Pentax Optio E50 Review

Here you can the camera in "Green" mode. It selects all of the exposure settings, you just simply point-n-shoot, perfect for beginners.

Auto Picture mode is very close to "Green" mode, it is automatic but it does allow you to choose Image size and quality, ISO, EV Compensation, and movie controls.

Program AE mode is geared more toward the novice user, and offers a wealth of camera settings, like ISO, White Balance, Sharpness, Saturation, Contrast, Exposure Compensation, etc.

When the shutter is half-pressed and the autofocus locks, the active AF point bracket will shrink and turn green.

Press the 4-way controller "MODE" button to change the exposure mode. Choices are: Auto Picture, Program, Night Scene, Movie, Voice Recording, Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Surf & Snow, Sport, Digital SR, Kids, Pet, Digital Panorama, and Frame Composite.

Record Menu options:

Recorded Pixels - 8M, 5M, 4M, 3M, 2M, 1024, 640
Quality Level - Best (***), Better (**) or Good (*)
AF Mode - Choose focusing area
Sensitivity - Auto, or User select ISO 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
EV Compensation - ±2.0 in 1/3EV steps
Movie - Adjust movie mode settings (shown below)
Memory - Saves shooting function settings when camera is turned off
Date Imprint - On or Off

Presssing the 4-Way controller left gives you the flash options. Up is the drive mode and timer, and Right is the focus mode including macro focus mode. Macro covers macro: 0.49-1.64 ft.

You can record 640x480 or 320x320 motion video at 15 or 30 fps with audio. Movie clips are stored as .AVI (Motion JPEG) format video files. While the optical zoom may Not be used during recording, you can preset the desired focal length. The length of these movies is limited only by available memory.