Pentax Optio E60 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

We have owned (and still own) two other Pentax compact cameras: an Optio 60 and an Optio M20. We have fallen in love with the simplicity of the menus, the quality of the photos, and the incredible battery life of the E60. This camera is so intelligent and quick that it is simply amazing. Even low light pictures, macros, and photos of fast objects come out looking spectacular. This camera offers performance which you would have paid $300+ for only a year or two ago. The small size means it fits in shirt pockets or pants pockets easily. We don't even keep track of battery life because basic rechargeable AA batteries last a very long time in this camera. We are so thrilled with the Optio E60 and we can see this coming along on every vacation, to every party, and to every special event where a bulky camera is not needed.

I have a Pentax DSLR but was looking for an affordable compact digital. This one fits the bill. At 10MP it captures high quality images at an affordable price. It is a bit limited in its ability to allow manual adjustments but that is expected at this price point. It does have quite a few shooting modes that do a pretty good job. It drains my rechargeable AAs quicker than I would like but it is good to know that I can get batteries easily if I am ever in a jam. Overall it is a great, small-sized point and shoot.

Buy Pentax Optio E60 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Now

I'm a simple girl. I don't read instructions. Don't know jack about cameras. I bought this Pentax Optio E60, slapped in two rechargable AA batteries, put on the strap, carried some spare alkalines and took on vacation.

Camera took great shots of my airplane...even zoom. I just pointed and shot. Got great photos between palm trees. I let auto focus do the trick.

After 50 pictures and four days I have two out of three bars left on the rechargeable batteries. I turned the camera on only for brief periods ten times.

For close up shots for this review (see pics if I can upload) I did play with the easy menu and tried flower/macro mode. I make jewelry so I wanted clear close up focus ability too.

This small camera does exactly what I want.

Transfer: I tried the camera Pc interface, nothing happened so I popped out the sdhc transcend card (which I bought for under ten bucks with reader) slid it into the card reader and easily had my pictures. The camera sorted the pictures into file folders by date.

You have date options on the camera. It does have facial function if people are in the photos. Has a few more features.

This is the LOW end of the camera line. The zoom retracts so this is a very small camera. Yet the buttons are placed so they are easy to see and use. The camera layout is great use of space. LCD screen is huge.

Buttons easy to get to and to individually select and use.

Camera feels solid.

NOTE: I would NOT EVEN think of putting it into a purse without a cover. The camera lens has a cover but not the huge lcd.

It does take sd HC cards. It uses AA batteries or rechargeables. NOTE: A few have noted high battery consumption. Maybe it uses batteries up if you watch each picture, and play with menus a lot.

Conclusion: I have had it one week and I'm very happy for a novice....that just wants zoom, close up and point and shoot.

I bought this because:

It does NOT have a proprietary lithium battery like the Sony Cybershot It does NOT use proprietary Sony memory Pro sticks.

I want just want to point and shoot and not spend much money (I'm cheap).

I wanted to use AA rechargeable batteries and SD HC card and easily transfer pictures without special software /hardware.

This is a more expensive higher capacity version of the transcend sd hc card and reader I bought.

Transcend 16 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card with Card Reader TS16GSDHC6-S5W

Read Best Reviews of Pentax Optio E60 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Here

FIRST I WILL TALK ABOUT MY FIRST PURCHASE-THE OLYMPUS FE-25 10MP CAMERA:

I purchased this camera off e-bay factory-refurbished. I love the look of this Olympus camera-very sleek and sophisticated. But it was all show and not go. I was told by the company that this camera recorded sound in movie mode. I didn't see any speakers on this camera. Just know this beforehand. This one issue was not a deal breaker for me because I mainly bought the camera for taking pics. The main issue for me was looking at the LCD screen. The images looked slightly grainy/fuzzy for a 10mp camera. Also, I took this camera into the store and compared it to other 10mp cameras (Canon, Nikon, Kodak, Fujifilm, and other Olympus fes) and noticed a yellow/dull tint in the LCD screen in comparison. Imagine looking at the world with slightly colored amber glasses. That's what this LCD screen was like! But I am not electronics savvy, so I waited until I could print the shots to see the print quality. The pictures printed slighty fuzzy-not the quality I would expect from a 10mp camera. I contacted the warranty department and they questioned whether I had it at a high enough ISO or whether I had set it to the right mode. But high ISO settings didn't change this. The customer service was sluggish to switch the camera but offered to look at it and repair it if need be. But I decided on another camera. I thought that problems with this camera was because it was a refurb, until I read other reviews that a blurriness was a problem with this camera. A few people have reviewed the Fe-25 as taking good pictures. I don't know which is true, I just know what happened with my camera, but I will stress that it was a REFURB.

NOW FOR THE PENTAX OPTIO E60:

I ended up looking at the Pentax Optio E60. It is 10mp with a clear sharp LCD screen and when I uploaded pics onto my PC they were so clear compared to the Olympuse FE-25. My final choice was between this one and the Nikon L18. I even liked the look, feel, and performance of the Pentax. One plus about the Nikon was that the LCD screen (3 inch) is really large compared to the Pentax (2.4 inch) and I liked that feature, but I can see just fine with the Pentax and I can be confident that I will get a quality picture! The Olympus Fe-25 camera ate my batteries up after the first 50 pictures! The Pentax will last through about 150-200 pictures; and 3X that with two AA lithium batteries. Don't be fooled by the marketing or big names; because they may represent both great and also mediocre performers. I was not as familiar with the Pentax products or their history when I bought this camera; but if you are looking for quality pictures and features that are easy to use this is definately the way to go!

Want Pentax Optio E60 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Discount?

This camera takes great photos even in less-than-optimal conditions and it's very simple to use. Easy menus allow you to make manual adjustments or the automaic setting will take care of everything for you. We love it!