“Experience Discovery!”               The Photo Explorer  A Newsletter on Wildlife, Scenic and Travel Photography; #5,  Mar. 2008  By Mario P. Delisio Naturalist, Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Historical Geographer, Photographer, Writer, Educator 4232 Tredwell Pl, Boise, Idaho 83703, (208) 343-5335
Due to personal circumstances  Mario Delisio will not be able to present our April Photo Explorer newsletter.  Please check back!
Field Testing the Pentax Optio W30   An excellent first camera or handy backup when “things happen!”   Recently, I have made two successive winter excursions to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, Wy. At Yellowstone, I traveled from the community of West Yellowstone, Mt about 30 miles into the Park to Old Faithful aboard a snowcoach. A snowcoach is a heated tracked vehicle with front mounted skis. In the roof are hatches to view and take pictures of the wildlife and scenery. Traveling at slow speeds of 5-25 miles an hour, it is an excellent means of experiencing the Park.  Subsequently at Jackson Hole my group and I traveled aboard an open sleigh among the 8000 elk that winter there at the National Elk Refuge. Weather at both places ranged in 15-20 degree F temperatures with snow, icy and blowing conditions.
This provided me with the opportunity to field test the Pentax Optio W30 under harsh conditions. While it is a compact digital camera that is essentially point and shoot it does have optional settings for varying conditions as well as mild telephoto capabilities.   Features: The camera is waterproof rated to about 10 feet deep; also dustproof. There is an easy to view 2.5 inch LCD (about 115,000 pixels). The ISO rating is 3200 allowing sharp images under a wide range of conditions. The unit features 7.1 megapixels with a 3X zoom. A special coating prevents water drops from sticking to the lens. A battery charger is included for the lithium-ion battery. As a plus, software is included for connecting the camera to a computer. Commentary: The camera is well made, very easy to use and produces fine photographs. I like it very much. The only cautionary advise is to expose the camera to the cold only for short times since cold affects the battery substantially. I found that it functioned well if I kept it in my chest pocket for warmth then removed it when I actually wanted to photograph something; then back in the pocket it went. The other bit of advise is to keep the included wrist strap on your wrist at all times since the compact, streamlined body is slippery. Certainly the renowned Pentax quality and dependability is there. I have four 35mm Pentaxes from the 1960s performing still with professional confidence. So should the Pentax Optio W30!  Price: $319.99.   Uses: This is really an excellent camera for the casual photographer and as a handy backup for the serious photographer including professionals for those times when “things happen” in the field. And they do!   If you would like to read past product reviews please click here!
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