subjects keep smiling — there’s a short delay before the shutter actually fires, and I had more than a few cases of post-smile imagery.

Conclusion

The Pentax X70 packs a big lens into a body much 
smaller and lighter than the average amateur dSLR. Though let down by the limited quality of its LCD monitor and EVF, it takes good, sharp images and provides real telephoto capability. Great for those seeking extremely high zoom options.

PENTAX X70 – Specifcations

• Manufacturer: Pentax

• Model: X70

• Effective Pixels: 12 million

• Lens: 4.6-110.4mm (35mm equivalent 26-624mm)

• Viewfinder: Electronic, 
200,000 dots

• Monitor: 2.7-inch TFT LCD, 230,000 dots

• Shutter: 1/4000 to 1/4 sec 
(up to 4 sec in manual/Night Scene modes)

• Aperture: f2.8-f5.0

• ISO: 3200-6400

• Shooting Modes: Auto Picture, Sport, Digital SR (5M), Movie, User, Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Program, Scene (Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Backlight, Half Length Portrait, Night Scene, Night Scene Portrait, Stage Lighting, Surf & Snow, Baby, Kids, Pet, Food, Fireworks, Frame Composite, Party, Museum, Sunset, Digital Wide, Digital Panorama)

• Exposure Metering: Multiple, centre-weighted, spot

• Focus Modes: 9-point AF, spot AF, auto tracking AF, macro, super macro, infinity landscape, AF point selection, manual focus

• Internal Memory: 33.6MB

• Media: SD, SDHC

• File Format: JPEG, AVI, WAV

• Flash: Built-in popup

• Interface: USB 2.0, composite video out

• Batteries: Rechargeable Lithium-ion, approx 170 images

• Dimensions: 111.8 x 81.3 x 99.1mm

• Weight: 411g with battery and memory card

Contact

www.pentaximaging.com

PROS

• Great image quality

• 26-624mm equivalent zoom lens

CONS

• Susceptible to noise in low light

• Limited quality LCD monitor

Design                      18
Performance             18
Features                   18
Image Quality           19
Value for money       15

TOTAL     88/100

This article if from D-Photo issue 30.

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