Pentax Optio W80 Specs, Review and Sample Movies

0ptio w80 tough cameraThe Pentax Optio W80 is a jack of all trades, ready-for-the-beating compact camera that can go up to 5 meters of water, fall from 1 meter high, and used in temperatures freezing cold as -10°C. Making the Optio w80 the most waterproof, freeze proof and shock proof, Pentax camera ever. This point-and-shoot tough camera have 12 megapixel sensor, 5x zoom and a focal range of 28-140 (not that wide), and shoots HD Movie 1280p at 30fps.
Another great feature is it’s 2.5 inch LCD screen with anti-reflective coating (making it perfect for the outdoors) 1cm super macro mode, and TRIPPE anti-shake protection (double is not enough) preventing blur due to camera shake. The Optio W80 is available in Cardinal Red, Azure Blue, Honey Yellow and Gunmetal Gray, the Pentax and costs £269.99 or $299.95 (that’s around 21,000.00 Philippine Pesos)

But the question is, Will the specs works well in real life?

The Photography blog got their hands on one of this tough looking tough digital camera and made a review of it. According to them the Pentax Optio W80 is simple and easy to use, and as tough as advertised. The HD Movie Recording is remarkably fine, and the 5x Zoom is a great perk, however the W80′s anti-shake system didn’t perform that well. The weakest aspect of this tough camera is it’s average image quality, noise are visible even at low ISO setting (ISO 100). This means, although the Optio W80 is cheaper than the Ts1 and D10 it doesn’t perform that well. You can read the entire review here.

PCMag have the same sentiments, and although they rate the Panasonic TS1 half-a-rating lower than the Optio W80 (This could be due to the TS1 high price). They also pointed out that noise is noticeable movie mode. (here’s PCMag’s comparison chart). IMO the specs are good on paper, it’s still best to look at real life results.

Here’s some sample photos taken with the Pentax Optio w80

w80 sample photo night

Night Shot Sample, too much noise.

Optio W80 sample

w80 underwater sample

It’s not a good idea to use it under murky waters, more sample on reghardware

w80 sample photo

Settings: 1/160 sec , f/4.6, 34mm, ISO 64

optio w80 sample photo

1/50 sec , f/3.5, 28mm,ISO 80. The odd thing is.. The W80 is a tough camera, perhaps they should shoot underwater photos, freezer shots, or video footage while dropping it at 1 meter high. More sample on Photography blog

Pentax Optio W80 sample movie

Here’s a review on Youtube comparing the Optio W80 with the W60

They put the camera on a bike, ATV just to test how shock proof this thing is.

An interesting Macro video

under water video test


Very nice Interval Video

Pentax Optio W80 Full Specifications

Sensor

  • Type: 1/2.3” interline transfer CCD w/ primary color filter
  • Effective pixels: 12.1 MP; Total pixels: 12.39 MP
  • Recorded resolutions Still: 12M (4:3 4000×3000, 3:2 4000×2672, 16:9 4000×2256), 7M (3072×2304), 5M (2592×1944), 3M (2048×1536), 1024 (1024×768), VGA (640×480)
  • Movie: 720p15/30 (1280×720), VGA15/30 (640×480), QVGA15/30 (320×240) Quality levels: *** (best), ** (better), * (good)

LCD

  • LCD screen: 2.5” TFT color LCD w/ anti-reflective coating and brightness adjustment
  • LCD resolution: 230,000 dots
  • Wide angle viewable: Yes, approx 170° horizontal/vertical
  • Viewfinder: n/a

Flash

  • Type: Built-in series-control auto flash
  • Flash modes: Auto, flash on, flash off, redeye, soft
  • Effective range: 13′ (wide, auto ISO), 8.2′ (tele, auto ISO)

Interfaces

  • Ports: USB 2.0 hi-speed
  • AV out Video out: NTSC, PAL
  • Printer interfaces: N/A

Physical Specifications

  • Dimensions (W x H x D): 3.9 x 2.2 x 1.0”
  • Weight Without battery or removable memory: 4.8 oz
  • Loaded and ready: 5.3 oz
  • Construction material(s): Reinforced polycarbonate plastic with aluminum plating
  • Operating temperature: 14-104°F
  • Weather Resistant: Yes, JIS Class 8 waterproof submersible to 16’, JIS Class 6 dustproof
  • Shock Resistant: Yes, shockproof to 3.3’

