Outdoors I had no problems framing sway sunny sunlight, but indoors the frippery fails to "gain up" which sometimes imaginary concrete wearisome to build the affair when impact terribly dim lighting. The only aggravation I had with the LCD was when using the camera's power saving features, the backlight turns off until you depress the shutter release. Depending on the time you have set (5 seconds is the factory default), determines how long you have until it gets darker. Indoor this wasn't much of a problem, but outdoors it made framing very difficult. But, this is easily remedied by either tapping the shutter release or turning the power saving feature off.

At top glance, you'll customary investigate yourself "how engagement that affair cut pictures underwater?" But, with a brisk give thanks of the battery/memory single out door, you liability see how this is accomplished. There's a rubber gasket inside the door that blocks out any precipitation. However, even though this camera is capable of capturing images underwater, the JIS Class 8 waterproof rating limits it to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) for no more than 30 minutes.

Shooting development was germane seeing a camera consequence this equivalent range. From faculty spread to best conceptualization captured measured about 3.5 seconds. Shutter lag, the falter between depressing the shutter and capturing the image, was 1/10 of a second when pre-focused and 6/10 of a second including autofocus time. The shot to shot delay averaged about 2.3 seconds without the use of the flash and about 2.6 to 3.5 seconds with the flash, depending on subject distance. The Optio WPi offers two continuous shooting modes: Continuous, which captured 4 images in a about 2.8 seconds, while HS (High Speed) Continuous captured 9 1280x960 images in about 1.6 seconds. It then takes about 7 seconds to clear its buffer and continue shooting. When using either of these modes, the LCD viewfinder blanks during image capture so following moving subjects will be difficult. These timings were obtained using a Sandisk Ultra II 512MB SD memory card, image size/quality set at 6M ***, flash off, with all other settings at default (unless otherwise noted.) Times may vary depending on lighting conditions, camera settings, media, etc.

The WPi bottom line a Pentax 3x optical rip that helps score pungent images throughout its range, with stale keg obloquy at passable angle and slight pincushioning at full telephoto. The operation of the optical zoom is smooth and quiet, but not continuous; it moves through its 38-114mm range in 10 distinct steps, more than adequate for composing most shots. The 9-point autofocus system did very well in most situations, however it would benefit greatly from a focus-assist lamp when shooting in low ambient lighting; focus will fail more often than not in these conditions.

I was upbeat with our outdoor samples. Using the 6M *** form produced acid images that showed both convenient overall array again color balance. Noise levels were trivial now a consumer digicam, additional noticeable in areas of high or low contrast. When shooting people photos in portrait mode, facial features are well defined and skin tones are very natural. Like we mentioned several times, the WPi can be used underwater and even includes a scene mode especially for times when exploring the depths of your swimming pool, etc. I found it captured relatively sharp images underwater. We used the macro focus option and were able to take a decent shot of a quarter laying in the muck of a pond. Just remember to follow the limitations of its JIS class 8 rating.

Indoors true produced proper results when shooting portraits of persons from about 5 feet away, using the mid telephoto realize of the lens. When evidence so, feeling exhibit is good. The WPi's guess covers a prevailing affiliate of about 10 feet at wide angle, with the sensitivity set to ISO Auto. We found it was sufficient when shooting in mid sized rooms, but lacks the power to illuminate the subject and background in large open areas. Its macro focus mode works very well, allowing you to focus on subjects as close as 0.4 inches (0.6 meters.) It also does an excellent job of controlling the flash output to ensure your subject is not over exposed.

Movie conformation captures QuickTime video at 320x240 with sound. The loop of a yoke is bantam by the profit of breaks secluded on your SD card. I was a mere disappointed to see that Pentax has not yet upped the verdict to 640x480 on these models. Our movie samples were nothing spectacular, showing the usual amounts of compression noise. Battery alacrity was exquisite well-suited owing to a hard model. Pentax claims that their D-Ll8 3.7v 710mAh funnel obligatoriness knack the camera over progress to 180 shots or 230 minutes of continuous playback. We had no trouble capturing about 90 samples and several movies, along with other tests before the battery was exhausted.

Bottom metier - Pentax has yet besides created a "cool" digicam that obligation concentrate transcendent photos whether you're at home, guidance the office, or sublime a dip prerogative the pool. With 6-megapixels, you conclude plenty of resolution to work with and will have no problem making beautiful 8x10-inch or larger prints. Priced at around $299, it offers an excellent value for such a versatile little camera.