pentax digital cameras

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Customer Reviews

Comfortable yet awkward
The pictures come out really well and almost professional looking. The camera responds well, feels really comfortable in the hand, with the controls easily accessible and responsive. I was looking for an inexpensive camera like the Nikon P100 but without too many picture taking compromises and without AA batteries. So the X90 fits the bill, yet, the missing lens thread, manual pop-up flash and the childish scene options interface make it a bit awkward overall. I am tempted to keep it though because it is pretty fast in startup, while less so in flash charging, light weight and capable of tremendous zoom. It looks great here on Amazon but rather amateurish once I opened the box. Of course, I shouldn't expect that much from a camera in this price range, and perhaps I should just appreciate the terrific picture quality this baby is capable of - so thanks Pentax, a job well done albeit it a bit lacking in some regards, Wish I really could have that Fuji E900 in an upgraded version, but the Pentax X90 will do for now.

UPDATED

After taking a number of shots with the camera over the past few weeks I can say that it performs remarkably well. Sure, it's not a professional camera but the clarity is astounding at this price point. The image stabilization is world class IMHO. Both at macro and tele, the camera performs excellently. There were a few situations in which it underperformed. A friend's Samsung P&S was able to get better backlit portrait shots (the background came out much better - but that same Samsung did a terrible job with any other portrait shot so Pentax left it far in the dust overall), and I had to adjust the flash to -2.0 to reduce the strength. The default settings of the camera have the flash set for super bright and white balance to wash out most colors. This is adjustable once I became familiar with the menu options. What I really, really like about it is that it remembers all your custom settings. I have one at Program, Scene, and Manual. Each time I want to take three different shots to get a variety of results in difficult lighting conditions, all I have to do is turn the dial to another mode and it automatically returns to my previous setting. When I couldn't get a good outdoor portrait shot of my wife, I turned to Manual mode, adjusting the aperture such that I got good exposure with the flash and in the background. The options are virtually endless! The camera says it's made in Indonesia if that is important to you. Excellent job Pentax!

PROS
Numerous customization options for the beginner and advance amateur
Superb image stabilization
Relatively small size
Excellent fit and grip for average size hands
Excellent image quality for the price
Li-Ion battery for large number of shots

CONS
Awkward menu options, takes many clicks to get what you want (but that's too be expected considering how many options there are)
Awkward lens cap (comes off easily)
Build quality average, when you shake the camera you can feel the lens moving about a little
Charging unit comes with separate cord. The plug should have been built in for easier carrying (like Panasonic in same price class).
No lens thread. This is actually a major disadvantage because a polarizing filter could make lots of outdoor pictures with this camera much better than they already are. In this economy, Pentax should have taken the trouble to put a thread in, even if it were plastic, IMHO.
The best point and shoot i ever had, close to a slr
Hi there i want everyone to know, i finally have found a great point and shoot camera, i have owned many cameras including the panasonic f35 which has great ratings, how ever the pentax has gone a few steps forward. Its great having an electic view finder as well as a nice size screen, the 26 xx zoom is fantastic. The camera is made well, in gun metal blue. it really come close to using my slr, with out carrying all the lenses, etc, Thank You Pentax.
Wouldn't Recommend - Sending Back!
After doing much research and wanting to upgrade from my Panasonic TZ5 (10x Optical), I decided to try the Pentax for the greater zoom range...boy what a disappointment! Having owned several Digital Point and Shoots, this has to be the worst I have tried. I would normally try the camera before reading the manual, then read the manual to see what I may be missing. With this one though, I promptly read the entire manual while the battery was charging.

I was hoping to be able to get decent photos using both preset settings and my own, unfortunately after taking over 1000 photos - only a handful came out as "keepers". For the most part even up close birds came out blurred regardless of using the preset or my own settings. No matter what I tried I could not get this thing to focus correctly.

Another big draw back was the resolution of the LED screen, it would flash for a second to show a clear image, then go back to fuzz - it was hit or miss when you pressed the shutter button and most were misses. The screen never stayed focused on your subject even though the camera's little green boxes tried to say you were in focus, you couldn't tell using the LED or the Viewfinder as both stayed fuzzy at all times.

The few shots I did get that came out not blurry - the colors are washed out compared to my TZ5. As for using the zoom - if you plan on zooming in on inanimate objects such as buildings - it worked ok. If you plan on zooming in anything that may sway a bit, or breath - forget it - all photos are fuzzed or extremely soft around the edges. I get much clearer shots at the same distance away using only my 10x optical on the TZ5.

Surprisingly enough the best set of images I got, I took while holding my camera out the truck window and not looking at the LED screen or viewfinder at all.

I took this camera with me on a fishing trip with some friends we had not seen in a while - after about 30 minutes of being frustrated and not getting any images worth keeping, this camera got put away and I pulled out my old trusty TZ5. My friends were amazed at the photos it took, while they just shook their heads at the Pentax photos.

If you are into photographing bugs, flowers, and anything else up real close (Macros) this camera maybe what you want, as I did note the best images were those using Macro and Super Macro settings... one plus amongst the all other minuses.

I have packaged this one up, and have ordered the Panasonic DMC TZ35.
Summary:
Pros -Awesome Macros
Cons- slow to focus (if you can get it to focus)
LED stays fuzzy after only a short flash of a clear image on the screen (couldn't tell whether you are really focused or not - had to try and rely on the camera's green boxes and beep- which wasn't reliable either)
Zoom causes much blur and softness to anything that may move in the slightest
Lens cap falls off very easily

I should have listened to the one other reviewer here that also sent theirs back. I thought maybe they got a bad camera (lemon) ...now I know