Pentax Optio Z10 8MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Zoom

I am about to travel around the world and want an alternative to my Pentax K10D, particularly when wishing to be unobtrusive in third-world countries. First, I spent some time with the Panasonic LX2 -same camera as the Leica at less than half the price -which has some unique features and seems to be a terrific camera. BUT it won't go into a shirt pocket because the marvelous Leica lens protrudes. At a hefty (!) 7.8 oz, it weighs 56% more than the Optio Z10's 5 oz. The Optio is so small that there is nothing to hold onto. The Panasonic is better in that respect, but significantly bulkier.

I had just about decided to send both cameras back when I realized that I hadn't even looked at the few pix I had taken with the Optio. So I duly transferred them to my Mac and was absolutely astonished by the results. For reasons I don't understand, the Optio seems to handle subtle shades in the sky and clouds better than the K10.

The bottom line: The Optio produces razor-sharp pictures, even when using the 7x zoom hand-held at a slow shutter speed. Given some of the negative comments in these pages, I really didn't expect that. The design of the camera is superb. I only wish there were some semblance of a grip to hold onto.

This is a great camera. You can use the Auto but I prefer to use the Green mode where you can set the settings as in my SRT 101 35MM camera. I took a outdoor shot of a veined flower, about 8 inches away. It came out extremely detailed, and trust me I'm pickey. I then used the stitch mode where you can create a 'Digital wide angle' it also worked great. The feature of the lens that uses a refraction mirror to go from wide angle to close is great as you never get the lens protruding from the camera. The features in this camera are plentiful and you can use them to get really fantastic pictures. Read up on this camera and compare for yourself, you'll love it.

Buy Pentax Optio Z10 8MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Zoom Now

I bought this camera because of its huge optical zoom, 8 MP, new mirror optics and because it is Pentax. And this camera is absolutely great! The pictures are very juicy in color and clear! Nothing moves when you zoom only mirrors inside the camera! It's true that the camera marks easily, but it can be easily cleaned! The Menu is very easy to read, with helping tips about each mode of shooting a great plus for me since I don't like to read the manual. However there was one thing that frightened me and I did read the manual if you press several times Ok-button histogram will appear and if you want to shoot something that has spots which are very dark and very light they will appear as yellow and red spots on the LCD display! In the beginning that made me think the LCD or camera itself is damaged. But it's actually the way it's supposed to work!!! And now I think this is very useful tool! O! btw, to turn the camera on you should move the plastic piece that covers lenses on front tricky to understand but easy to do!

So I'm completely satisfied with this purchase. That's why I give this camera 5 stars. A great camera in style!!!

Read Best Reviews of Pentax Optio Z10 8MP Digital Camera with 7x Optical Zoom Here

This camera has speed settings from ISO 64 to 3200. Of these, only 64 and 100 are acceptable. In bright scenes you will get a picture with good detail and color and a small amount of noise. Even at these low settings, a slightly magnified image will show noise as a speckling in the image. I made a mistake buying this camera somehow misunderstanding its characteristics before I bought it. If you do not believe me, then read the professional reviews, such as at

The good It's compact, has a 7x optical zoom, has a nice screen, easy to use controls, and takes adequate movies.

The bad It takes low quality noisy pictures, it has no image stabilization. Pentax claims it has image stabilization, but what they really do is increase the ISO level, reduce the exposure time, and greatly increase the noise level. You will get this effect whenever you take zoom pictures, except in the brightest of sunlight.

My recommendation: Do not buy this camera! If you want a small high zoom camera that takes good movies, but has better noise characteristics, look at the very similar looking Casio with real image stabilization. Pentax certainly could do better.

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I have several Pentax cameras (digital and 35mm) and I find that they are truly built to last and are as user friendly as they possibly can be. This camera is my quickie pocket camera and has proven itself worthy of the Pentax name. The buttons are simple, intuitive and easy to read for any digital camera this size. The zoom is awesome, but I usually don't go past the 7x optical because the digital zoom is like most digital zooms, grainy. It isn't the fastest between shots, but it's usually fast enough even for sports, kids and pet action. It shoots nice little videos with decent sounds quality too. I have dropped this camera several times on hard surfaces, used it in rain and snow, and even dropped it in some water once and it still works great. The LCD viewer is like all LCDs in the sun, a little hard to see, but I find that the photos always turn out better back home than they looked on the LCD. Bottom line, for $200, this is a great, great camera. I wouldn't have been upset paying $300 for it.