Pentax Optio W60 10 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 2 5 inch LCD Pink
Take your Pentax Optio W60 to new extremes. With 10 megapixels and a 5x internal zoom, this waterproof Optio shoots deeper, wider and at colder temps. A new design allows the Optio W60 to operate up to 13 feet underwater for two hours and at extreme temperatures well below freezing. Perfect for photography in adventurous settings, the Optio W60 captures a wide variety of scenes including expansive landscapes, architecture, and group photos in confined spaces as well as close-up telephoto shots. The Optio W60 also feature high-quality movie mode, face recognition, smile capture, and blink detection.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Not as good as the Optio W10
My Optio W10 died on me, and while it had it’s faults it was a good reliable camera. The W60 has some of the same complaints (slow to take pics, not good in low light, etc) but the images are even worse than the W10. I wouldn’t recommend this camera. I haven’t used the waterproof feature yet…plan on doing that in a couple weeks at the beach.
2 Stars Disappointing. Poor followon to the W10
I bought the W60 early this summer when my W10 was damaged in an accident. I am extremely disappointed in the W60.
The user interface is basically fine, but I find it hard to press the separate buttons (I always feel fat-fingered on it). The W10 in contrast was much easier to manipulate.
The waterproof housing is noticeably improved over the W10.
The battery has almost no lifespan. I get about 60 pictures (no flash) before I have to recharge it. Even more annoying, the battery doesn’t sit terribly well in the recharger, so you have to be careful to ensure that it’s actually recharging. I find it *exceedingly* annoying that you can’t recharge this camera from the USB port — you plug in the camera to download the pictures, and even if the camera is attached to a wall outlet, the battery fails. I am also disappointed that they changed the battery shape from the W10 — I have perfectly good batteries from that camera, and had to buy new ones for this; not very environmentally friendly!
The flash is weaker that it was in the W10; and it’s now almost useless. I get about 1.5 meters (4 feet) of range before the light fails — that’s extremely close up.
The focus is quite poor. Even when in “portrait” mode (when it tries to look for faces), the camera does not always focus on the face it found. About 1/3 of my photos are out-of-focus. (On the W10, I’d only have problems when the subject was moving.) My suspicion is not that the focus mechanism itself is poor, but the algorithm that decides on where to focus picks the wrong item.
About 4 weeks after I purchased the camera, the power switch failed. (It took quite some googling to figure out what the problem was, as the manual only says to recharge the battery.) Since I was on vacation at the time, I was VERY happy that I had a second camera with me. I sent it back to the manufacturer for repair, and it was returned about 10 days later. They had corrected the power switch, focus, and zoom block. It still can’t focus well.
The quality of underwater photos is slightly improved over the W10, but given that you’re moving in the water and the fish are moving, the focus problem is really serious.
Overall, I’m very disappointed. Even more so because I loved the W10, and was really looking forward to the next generation.
5 Stars Buy it now…
I had the older Pentax W20 and loved it. Take it on remote float trips in Alaska. Just a great camera. The new W60 is that much nicer. Need a waterproof camera, buy it. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to regret. This product is top shelf.
4 Stars Excellent camera for parents
I bought the Pentax W60 six months ago on the way to an indoor waterpark. I wanted something that would be functionally equivalent to my existing Canon SD 870 IS: small and light, decent still shots, decent videos.
Since then the Pentax has become my default camera.
Pros:
decent image quality
some neat “smart” modes
waterproof and dust resistant means no worries about child-play environments!
Cons:
auto-focus seems to get it wrong more often than my Canon
no one-button swap between still and movie mode
zoom quality seems lower
zooming during video has big big focus issues
short battery life per charging
If I only had one camera for all occaisions, those cons might be overwhelming, but I also have a Nikon D90 which I use for formal occaisions or highly dramatic scenery. So, for my “everyday” use, I’m swayed by the robust nature of the waterproof housing.
Let me specifically address the video cons. First, my Canon (and all its ancestors) has a simple physical switch to move from still mode to movie mode. The Pentax has a menu system which requires me to push one button, navigate over a few places, and push again. Under pressure of capturing a kid in action, that’s a recipe for failure. Second, the zoom may be less nice because of the inability to have a lens poking out the front, but I am puzzled by what seems to be the complete failure of the auto-focus when I zoom during a video.
Depending on your needs, you may weigh these issues differently. For me, this camera is great solution.
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