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 enlarge | Brand: Pentax
Category: Photography
List Price: $299.95
Buy New: $220.90
You Save: $79.05 (26%)
New (43) Used (1)
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 136
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 5
Display Size: 2.5
Maximum Focal Length: 25
Minimum Focal Length: 5
Maximum Resolution: 10
Has Red Eye Reduction: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 3.9 x 2.2 x 1
MPN: B0019V2CR8
Model: B0019V2CR8
UPC: 027075125261
EAN: 0027075125261
ASIN: B0019V2CW8
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
 Sent it back because the video was noisy August 25, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Lets start by saying that I loved my old Pentax Optio WP. I made the mistake of going into the water with the a little sand in the battery door causing some water damage. I bought this on to replace the WP. It actually takes really good photos. My problem is when shooting video, you can hear the lens focusing the entire time the video clip gets played back. I sent an email to Pentax but received no response. So I sent it back to Amazon. Their return policy is great and I've already gotten my refund.
Great "Fun" Camera August 16, 2008
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
UPDATE: This review was updated on 9/1/08 to reflect the announcement of the Olympus 1050SW.
I am a self confessed camera freak. I have owned the Pentax WPi, W10, W30, and now, the W60. My other primary cameras are the Canon SD 870 (with waterproof housing for diving) and a Canon SLR system with L series lenses, etc. I live in Hawaii and I travel for a living and I can say that without a doubt, the Pentax W series of cameras have been my "go to" cameras for any activities that involve water, snow, sand, or dirt. They take A LOT of abuse even if they don't advertise that fact like Olympus. For optical quality in a "friendly" environment when I don't want to lug my SLR, I prefer my Canon SD 870 which has noticeably better optics.
Like many people who somehow trashed their previous W series camera, I have been waiting over a year for the W30 upgrade and I can report that all in all, the W60 is a worthy upgrade to the W30 if only for the 28mm lens. In addition, it's lighter, the screen is brighter, and it's got a couple of useful software upgrades. I've been using the camera for a month now.
Make no mistake, this is a "fun" outdoors camera. If you're not going to take your camera in the water, to the beach, or mountain biking stop reading now and find a camera with better optics. The W60 is just o.k. and certainly no worse than the W30. As for the barrel distortion at 28mm, it's probably just slightly worse than my Canon SD 870 which means that the distortion is there and is noticeable, but for a group shot at the beach or trying to get the full length of a kayak AND an isle in the background, I'll live with the ever so slight distortion. You can always just click the lens down to 37mm and eliminate the distortion just like any other compact.
I'll also confess that I'm a Mac user and therefore don't know how to read manuals. Because of this, I find the "smile detect" and "blink detect' features amazingly annoying although they seem to work as long as your subjects are not wearing sunglasses. Fortunately, for illiterate and/or lazy idiots such as myself, you can ignore most features and easily find the important ones like underwater white balance.
Here's what I like and dislike about this particular model.
LIKES
1) Nothing beats not worrying about sand, water, dirt, or mud. I had the Olympus 1030SW for two days before sand screwed up the retractable lens cover (great idea, poor execution which has been addressed on the recently announced 1050SW). Also, if you let your kids take photos like I do, you can worry less about camera damage when one of them inevitably throws your camera at the other one or tries to hit them over the head with it in the pool.
2) 28mm lens. Wide angle (vs. the typical 38mm) is an option I'd rather have than not. Also, there is a crazy "wide" feature that's a bit different than panoramic stitch that actually works pretty well. In a nutshell, two portrait shots are stitched in camera into a 5MP 21mm image. It's by no means "publishable" quality, but I've actually been having quite a bit of fun with it.
DISLIKES
1) HD movie clips. I was very disappointed that the 720p movie clips are only 15 fps. My old Canon S80 had the same specs and I find the jerkiness at 15 fps too distracting. The initial press release (specs since updated) didn't disclose this. Oh well. I'd still buy it. 640 movie clips at 30 fps are as clean as expected and the shake reduction works fairly well (but reduces the frame to something less than 28mm). Also, a note on reviewers who complain about sound recorded from the focusing drive, switch to infinity focus which works fine in 90% of all situations and that annoying sound will be eliminated).
2) Noticeable barrel distortion at 28mm. Like I said earlier, better to have the option available and zoom in when able. Even at 28mm, your shot won't be ruined. Also, if you have a mother-in-law you can cleverly position her at the end of the frame and the distortion will make her look slightly thinner (in case she accuses your SLR of making her look fat).
