Pentax Optio P70 Pro Reviews

There's no denying that the Pentax Optio P70 is an extremely stylish and thoughtfully designed compact camera. Although it has a slim body, it's easy to operate thanks to the large, generously spaced control buttons. The LCD monitor is a good size and provides a sharp preview, although we noted that it did have an issue with bright areas. We were quite taken aback by how efficient the Smile Capture was on this model. OK, it's a little gimmicky and takes a little bit of getting used to, but it really does have its benefits. Unfortunately, though, we did have some issues with Vertical Snap as well as Blink Detection. If you can get around these technical glitches (we're sure this is something that can be tackled with a firmware upgrade) the P70 is good all-rounder that's perfect for capturing portraits.

It’s sleek, stylish and has lots of features, as well as a novel vertical shooting mode. But the Optio P70 is let down by its performance, especially when used indoors.

Despite a few compromises, the Pentax Optio P70 offers good value for a small, light camera that you can carry anywhere. Considering its 12Mp sensor, the camera delivers rather lacklustre image quality, but it's certainly adequate for the price. Though the Optio P70 lacks a few frills, it is a good value for a stylishly thin point-and-shoot.

If you want a slim line pocketable point and shoot camera and you'll be using it for landscapes in bright light then give this one some thought.

The Optio P70 lacks a few frills, but it represents good value for a stylishly thin point-and-shoot.

The new Pentax Optio P70 is a very stylish and full featured ultra-compact digicam. With a 12-megapixel imaging sensor, 4x wide optical zoom lens and full collection of auto shooting modes, this camera is easy enough and capable enough for anyone in the family or office to use.

The Pentax Optio P70 is a promising but ultimately flawed point-and-shoot camera. It has one big problem, namely the agonisingly slow image processing and general operational speed. You will quickly become tired of seeing either a blank LCD screen or the flashing message "Data being processed", and even more tired of missing out on photo opportunities as the camera takes an eternity to process each individual shot.

Pentax describes the P70 as a "high performance model," and if lens quality and/or shutter lag are the criteria then it fits the bill on those counts. For me personally, the most frustrating aspect of digitals are pokey shutters, and if a camera takes the shot promptly after I push the button then it's off to a good start in my book.

The Pentax P70 is a camera with both good and bad points. It looks great, is well made and is extremely easy to use. It has a useful zoom range, the monitor is nice and it has some useful advanced features including an effective digital SR system. Image quality is good under most circumstances, low-light performance is also above average, and it is certainly good value for money. However it is let down by very slow performance, especially when using the digital SR feature.

Pentax nailed the design and features for the oh-so-small Optio P70, but there's room for improvement with its performance and photo quality above ISO 200.