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Pentax Optio P80 review
DATE REVIEWED: 8th Dec 2009 Add Camera To Comparison Chart

Pentax Optio P80 Specs

Camera TypeCompact Shutter Speeds4 - 1/400 sec
RRP£180 ISO Range64 - 6400
Megapixels12 Focal Length28 - 110mm
Weight120g Aperturef2.9 - 5.8
Dimensions97 x 53 x 20mm (WxHxD) Focus Distance 4cm - inf
LCD Size2.7 inches Zoom (Opt)4x
Zoom (Dig)6x StorageSD / SDHC
Max Resolution4000 x 3000 Battery TypeLi-Ion

Pentax Optio P80 Review

Find out how far Pentax has pushed its next Optio compact

The Pentax Optio P80 is the perfect example of an easy to use compact for the experimental, beginner photographer. The camera comes with a lighter shell than its predecessor model, the P70, but in a very similar, aluminium alloy body. It's available in three colours: white, black and green, and the camera boasts a 12.1 megapixel sensor behind a 4x optical zoom lens. This is equivalent to a 27.5-110mm focal length lens, and takes advantage of a wide-angle to medium tele-photo zoom, ideal for capturing the grandeur of a landscape. Not only this, but the P80 has four Portrait modes and also improved Face Recognition from earlier Optio models. This new technology not only captures faces with correct exposure, but also can do it from different poses and angles.

Portrait modes include the standard Portrait, Half-Length Portrait (which reduces to 3 megapixels but with automatic, correct framing), Night Scene Portrait, and also Natural Skin Tone mode. The last in the list enhances skin tones at the same removing blemishes from the subject's face. Complementing this, the Small Face Filter, available in the playback menu, makes a face smaller to be better proportioned with the person's body, though it’s very subtle. All these make the camera well rounded if you're a keen portrait and landscape snapper.

The P80 can record movies in HD (1280 x 720), with settings to decrease the resolution from 1280 to 640 to 320. This increases the recording time, ideal if you're shooting with a small capacity memory card. In the camera's shoot menu you can set Movie SR (shake reduction) on/off to reduce possible blurring.

 Pentax has kept the design of the P80 very simple and straightforward, which is helpful if you're considering this as a first camera. It has a slim-lined body which is only marginally bigger than 20mm in depth. The shell curves off at both sides, making it pocket friendly, with one of its sides cut away to reveal a slot for the hand strap. Pentax hasn't gone wild in creating a compact that breaks any design barriers, but we love its sleek, smart finish with its silver trim.
 
The buttons however let its smart exterior down, and they not only look but feel plasticky too. Each button has its function printed over the top, all apart from one, which has a green label. This is a customisable button that can be changed to different settings to suit your shooting preferences, and to be called up instantly when taking a picture. The Mode button on the back of the camera lets you jump straight into the selection of 24 shoot modes that the P80 has to offer. These range from shooting in Auto Picture mode, Program mode, Pets, Sports and Fireworks to cover most eventual scenarios which you may find yourself in. You'll also discover clever settings such as Panorama and Digital Wide modes. The latter prompts you to take a first shot of the scene and line it up with the next part of the scene to create a wider effect. It's incredibly easy to use and enjoyable to experiment with.  
 
The camera has a tendency to blow out an image's highlights if there are areas of dark shadows too. The Dynamic Range feature in the camera's menu lets you apply Highlight and Shadow corrections individual to an image before shooting to control difficult lighting. Otherwise we’re impressed with the image quality at both wide and tele-photo ranges of the lens. The extremely low noise levels at ISO 64 is the main contributor to the camera's good performance, and rising through the settings to ISO 100, 200 and 400, image quality is maintained. When you begin to shoot with ISO 800 and above noise is more noticeable and not pleasing to the eye. ISO 6400 is an impressively high number, but gives a major loss in quality.   
 
The P80 has many digital filters to give your photography an artistic edge. These can be applied post shoot, and include black and white, Sepia, different tints, changes to selective colours for example the blues or reds specifically. Also the Soft filter is especially good at recreating a traditional effect which was made with the use of a screw-in filter to a lens. Pentax has made a compact camera that balances looks and style with quality and affordability, and offers a great introduction into digital photography.
Final Verdict
The P80 is a well-rounded compact with great features, and a decent price-tag to complement. Though doesn’t come without its faults, its processing speed should be quicker
Overall
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The P80 is a well-rounded compact with great features, and a decent price-tag to complement. Though doesn’t come without its faults, its processing speed should be quicker
OVERALL

Reviewer Profile



Simon Skellon

Simon’s spent many experimental hours in a homemade, traditional darkroom, and has now transferred that knowledge into the realms of digital with a critical eye.

Total Camera Reviews 10
Average Camera Rating 3.7
Simon's Last 5 Reviews
Casio EXILIM EX-H15 4 / 5
Samsung PL150 4 / 5
Nikon COOLPIX L100 3 / 5
Pentax Optio P80 4 / 5
Samsung ST50 3 / 5
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