Colors Available

  • Gunmetal Gray, Azure Blue, Cardinal Red

Lens

  • Type/construction: PENTAX zoom lens, 11 elements, 9 groups (5 aspherical elements)
  • Optical zoom: 5X
  • Focal length (equiv.): 5-25mm (28-140mm)
  • Digital zoom: 6.25X
  • Combined zoom: 31.3X
  • Intelligent zoom: Non-interpolated, approx 6.5X at 7M to 31.3X at VGA
  • Aperture: F3.5-5.5

Focus System

  • Type: TTL 9 point contrast detection autofocus with AF assist lamp
  • Focus modes: 9 point multi AF, Spot AF, Auto Tracking AF, Macro, Super Macro, Infinity Landscape, Pan Focus, Manual Focus
  • Manual focus: Yes; Macro focus: Yes, macro and super macro available
  • Focus lock: Yes, by pressing the shutter release button half way
  • Focus range Normal: 1.64’ to infinity (over entire zoom range)
  • Macro: 0.33-1.97’ (over entire zoom range)
  • Super Macro: 0.03-0.98’ (1cm, at mid-zoom, set automatically)

Storage Media

  • Internal memory: 33.7 MB
  • Removable memory: SD, SDHC

Power Supply

  • Power source: Rechargeable Li-Ion battery D-LI78
  • Recordable images: Approx 170
  • Playback time: Approx 180 min
  • Movie recording time: Approx 65 min
  • Audio recording time: Approx 230 min
  • AC adapter available: YES (optional)

Timing

  • Startup: Approx 1.0 sec
  • Release lag: Approx 0.03 sec

Image Stabilization

  • Still: Pixel Track SR, Digital SR (5M)
  • Movie: Movie SR

White Balance

  • Auto preset modes: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent
  • Manual mode(s): Yes

ISO Sensitivity

  • Auto: 64-1600, auto range adjustable, 64-6400 in Digital SR mode (5M)
  • Manual: 64-6400, iso 3200-6400 fixed at 5M

Shutter

  • Type: Programmed AE electronic lens shutter with CCD electronic shutter
  • Shutter speed: 1/1500 to 1/4 sec (up to 4 sec in Night Scene mode)

Capture Modes

  • Mode selection: Auto Picture (Standard, Landscape, Portrait, Night Scene Portrait, Night Scene, Sport, Flower, Candlelight), Program, Night Scene, Movie, Underwater, Underwater Movie, Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Digital Wide, Surf & Snow, Digital SR, Kids, Pet, Half Length Portrait, Sport, Fireworks, Candlelight, Night Scene Portrait, Text, Food, Digital Panorama, Frame Composite, Report, Green
  • Green simplified mode available: Yes
  • Face detection available: Yes, AF and AE up to 32 faces in 0.03 sec, Smile Capture
  • Blink Detection; P/A/S/M/B: P
  • Date stamp: Yes, date, date-time, time (not available in Green mode)
  • Digital filters (capture): Image tone (Bright, Natural, Monochrome)
  • Dynamic Range Adjustment: Yes, highlight and shadow correction

Drive Modes

  • Mode selection: One Shot, Self Timer (10s, 2s), Continuous, High Speed Continuous, Interval, Auto Bracket
  • Continuous FPS: Approx 1.27 FPS, High Speed Continuous 2.9 FPS for up to 8 frames (5M), 5.9 FPS for 8 frames at ISO 3200/6400 (5M)
  • Self-timer: Yes (10s, 2s)
  • Remote control: n/a

Playback Modes

  • Mode selection: One Shot, Index (4 or 9 thumbnails), Magnification, Movie Playback, Sound Playback, Histogram, Bright/Dark Indication, Folder Display, Select & Delete, Calendar
  • Mode pallet: Slideshow, Digital Filter, Frame Composite, Resize, Cropping, Image/Sound Copy, Image Rotation, Movie Edit, Redeye Edit, Voice Memo, Protect, DPOF, Image Recovery, Startup Screen, Face Zooming
  • Magnification: Up to 10X, scrollable
  • Digital filters (playback): B&W, Sepia, Color Filters (6), Color Extract (3), Color Enhancer (4), Toy Camera, Retro, Soft, Fisheye, Brightness
  • Movie edit: Save as still image, movie divide

File Formats

  • Still: JPG (EXIF 2.2), DCF 2.0 (design rule for camera file system), DPOF, PIM III
  • Movie (compression): AVI (Motion JPG) with sound
  • Sound: WAV (PCM), monaural

Language Support

  • English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, Russian, Thai, Korean, Simplified/Traditional Chinese

Computer System Requirements

  • Windows: Windows 2000/XP/Vista, USB port
  • Mac: MacOS-X 10.1.2 to 10.5, USB port

More information on Pentax UK

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