Pentax Optio Z10 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: The Pentax Optio Z10 features a Pentax-branded 7x optical zoom lens, the highest magnification among current Pentax compact digital cameras. Designed with a refraction lens system, the lens never protrudes from the camera while zooming. The Pentax Z10 ...

Pros: Small, light ; 15 shooting modes ; Nice sliding lens cover ; Face recognition ; Long telephoto zoom for a small camera ; Good sharpness at wide angle and tele ; Easy menu navigation ; Good printed results

Cons: Somewhat thick ; Cramped controls on back ; Slick and hard to hold ; Collects fingerprints ; Color hue is shifted ; High pincushion distortion at telephoto ; Digital Shake Reduction really isn't ; Small, low power flash ; Auto flash boosts ISO to 800 ...

Verdict: Power for the Pentax Z10 comes from a proprietary lithium-ion rechargeable battery or optional AC adapter, and the camera stores images on SD/SDHC cards or 52MB of built-in memory. There's also USB 2.0 High-Speed computer connectivity and NTSC / PAL ...

Review summary: This pocketable 8-megapixel compact offers a 7x optical zoom lens and respectable high-ISO performance.

Review summary: With 8.0 effective megapixels and a high performance PENTAX lens, the Optio Z10 delivers high resolution photos. While compatible with SD memory cards and SDHC memory cards, the Optio Z10 also offers a generous 52 MB of built-in-memory. With such a ...

Verdict: The Optio Z10 is equipped with a Face Recognition AF&AE function* that automatically adjusts the focus and sets the exposure so users may capture photos of people easily. In addition, this function can detect the faces of up to 15 people at once, and ...

Review summary: This is a camera that's aimed at the casual snapper

Pros: Solid build ; Easy to use

Cons: A bit bulky for a compact ; Poor image quality ; Flawed autofocus

Verdict: The Pentax engineers have produced a minor miracle in packing a 7x zoom into a pocket-sized body and what makes it more impressive is that it's a non-protruding type and silent in operation. It's not the smoothest zoom as it moves through the ...

Review summary: The Pentax Optio Z10 is penalized by too many defects (autofocus, noise control, lens quality, no stabilization) for us to recommend it. We prefer the Ricoh R7 which has a wide angle amongst other things.