Pentax Optio X Review

The Optio X employs a Pentax smc 5.8-17.4mm 3x optical zoom with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 35.6 - 107mm, the maximum aperture is f2.6 - f4.8. It consists of 6 elements in 5 groups with 2 dual-sided aspherical elements. When the camera is powered down the lens is retracted inside of the body and a built in shutter closes to protect the lens.

It features a 9-point TTL contrast detection AF system with user-selectable AF point location, Spot AF, and infinity. The focusing range in Normal mode is 1.31 ft (0.4m) to Infinity; Macro mode: 7.1 inches (0.18 m) to 1.64 ft (0.5m); Super Macro mode: 2.4 inches (0.06m) to 7.9 inches (0.2m) at 10.2mm focal length.

Its 270° swiveling Lens/LCD offers versatility in composing your shots. This enables you to easily capture self-portraits, above the head and hip-level shots.

The built in flash offers Auto, On, Off, Auto + Red-Eye Reduction, On + Red-Eye Reduction, and Slow Synchronization. Flash range is approx. 7.1 in. - 11.8 ft. (0.18m - 3.6m) (5.8mm at ISO Auto) Approx. 7.1 in. - 3.0 ft. (0.18m - 0.9m) (17.4mm at ISO Auto)

On the top is the shutter release and the On/Off power buttons for Audio, Movie, and Still capture modes. You can also see the built-in microphone.

The controls are located around its large 2.0-inch LCD. Top right is the Play mode button. Below that are the Zoom controls, in playback mode they act as the Index and Magnify functions. The DISPLAY/OK button controls the amount of information displayed on the LCD as well as accepts selections when using its onscreen menu. Next is the 4-way controller. It is used to navigate the menu system, pressing it inwards adds settings to the My Menu. The Fn (Function) menu is a shortcut menu that allows you to access frequently used settings. And last but not least is the MENU button, which calls up and dismisses the onscreen menu system.

The I/O port is located on the back of the supplied camera dock. It handles connection to the PC and Audio/Video output through a single port. When the camera is placed in the dock, its battery is charged in-camera.

The Optio X is equipped with 14MB of internal memory and has a Secure Digital (SD) card slot for optional memory cards. It's compatible with any capacity SD memory card. Data recorded on the internal memory can be copied to SD card.

The Optio X is powered by a proprietary D-LI8 3.7V 710mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. Pentax claims the battery life is good for approx. 165 shots (using the flash 50% of the time in accordance with CIPA Standard) and a continuous playback time of approx. 160 minutes.