Pentax Optio A10 Expert Reviews

We have analyzed the reviews for the Pentax Optio A10 using our BETA review analysis. These are our findings: The Pentax Optio A10 is good. Reviewers are satisfied with the photos, portability, and menu system despite concerns with the focus and slow transfer rate. If you can tolerate the focus and transfer rate, give this digital camera some consideration.

extraordinary battery life, exceptional display, extraordinary ease of use, excellent features, first-class low light performance, exceptional menu system, brilliant photos, brilliant portability, first-class user interface.

terrible focus, really bad support, really bad transfer rate.

Please note: The ratings above are generated using our BETA automatic review analysis and may contain errors.

Pentax's Optio A10 boasts some impressive specs, including 8-megapixel resolution, sensor-shifting shake reduction, ISO 800 sensitivity, and a high-resolution 232,000-pixel 2.5-inch LCD. As you might expect, the camera produces decent images under a varie...

Ultracompact, excellent macro capabilities, easy-access controls.

LCD washes out in bright light, noisy images when shooting at more than ISO 200.

Its LCD has issues outdoors and in burst mode, but this ultracompact 8-megapixel Pentax Optio A10 for the snapshooting set is easy to operate and versatile.

The first in a new line of cameras for Pentax, the Optio A10 is an 8 megapixel higher-end compact camera aimed at advanced users: the company has also launched a new line for point-and-shoot users (see our preview of the E10 elsewhere on the site). The A1...

- Compact, stylish design- Includes shake-reduction - Solid construction - Menu system is logically designed and easy to use

- Max ISO of 400 - Appeared to be significant shadow noise at higher ISOs - Very limited manual controls - No way to save and switch between custom setting sets - Battery life is on the short side

The A10 is a small, well-built compact camera, designed to be Pentax's new flagship of their Optio line with the addition of a shake reductrion system. But there are some serious omissions: the lack of access to commonly-used manual controls is...

Not yet reviewed by editors.

Compact cameras keep getting more and more compact and few do "compact-ness" better than Pentax. With the Optio A10, Pentax has packed plenty of imaging potential into a solid, sleek, well-designed camera that's small enough to toss into a bag or slide in...

Sleek and solid form factor is great for travel, Discreetly integrated connector covers, Large 2.5-inch LCD with plenty of resolution (232,000 pixels), Produced accurate skin tones, Shake Reduction System helped reduce blur in standard shooting conditions...

Soft images at 8x10 size regardless of ISO; camera really only useful for 5x7 prints or smaller., Images noisy above ISO 200; ISO 800 (only available in Candlelight mode) is almost unusable, Overall image quality not up to 8MP image sensor specification.,...

In keeping with its compact form factor -- less than an inch thick -- the Pentax A10 uses Pentax's Sliding Lens System technology which removes elements from the lens' optical path as it retracts to allow a slimmer profile when the camera is powered off....

The new 'flagship' in Pentax's long-running Optio range was announced at the CES show in January. The basic specification is fairly standard for a camera in this class; 3x optical zoom, 8 megapixels, 15 scene modes (including a high sensitivity / ISO 800...

Excellent resolution, natural accurate color, subtle processing, Low noise at low ISO settings, Better than average detail retention at higher ISOs, Usable (at a pinch) ISO 800 Candlelight mode, Excellent all-metal construction, Good white balance, Good f...

Slow focus, shutter lag, Slow flash recycling, Shake Reduction not as reliable as some competitors, Annoying unresponsive, jerky zoom mechanism, Screen impossible to see in bright light, no optical viewfinder, No manual controls over apertures and shutter...

The Optio A10 is a deeply frustrating camera for a reviewer; on the one hand it is capable of producing some of the best results in its class, the lens is obviously excellent, image processing is fairly subtle, and unlike so many similar cameras the defau...

Images shaken, but not blurred.

The Optio A10 ($350) is an ultra-compact 8 Megapixel camera with Pentax's new Shake Reduction system. While some image stabilization systems shift an element in the lens, the SR system actually moves the CCD sensor around for the same effect. A similar sy...

Very good photo quality (though see issues below)Image stabilizationCompact, stylish metal bodyLarge, sharp 2.5" LCD display (but see issues below)AF-assist lamp, good low light focusingGood movie mode with long record times (though see issue below)Lots o...

Poor performance: slow startup, shot-to-shot times; noticeable shutter lagDetails in photos can be muddy; some corner blurringRedeye a problem (though removal tool helps)Below average battery lifePoor continuous shooting modePoor LCD visibility in dim lig...

The Pentax Optio A10 is an ultra-compact camera that offers a lot of features for much less money than competitive cameras. You'll get an 8 Megapixel CCD, image stabilization system, sharp 2.5" LCD display, VGA movie mode, and plenty of point-and-shoot fe...