Pentax Optio w60

[Winter]

Anyone used this camera yet? The lens on my Canon SD400 seized up over the weekend, and I'm looking for a new ultracompact. Interested in thoughts about the pic quality on the w60.

[woodchips]

I, too have been eying this camera, but haven't actually used one. That said, it seems to be getting relatively good reviews. Picture quality has been reported to be slightly lower than some of the small Canon cameras, but if you want waterproof, there's only Pentax and Olympus. Supposedly, the image quality is better than the Olympus line.

 

I tried an Olympus 850SW; the picture quality was pretty poor, and after the first trip one of the doors had a dent next to it such that it wouldn't open. So much for "Shockproof."

 

Also, the w60 has a 5x zoom, and a much wider angle lens than any of the other waterproof cameras. I'm going to order one, I think.

[John Frieh]

I have owned a w30 for over a year now... pics taken with it appear in my TRs... I only crop/resize what I shoot... no photoshop. Overall very happy with it.

 

Get a second battery if you plan to ice climb or alpine climb.

[Winter]

Yeah sounds like a good set up. Haven't really heard too many complaints yet and have heard good things from the surfing community as well, so I'm gonna get one. Thanks for the responses.

[builder206]

I recently purchased a new point-and-shoot for climbing use. I zeroed in on getting the widest-angle lens I could. I settled on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-500, which has a short focal length of 25mm (equivalent to a 35mm film camera). This is very short, although many point-and-shoots have 28mm short focal lengths which is probably close enough to 25mm.

 

The lens is Leica and has an optical zoom of 5x so the 35mm equivalent focal length range is 25mm-125mm. So far I have happy with it although under high magnification the files are a bit noisier than some other cameras. It is a matter of degree, however.

[John Frieh]

Yeah sounds like a good set up. Haven't really heard too many complaints yet and have heard good things from the surfing community as well, so I'm gonna get one. Thanks for the responses.

 

I'd say it works great for surfing also but I think it would be more accurate if I said it works great while I attempt to drown myself and/or piss off a lot of other dudes

[tanstaafl]

I have a pentax Optio M20; don't know how that compares to the w60 but it stopped working on a bus ride from Chile to Argentina just a month after the one-year warranty expired. It turns on but then makes an unpleasant noise a couple of times and turns itself back off. I took it to a camera shop and they said it would cost more to repair than to buy a new one. Don't know if it's a general Pentax issue or not but that's been my experience.

[grenalds]

I really feel it's worth it to buy the best camera based on image quality. If that's the case, the FufiFilm FinePix f50d is my choice. I use mine a tiny sea-to-summit water sealed bag and it's perfect.

 

I don't see too many oportunites to use a camera underwater in the mountains. So I'd rather get a great camera and not drop it in a lake. Getting a lesser camera because of a "shock-proof" feathre isn't a trade off I'm interested in. I shoot semi-professionally and would recommend taking a look at a dpreview.com. A great in depth digital review site.