3) Still no travel charger included or officially available (which I find inexcusable) although inelegant third party solutions exist online (and the multi battery use ones still work even though they've changed the battery model).
4) No external user replaceable lens protecter. Come on Pentax engineers. How hard would it be to design an exterior casing that allowed for a user replaceable transparent protective "filter" like an SLR. There's a reason I've bought four models. I trash them.
Now for the important feature: Underwater Imaging
If you want a camera for scuba diving stop reading now and go buy yourself a Canon with any of their factory built cases. This is not a diving camera.
If you want a camera for snorkeling, kayaking, surfing, or kiteboarding; or if you plan to take your camera to the beach; or if you like hiking in the rain or mountain biking, you will be stoked with this camera. (Previous W series models I owned worked fine in the snow and cold whereas my compact Canons sometimes freeze) The Olympus 1030SW is a close second for me for the following reasons. 1) I like the rectangle form factor of the Pentax a tad more; 2) I find SD cards more convenient than XD cards (plus I own a bunch and my computer has a slot for them); 3) a personal bad experience with the 1030SW retractable lens cover; 4) movies on the Olympus models are capped at 10 seconds (vs. the size of your memory card on the Pentax - 30 minutes on my 4GB card); and 5) the Pentax is noticeably lighter (but does not feel cheap). I think there's also some merit to the fact that this is Pentax's sixth generation of W series cameras. They've learned a lot. Also, I should mention that I used to use a Sony compact with a waterproof "Sport" case and besides making the whole camera "fat", the picture quality suffered greatly.
UPDATE regarding the new Olympus 1050SW: While i have not used this camera (to be released on 10/31/08) from the specs and photos I can see that they have addressed the retractable lens cover issue with a Sony style system however they have increased the focal length to 38mm (equivalent). I'd still prefer a 28mm. Also, 640 movies are still inexplicably capped at 10 seconds vs. the size of you memory card for the Pentax models.
Underwater videos of kids in the pool rock (set focus to infinity in the Settings menu to avoid mechanical noise). Videos of them surfing are priceless (buy yourself a neckstrap). Being able to wash your camera off at the end of the day is amazing. It's also kind of fun to drop it in a mug of beer at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich and freak your friends out.
I highly recommend the Pentax W60 for anyone that has an outdoor lifestyle and likes to record memories. It's a great secondary camera when paired with something a bit more serious like an SLR. It is not the best camera for going out for a night on the town and it's not the best camera if you're going on the vacation of a lifetime that doesn't involve a lot of water or dirt. Have fun!
 Exactly what I was looking for August 7, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I'm very impressed with this little camera!
I was in need for a camera that was small enough I could take it with me without a camera bag and all the hoopla. I was finding more & more often I would leave my camera at home because it was such a project to lug it around with me, so I needed something small. Since I'm into camping, hiking & kayaking I also wanted a camera that could withstand my adventures.
I've had the Pentax W60 for a few days now and I'm quite impressed. The macro feature is amazingly simple to use and takes great images. This camera doesn't have all the same features of my "bigger" camera, but it has all the ones that I actually use. So its definitely the right fit.
I haven't taken it in the water yet, but it looks pretty solid. The battery, SD card & USB port are all under one sliding door that automatically locks shut. The controls are ridiculously easy to figure out, and common controls aren't buried in the "menu".
I thought the blue case was pretty but I bought the silver case cause I figured if I drop it in the lake, I'd be able to see it to fish it out.
 Bad Choice For Anything August 2, 2008
13 out of 18 found this review helpful
Bought this camera for its underwater capability. It claims it can go down to 13 feet, however the fine print in the manual cautions the user about all sorts of dangers. It states that you should not use it in any kind of current, near any waterfall, you should not jump into the water with it and you should not swim with it in your hand otherwise water will be forced into the battery compartment. If you can't swim with it then how can you snorkle with it? The plastic body feels cheap and if you don't make sure your left index isn't near the flash in the upper corner you will see abberations whenever you use the flash. The digital shake reduction is simply increasing the ISO to reduce the shaking. However, at an ISO of 6400 the noise is the worst I have ever seen! In fact, every photo I took was VERY grainy. I can only say two positive things about this camera: (1) The built in red eye removal of photos which you have already taken seemed to work pretty well and (2) the 28 mm wide angle was kinda neat. However, this camera is a bad choice overall. I returned it shortly after recieving it because it was so bad.
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