Optio X: A Look at Pentax's Ultra Thin 5MP Digicam

Final Words

The Pentax Optio X is certainly an interesting camera. It has a stylish black and silver body that is twistable and packs in a great amount of features. The camera is capable of taking large 5 megapixel images and offers 15 recording modes from which to choose. It even has advanced functions such as manual white balance and several types of bracketing. In addition, it offers a movie and voice memo mode. Indeed, the camera proved to be a good performer in some of our tests. For example, when sounds are disabled, it starts up in a respectable 3.37 seconds and has decent write times as well. Under tungsten light, the Auto WB system performed a bit better than what we are used to seeing. Also, the colors were extremely accurate in our Auto WB daylight samples. The Optio X can expose night images for up to 4 seconds with good low-noise results. Unfortunately, that is about as far as the positive remarks go.

From a resolution standpoint, the Optio X is below average compared to other ultra-compact 5 megapixel cameras that we have tested. Throughout several of our outdoor samples, we found jaggies even at the highest quality setting. In addition, occasionally we saw some notable blurring at the edges and/or corners of the frames. Given the small sensor size of this camera, we weren't expecting a large dynamic range. However, it is important to mention that we discovered clipped shadows and highlights in some of our samples. In our shutter lag test, the Optio X took nearly a full second (0.92 sec) to focus and take a picture, although the pre-focused lag time was average. In our battery test, the Optio X took significantly less pictures than comparable cameras that we have reviewed. With this camera, it will almost be a necessity to buy an extra battery for any kind of extensive photo outing. Finally, we were very unimpressed with the movie functionality of the Optio X. Offering a resolution of only 320x240 at 15 fps, we certainly expect more from a camera as new as this. To make things worse, there is an audio lag in the movie clips. In the end, this camera falls a bit short of being really good. For someone who doesn't plan on printing over 8"x10", the image quality issues might not be a problem. However, considering all the downfalls and a price tag of $300+, it might be a better idea to consider other cameras.

Pros	Cons
- Fast startup time - Decent write times - Decent Auto WB in tungsten light - Even outdoor exposures with accurate colors - Night mode produces nice low noise images - Ultra-compact twistable metal body	- Below average resolution - Mild jaggies - Slight blurring at edges/corners - Relatively slow shutter lag - Below average battery life - Audio lag in movie mode - Mediocre movie mode (320x240, 15fps) - No optical viewfinder

Thanks again to Newegg.com for loaning us the Pentax Optio X for review.