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5 Comments on “Pentax Optio W90 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD”

1. Kristin D. Henry
   May 18th, 2010 at 8:47 am

   I read the reviews for the previous models of the Pentax, Lumix, Olympus waterproof cameras and most were mixed. I purchased this Pentax before taking a vacation in the Caribbean. I was very pleased with the performance and results of this camera. Now to be clear, it doesn’t replace my Nikon D40, but complements it. This Pentax camera simply allowed me to get pictures I would never have gotten with another camera. I took it to the beach, out in the water, snorkeling underwater. It performed well underwater and was great for pictures out of the water with very acceptable resolution.

   I had the camera immersed in saltwater, freshwater for extended periods of time. No signs of leaking. It is compact, durable. I like its functions, options etc. I was worried that it might work great underwater, but that I might have to compromise on normal pictures where I would have typically used another compact (non waterproof) but didn’t want to carry another compact camera with me. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the pictures under normal shooting conditions.

   I see a lot of use coming from this camera. Kayak trips, beach trips. just taking it places where I wouldn’t want to take my other cameras.

   I highly recommend this camera—but understand what you are getting, incredible flexibility with very good quality, but don’t expect it to perform like your digital SLR. But some of the pictures I got with this camera, I simply wouldn’t have gotten with my digital SLR because it wouldn’t have been with me!
   Rating: 5 / 5

2. Joseph M.
   May 18th, 2010 at 9:43 am

   I recently bought this camera for a trip to Hawaii. I knew it was a good camera when i got it, but it out performed by expectations.
   
   – The image quality is good, colors are well portrayed in the finished images.
   
   – It does have Interval shooting, which it didn’t say in the description but I find this option fun for time lapse.
   
   – The panoramic mode is also really nice. It stitches together three images as you take them. It has a kind of visual guide to help you line the pictures up. The finished product is very good.
   
   – I took this camera under water in the ocean. The pictures came out pretty good, but I didn’t take alot because the water was colder than I thought lol. After the ocean I followed the instructions to rinse the unit in a bowl of fresh water and it worked good. No leaks.
   
   – The camera itself is very rugged and stands up to alot of abuse.
   
   – I haven’t used the micro shooting function very much, but the shots I have done are very cool. The LEDs on the front of the camera work well, but again I didn’t use it that much.

   Over all this is an awesome camera. I am an amateur photographer, I usually shoot with my Canon 5D mark II. But for a light trip like this, the W90 worked perfect. I’m impressed with everything about it. It is a really fun camera and I highly recommend it, hence the 5 stars. Hope this helps.
   Rating: 5 / 5

3. Joshua Maitland
   May 18th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

   I have had this PS camera for about 2 weeks now. My intentions when purchasing the device was to get something waterproof enough for my kayak and on the boat and rugged enough to stand up to my almost 4 year old daughter. I looked at the competition and this device by far surpasses any expectation I was expecting. The image quality for a 12mp camera with a waterproof design is above average. I shoot Canon DSLR’s and Canon L Series glass so the bar was set high. I do not plan on using the images to be blown up but rather for prints no bigger than 8X10 and displaying on my site.

   The underwater features are awesome. I recently shot a 5 minute video with the camera at the bottom of a fellow angler’s live well while tarpon fishing. Image quality is great.

   I would reccomend a 16g or larger memory card if you are going to be shooting a lot of video with this device.

   Too many functions to list but if you purchase this for rugged outdoor wet use…. You will not be dissapointed.
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. saba
   May 18th, 2010 at 1:14 pm

   Pentax Optio W90 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)

   I am very impressed with the New Pentax Optio W90 after a week of use. I tried the Olympus Stylus Tough 8010, but found the build quality rather suspect despite the high specs. The front panel on the 8010 is flimsy, and I am amazed it is waterproof. It also has a high gloss finish which is going to get scratched quickly.

   The Pentax W90 on the other hand seems to be the only waterproof camera (vs D10, 8010, TMC-TS) that comes ruggedized out of the box. It feels better put together than the others, yet it is slightly smaller. The shape is like a chunky mobile phone, and feels very easy to hold, with the grippy rubber-like coating.

   I’m not a camera expert, so will leave the photo comparisons to better qualified, but from trying them all out, it was v.hard to distinguish between them. I was particularly interested in a camera that could take some knocks, simple to use and lightweight. I can see this camera stealing the show from the competition in the waterproof point-and-shoot category.
   Rating: 5 / 5

5. Ender Wiggin
   May 18th, 2010 at 1:55 pm

   I used this camera for a week and returned it to Amazon.

   The good.

   1. It is waterproof. Took to the pool and used it for an hour and it did great.
   
   2. Takes good video underwater.
   
   3. Panoramic mode and Digital Microscope mode are really cool and work well.
   
   4. Picture quality is pretty good.
   
   5. Colors are accurate
   
   6. Size and weight are great. Very easy to take everywhere.
   
   7. I think it looks great.
   
   8. Feels very solid and well made.

   The bad.

   1. The video quality is terrible. It is not HD video. It may be HD resolution but the video is so smeared and poor quality that it might as well be just standard def.
   
   2. Can’t zoom or focus while taking video. This was the deal breaker for me.
   
   3. No orientation sensor. This should just be standard on any new digicam.
   
   4. Automatic flash always uses red eye reduction. I wish autoflash would just use regular flash. This may not be a con for some people but to me it was annoying. I had to manually set to force flash to use regular flash.
   
   5. No image stabilization
   
   6. Video in HD mode is limited to 10 minutes regardless of flash memory size.

   EDIT:

   Because someone pointed out that this review could use some clarification.

   The underwater video quality is much better than its “out of water” video quality. I don’t expect much underwater and it met my expectations underwater. Out in the air, I expected crisp video that changes focus and you can zoom with. It is not crisp. It does not focus – whatever you have focused on at the start of the video is where the focus is stuck at for the remainder so if you’ve focused on something close to start and you pan away from it to something far away, that will be completely blurry. The reverse is also true. The only zoom that it has during video is digital zoom which makes an already poor picture worse.

   It does not have true image stabilization which means that it shifts either the lens elements or the sensor to stabilize the image. Pentax uses software to try to emulate this – they call it pixel track. Some other camera manufacturers boost the ISO and call that “anti-shake”. Both of these are misleading to the uninformed public. The difference between real image stabilization and these software methods is like the difference between real optical zoom and digital zoom.. both appear to do the same thing but only one truly does it.

   You can goto youtube and look for video samples taken both with the Pentax W90 and the Panasonic TS2. The difference is dramatic.

   I think if video is not important to you, this is a good camera. I think if video is important to you, this camera is subpar.
   Rating: 3 / 5