Pentax Optio S10: 10 MP Camera - Design
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Design
The Optio S10 features an all aluminum body design that is available in either a silver/gray combination or a blue/silver outfit that is exclusive to Wal-Mart. Overall, the S10 has a "high quality" look to it. It also has just enough weight to feel sturdy and durable. The overall dimensions of the S10 are 2.1 x 3.4 x 0.8 inches, and it weighs a mere 4.6 ounces. Although the S10 is a budget shooter, this camera is anything but "cheap."
The front of the S10 sports the heart and soul of this little guy with an f2.8-5.4 38mm-114mm equivalent 3x optical zoom SMC lens. This lens is really high quality and has a good range. The only major gripe with the lens on the S10 is that it produces a small amount of barrel distortion in images when shooting wide-angled shots. In the S10's defense, this is actually quite common in a camera of this size.
Looking at the back of the camera, the first thing that you notice is the 2.5 inch LCD display with 232,000 pixel resolution. The screen is a pretty good size for being such a small camera. The S10 does not have an optical viewfinder, but it seems that many compact digital cameras are doing away with this feature nowadays.
Alongside the display, you will find the majority of the buttons and controls on the S10. The control configuration is pretty basic. And it's very similar to many other digital cameras, so it should be easy to learn the location and function of the buttons. The buttons on the back of the camera consist of the zoom controls, play button (reviews photos), a menu button, trash (green button), and a 4-way D-pad with center "o.k." button.
The only flaw with the design of the S10 was putting the USB connection inside the battery/SD card compartment. It would have been much more convenient if it were placed somewhere on the exterior of the camera instead of inside it.
One of the most useful dedicated buttons on the S10 is the "green button." When this button is pressed, the S10 will go into fully automatic mode. This mode will automatically adjust white balance, focus, aperture, and other attributes to get the best photo possible. This auto feature works quite well at getting the ideal settings for each individual photo.
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