Pentax Optio S10 review

The S10 is only a few millimetres smaller than most compact cameras but it looks tiny, as it's barely taller than its 2in screen.

Inside there's a 1/1.8in CCD, which has around twice the surface area of most compact cameras' 1/2.5in CCDs. This helps reduce noise, although the 10-megapixel sensor piles it back on again.

The controls are the same as those we've seen on Pentax point-and-shoot cameras for a number of years, but that's no bad thing. The menu system is straightforward and we particularly like the way any four photographic controls can be accessed via a customisable short-cut button. You can set the range of speeds available in Auto ISO mode, although when we selected 64-800, the camera never went above 400. Performance is excellent: 1.3 seconds between shots rises to 2.3 seconds with the flash. Continuous shooting is at 1.2fps until the card is full.

Photos were sharp and detailed, although no more so than from some 8-megapixel cameras. Some noise was visible even when shooting in fairly bright conditions and at ISO 200. ISO 400 gave borderline-passable results but ISO 800 shots were messy and best saved for emergencies. ISO 1600 gave appalling results.

Colour accuracy was generally respectable, but colours were often a little undersaturated and high-contrast scenes tended to be slightly underexposed. The automatic white balance was erratic under artificial light, giving some photos a yellow tint, although the Tungsten white balance preset fixed this. Video is recorded in DivX format, which keeps files small, but videos looked messy and the automatic exposure lurched awkwardly in changing light.

None of these image-quality concerns is fatal, but together they take the shine off this otherwise desirable camera.

Author: Ben Pitt