Pentax Optio W30

All the reviews & manufacturer hype the water/dust-proofness of this camera, which is fine, because it does a great job, is easy to use, and is fairly sturdy. However, we used to have a Canon SD400, but we wanted a waterproof camera. This W30 is a good camera, but I think we were spoiled with the picture/lens-quality of the Canon.

Good: Water/Dust proof with not much fuss. It just works! Easy to use. Compatible with new SDHC cards (my current card is 8GB!!!). But 16GB and 32GB are on the way. This allows a HUGE number of photos and video to be recorded on ONE CARD. Just make sure to keep spare batteries. One battery will 'roughly' last about 1 hour of video and a 100-200 photos (some with/without flash).

There are no external moving parts (such as lens extension)to get trapped with dust/water, since the lens 'extension' is internal.

The menu/capture-speed is good, but not 'quite' as fast as Canon's Digic II cameras (like SD400, or later).

USB connection is a standard USB mass-storage device, so it should work on Windows, Mac, or Linux with no problems (thank goodness).

Also, this camera seems to be pretty durable/tough. I dropped it several times on CEMENT/concrete, and it got a few cosmetic scratches on the case, but all operations and the lens were fine. But I might put a plastic screen protector on the 2.5" screen to prevent scratches. Another recommendation is to get a silicon skin for pool/underwater use (to prevent case scratches from the pool/rocks), or a neoprene case to keep the lens intact while traveling (since there is NO LENS COVER).

Bad: Video uses Quicktime-MOV files, which is good (potentially), but it's a bit grainy, and the compression is not great. But I can fit a 'rough estimate' of maybe 2-3+ hours of video on an 8GB card.

Ugly: Lots of grain/noise in low-light or even some normal daylight photos. You can workaround this by manually changing the ISO speed to 64, 100, or 200 to reduce noise, but then you may get some blurry shots (due to camera/object motion).

OVERALL: If you don't need a waterproof camera, get a Canon SD-series (they're EXCELLENT). But if you need/want something more 'safe', get this camera. It's easily the best water/dust-proof camera on the market.

While initially impressed with the camera, my enthusiasm waned when I took it snorkeling. 20 minutes later the camera was rendered inoperable as water had entered the battery compartment. I contacted Amazon who - to their credit - sent me a replacement camera immediately at no charge. Sadly the camera suffered the same fate as the first - except this time water found its way into the screen within the first minute of submersion. I again contacted Amazon who informed that
"As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread than
we originally thought, we are not able to send another replacement.
We will gladly refund you in full for the return of this item.
please return the set." Fair enough. I then placed an order for the SeaLife ECOshot SL321

So, excellent customer service from Amazon, dissapointing product from Pentax.

I bought the W20 early this year for a month we spent in Hawaii. It was a great camera. Long story short, I lost it in the ocean. I just picked up a W30 while on business in Hong Kong. It is much faster than the w20. I haven't taken it underwater yet but the image stabilization works well and did I mention it powers up amazingly fast. Great product.

i consider myself a reasonably good prosumer digital photographer. bought a pentax w30 off ebay. paid with paypal. took it underwater in thigh deep water--camera was submerged at about 6-8 inches or so. the camera filled up with water and stopped working after a couple of clicks.

like several other consumers, very disappointed. contacted seller who told me contact pentax. have done so with no response from pentax. have also have disputed payment with paypal and intend to pursue this in a small claims court if necessary. but really, what a disappointment!

others with a similar experience, please contact me directly and may be we can pursue pentax to do something about it together. i am at sarosh_khan at ksg08 dot harvard dot edu.

to all those who are interested in a waterproof camera, go with the olympus stylus 770 sw Olympus Stylus 770 SW 7.1 Megapixel Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom + Olympus M-2GB High Capacity xD-Picture Card + Olympus xD-Picture Card Reader/Writer + Spare Li-40B Battery + Digital Camera Case. i got mine from ritz camera with their extended service plan which covers water damage as well. free shipping and no sales tax makes the price competitive.

unlike the pentax, so far its working out very well. again, what a disappointment the pentax turned out to be!

I bought this camera because I thought it would be an upgrade from the fabulous Pentax W20 waterproof camera. Rather this camera takes very poor, pixellated photos, no matter what the setting is on. I almost feel like I got a lemon. I have reset the settings, read the manual front to back and called Pentax customer care (who don't give a crap!) This camera is as good as garbage. If you need a good camera, then get the Pentax W20 which is truly the more superior of the 2.