Optio W10 Digital Camera

Pros: nice screen, performs ok out of the water

Cons: cheap parts, not sand and water proof, Pentax service is a rip-off

Summary: I really wanted to love this camera. I read good reviews. I have a canon digital camera with an underwater housing that works great but is kind of bulky. This slim solution seemed was very seductive plus the price was right. Well you get what you pay for.

I bought it for my Maui vacation. It worked ok out of the water. The screen is a little hard to see in sunshine but being able to take it to the pool and the beach outweighed that little idiosycrancy. Or so I thought. The under water shots were bad, unless you shot in a well lit pool at something three feet away from you with the flash on. But still, having something that slim you could take to the pool and the beach... Then when it was only a week old the shutter release and zoom control stop functioning. Everything else worked except for those two things.

I sent it into Pentax they claim the warantee is void because sand got into the battery compartment. HELLO! It's supposed to be sand and water proof. Plus the battery and memory was functioning fine it was the cheap shutter release and zoom control buttons that broke.

But they have this nice profitable policy in place "sorry can't fix one thing and not the other" But there's nothing wrong with the battery compartment. It's supposed to be sand and water proof. The options were pay to have it shipped back and use it as a jpeg viewer or pay $130 for repairs on a camera I got to use for a week.

Also the head of customer service at Pentax does not have a public accessible email and phone number according to the shop manager. Apparently Pentax's interpretation of customer service excludes actually hearing from the customer.

So beware of being seduced by the features and good customer reviews. Becuase if the cheap parts break, Pentax will mysteriously find sand in the battery compartment, void your warantee and stick you with the bill.

Bottom line: Pentax uses misleading ad copy, does not stand behind it's product. Has a customer service department that does not want to hear from it's customers. And employs an unscrupulous (if not technically illeagal) warantee/repair policy. Shame on you CNET for giving them a 6. You have obviously not researched their after purchase service.