Pentax Optio W60 or Olympus 1030SW?

[lsayd]

Background - this camera will be for my 17 y.o. daughter who will be going to Costa Rica for 3 weeks in March - one week will be volunteering on the beach with tracking sea turtles. She is VERY hard on things - and will want pictures on the beach and in the water.

I've narrowed the search to these two models - does anyone have any input as to how they compare to each other, or where I can get that info? I've found reviews for them separately (hence the choice of the 1030SW instead of the 1050SW), but not against each other. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

This will give you specifications: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/com...ras=pentax_optiow60,oly_stylus1030sw&show=all

I believe there are some users around here, too.

 

[lsayd]

Thanks so much for the reply - exactly what I wanted! I think from this comparison I'm leaning toward the Pentax. Decisions, decisions...

 

[pyrxtc]

I am an avid Olympus user and was skeptical of the comparison. I started to read more about the pentax and it sounded really good until....

Min shutter Pentax -4 sec Olympus - 1/2 sec

Shutterspeed
By Vincent Bockaert

The shutterspeed determines how long the film or sensor is exposed to light. Normally this is achieved by a mechanical shutter between the lens and the film or sensor which opens and closes for a time period determined by the shutterspeed. For instance, a shutter speed of 1/125s will expose the sensor for 1/125th of a second. Electronic shutters act in a similar way by switching on the light sensitive photodiodes of the sensor for as long as is required by the shutterspeed. Some digital cameras feature both electronic and mechanical shutters.

Shutterspeeds are expressed in fractions of seconds, typically as (approximate) multiples of 1/2, so that each higher shutterspeed halves the exposure by halving the exposure time: 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s, 1/15s, 1/30s, 1/60s, 1/125s, 1/250s, 1/500s, 1/1000s, 1/2000s, 1/4000s, 1/8000s, etc. Long exposure shutterspeeds are expressed in seconds, e.g. 8s, 4s, 2s, 1s.

The optimal shutterspeed depends on the situation. A useful rule of thumb is to shoot with a shutterspeed above 1/(focal length) to avoid blurring due to camera shake. Below that speed a tripod or image stabilization is needed. If you want to "freeze" action, e.g. in sports photography, you will typically need shutterspeeds of 1/250s or more. But not all action shots need high shutterspeeds. For instance, keeping a moving car in the center of the viewfinder by panning your camera at the same speed of the car allows for lower shutterspeeds and has the benefit of creating a background with a motion blur.

I would not want a camera who's min shutter speed is 4 seconds. It doesn't sound right. The Olympus camera can take pictures faster and freeze action better than the Pentax can. So all of the quick fish and waves will be captured faster and clearer on the Olympus.

Max shutter Pentax - 1/1500 sec Olympus - 1/2000 sec

 

[Jeff Fillmore]

I have a Pentax W20 and W30- both took great pictures on vacations- in the pool- under water- and for work around dusty and muddy construction sites. Never had any problem with either of them. I dropped on of them in the river from my kayak and just swam down and got it- still works fine.

 

[Jeff Fillmore]

I would not want a camera who's min shutter speed is 4 seconds. It doesn't sound right. The Olympus camera can take pictures faster and freeze action better than the Pentax can. So all of the quick fish and waves will be captured faster and clearer on the Olympus.

Max shutter Pentax - 1/1500 sec Olympus - 1/2000 sec

BTW- Both cameras have fast shutter speeds capable of freezing action with no problem- 1/1500 sec vs. 1/2000 sec is negligible. However with the ISO ranges of 50-6400 ISO (Pentax) vs. 80-1600 ISO (Olympus) I would give the ability to freeze action in more conditions to the Pentax.

 

[lsayd]

Both have a shutter speed of up to 4 sec in Night Scene mode - otherwise it is 1/4 sec for the Pentax and 1/2 sec for the Olympus. According to the Olympus website the range for the 1030SW is 1/1000 sec - 1/2 sec (up to 4 sec. in Night Scene mode) and the W60 according to the Pentax website is 1/1500 sec - 1/4 sec (up to 4 sec. in Night Scene mode), so the W60 seems to have a bit of an edge on shutter speed (I finally just printed out the info from each website so I can do a complete comparison when I noticed the other comparison did not show either having stabilization of any sort and I knew I had read they did - although that comparison was a great place to start). I'm leaning toward the Pentax for lots of little reasons (such as the shutter speed, the self timer can be set at 2 sec or 10 sec, while the 1030SW is only at 12 sec), but mainly because it uses SD cards instead of xD cards. We already have extra SD cards around the house, so it would be one less thing to buy. I appreciate everyone's input, so please if there's anything else important to point out, please do!

 

[ukcatfan]

If the waterproof feature is only going to be put to use for one week, have you considered just buying about five waterproof disposables? I cannot imaging spending ~$300 for something that is only needed for one week.

 

[jfinke]

If the waterproof feature is only going to be put to use for one week, have you considered just buying about five waterproof disposables? I cannot imaging spending ~$300 for something that is only needed for one week.

We had a waterproof disposable for our last cruise as we were doing the America's Cup excursion. The pictures were pretty bad. I probably should do some post processing on the CD they gave us and reprint some of them.

Unfortunately, there is not a cheap usable waterproof camera casing for my wife's powershot. And that is doubly true for my XT.

 

[lsayd]

No, no... the prompt is the trip to Costa Rica, but she'll use it for other trips to the beach, snorkeling, in pools, etc. in the future. She's so hard on things, this type of camera will probably be our best bet. We also tried the disposable underwater cameras once and that prompted us to buy the underwater housing for my Canon S70 before we took our next trip to the Keys a few years ago. Right now Beach Camera has the W60 for around $225, not too bad for a camera I'm hoping she'll have for a few years at least.

 

[DizzyV6P]

Judging by the quality of my Olympus 790SW pictures when taking evening photos w/ the flash, go with the Pentax.

I can't seem to get a decent flash photo at night. Everything comes out grainy. I"ll post a sample later

 

[The Grays]

If the waterproof feature is only going to be put to use for one week, have you considered just buying about five waterproof disposables? I cannot imaging spending ~$300 for something that is only needed for one week.

The tough this these days with traveling with film cameras is the security. It is not so easy to have them hand inspect them. They will do it but they may an dhave given a hard time doing it.Most of the underwater disposables ahve high speed film in them and are more likely to get fogged.

 

[Suzann]

I have the Olympus and agree that the night shots are not good... I had a pentax 3 years ago and the night shots were *much* better! I would go with the Pentax!

 

[lsayd]

Well, I ordered the Pentax - the deciding factor really was the SD card over the xD card. She's a real point and shoot kid, the less fuss the better, so either camera would have worked for her (although the Pentax was rated a bit easier to use). I ended out ordering from Amazon, as they had a deal with a free 4 GB card for free (she won't have a way to download pictures off the card while in Costa Rica, so an extra will come in handy), and free shipping for $223. One Christmas gift finished! Thanks for all your input everyone.