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Pentax Optio W80 12.1 MP, Waterproof Digital Camera, with Float Strap & 2GB SD Card - Adorama Exclusive Color; Black with Gold Finish |  | Manufacturer: Pentax
Category: Photography
Buy New: $549.99
as of 8/1/2010 01:41 CDT details
Seller: Action Packaged, Inc.
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 39572
Media: Electronics
MPN: KB17791A
ASIN: B002TTOREK
Availability: Usually ships in 1-3 weeks
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| Features:
| • | Internal Optical Zoom: 5X internal optical zoom in a slim 1 inch body is equivalent to 28-140mm. | | • | Range: 12.1 Megapixels for detailed images that can be printed in large sizes. | | • | Wide angle lens: | | • | Features anti-reflective coating, making it easy to view, even in bright sunlight. | | • | Waterproof design |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Pentax Optio W80 12.1 MP, Waterproof Digital Camera, with Float Strap & 2GB SD Card - Adorama Exclusive Color; Black with Gold Finish: Internal Optical Zoom: 5X internal optical zoom in a slim 1 inch body is equivalent to 28-140mm. Range: 12.1 Megapixels for detailed images that can be printed in large sizes. Wide angle lens: Features anti-reflective coating, making it easy to view, even in bright sunlight. Waterproof design.
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| Customer Reviews:
 What A Disaster June 30, 2010
G. Denels
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased the W80 just before taking a trip to the Galapagos Islands. The camera seemed a good compromise between the cheap Kodak disposable underwater cameras and the more expensive models being offered by Canon. On the second day of snorkeling the camera leaked water and, of course, ceased to operate. What a disappointment. I was on a wonderful vacation and my hopes of taking some nice underwater pictures were ruined. Upon returning to the USA I contacted Pentax and returned the camera to them. They said they would examine the camera and probably give me a new camera. Well I got the camera back last week and the camera took pictures, but they were purple! I called Pentax again and they apologized, BUT they explained that since the camera is modular they can fix it by just replacing the "boards". At this point I asked them for a refund. They said they couldn't do that, but would try to repair the camera again.
Frankly the camera is a piece of junk. I wanted it only for it's underwater capabilities. The quality of its "dry land" photos are only fair, not sharp at all. Do not buy this camera!
 love this portable convenient camera May 31, 2010
L. Hall
This is the best buy for the bucks...only thing is you have to keep an eye on the battery life maybe keep a backup if you plan on traveling with it. The video is awesome and easy to transfer! All in all I love the camera!!
Decently great April 20, 2010
Coy
It does have problems in low light settings, a lot of noise shows up in the images. It takes pretty good pictures, it's tough and durable, which is what I was looking for. I like that it is a bright color, so I can find it if I drop it out in the woods. I haven't tried it in the water yet.
Excellent choice for the intended purpose March 13, 2010
Chicago John (Elburn, IL United States)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
After much concern over disparaging reviews citing unacceptable noise levels even at low ISO, as a life-long Pentax customer I decided to take a calculated risk, listening more to the positive reviews. This camera is inarguably durable and waterproof, and it has some very cool features such as great macro capability and time-lapse photography as well as motion video and 5X optical zoom. It goes where I wouldn't want to take my DSLR's -- that is the main point -- and that will be almost exclusively outdoors in full daylight albeit sometimes in inclement conditions. The question then becomes, "Is this camera capable of delivering acceptable image quality under the conditions of use and for the intended purpose?"
The answer to that question is "Yes.", even "Hell, yes!".
If you want to look at a 100% crop of a 4000 X 3000 pixel image, yes, you will see noise and even at ISO 100. But I don't intend to print posters with these images. I will be resizing them for display on the internet, my computer, and digital picture frames. Moreover, in the unlikely event I need to radically crop an image, I've found that my digital image editing software's noise reduction function does a great job of eliminating the noise. Ya, it's an extra step, but so what if you wouldn't have been able to capture the image in the first instance???
While some have decided to focus on the negatives, the unique niche this camera fills for me greatly overshadows the compromises the design entails. And by the way, I like the yellow accent color on this particular model too !
So there, naysayers ! :-P For me, this camera is perfekt.
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Further clarificaton on the noise "issue". Some of the photography blog image comparisons are not really apples-to-apples: I've seen a higher percentage of high ISO shots for the W80 than the Canon and Olympus alternatives (at twice the price), but when you make a direct comparison of 100% crops at equivalent ISO, I'd rate Pentax in between Canon and Olympus. In any case, bottom line: This camera is not a DSLR. With any smaller CCD and high pixel density, noise is inevitable; it is a matter of degree. If you don't want to deal with noise, buy a DSLR.
But, if you check for noise reduction software ("noiseware", to coin a phrase) online, you will find several offerings that do an incredible job, some with free versions for non-batch processing, and an inexpensive price for large batch, automatic processing. Using the automatic mode with a "noiseware" program, I've had amazing results without significant loss of sharpness from my W80 images, even at higher ISO levels. I just routinely batch-process everything I shoot with this camera, and end up with images that are far superior to any other as-captured compact images I've seen on-line.
In summary, although noise is the most prominent objection to this design in virtually every review, you can address that perfectly well, in my amateur opinion, via a software solution and take advantage, thereby, of the many other advantages this camera offers in comparison with its competitors, including its lower price. So that is my 3 cents worth.
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