Pentax Optio A10

The 8-MP Optio A10 won't win any beauty contests, but it will barely cause a bulge in your pocket. Functionality comes first, and this super-slim shooter takes great-looking photos. Colors look accurate and images overall are crisp with good saturation. We only wish that shooting with the Optio A10 was a bit faster; there is a noticeable lag between frames. 

 

The Optio A10 is the first Pentax offering with built-in image stabilization. The system definitely reduces blur, but not as well as some Panasonic Lumix models that we've tested. Those with very shaky hands should look elsewhere.

 

On the back of the Optio A10 you'll find a bright 2.5-inch LCD and a few very simple controls. In order to fit such a large screen, Pentax had to leave out a viewfinder. Normally this would be a minor annoyance, but in bright light, the display was very hard to see.

 

Like most current digicams, the Optio A10 shoots video as well. It records VGA clips at 30 fps and saves them in the DivX format. These files are fairly small and they allow the Optio A10 to pack more footage onto your SD Card. Video looked decent (even in lower light) with few artifacts.

 

Overall, the Optio A10 gets the job done. It might not have the coolest design or as many features as other point and shoots, but its photos are impressive–and that's what matters.