Pentax Optio 430

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.4 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Christy Balich
• Reviewed on: 12/09/2001
• Updated on: 10/30/2002

A small 4-megapixel camera indeed! Pentax combines simplicity, good image quality, and lots of useful camera controls in the tiny Optio 430. It offers easy operation to digital novices while providing more advanced shooters with lots of interesting features--all at a competitive price.A small 4-megapixel camera indeed! Pentax combines simplicity, good image quality, and lots of useful camera controls in the tiny Optio 430. It offers easy operation to digital novices while providing more advanced shooters with lots of interesting features--all at a competitive price.

Pocket Pentax
With its ultracompact steel body and retractable 3X zoom lens, the Optio 430 will appeal to fans of 21st-century pop-culture designs. Although its construction gives the camera a solid feel, it weighs in at a mere 8.5 ounces with the battery and included 16MB CompactFlash card installed. Putting a steel body on such a diminutive digicam also gives it a tendency to warm up when you've been shooting for a little while--just about enough heat to serve as a hand warmer in winter but not enough to burn your fingers.

A simple mode dial encircles the Optio 430's shutter-release button, while six well-spaced and clearly marked buttons and a four-way controller provide access to the rest of the camera's features from the rear. The LCD is adequately bright, and its menus are organized clearly in plain English without cryptic symbols or initials, making it less intimidating to experiment with settings beyond the default. There's also a helpful Memory menu that lets you check off the settings that you want saved when you turn off the camera.

Uncommon talents
Pentax has supplemented the Optio 430's good selection of popular camera controls with some unusual capabilities--and we're not just talking about the alarm clock and the world time feature. A touch of the Display button overlays a dynamic histogram at the center of the viewfinder image. This useful tool provides a graphic display of the brightness levels in the image to help you get the right exposure. There's also a Multiple Exposure mode that allows you to shoot superimposed images.

Among the more typical--but equally useful--features are a quickly accessible Continuous Shooting mode and selectable auto-focus areas. Auto-bracketing is not available, but we appreciated the easy access to exposure compensation through the right and left arrows on the four-way controller. The controller also lets you change shutter speed and choose between two aperture settings when the camera is in Manual mode. With the Movie mode, you can shoot 30 seconds of silent video. Continue reading

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Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 15 reviews
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• 4.0 stars

  "Great bang for the buck, but feeling a bit bulky these days"

  by satre_21 on May 10, 2005

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  "Good but fragile (apparently)"

  on August 27, 2002

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  on August 19, 2002

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