Optio X: A Look at Pentax's Ultra Thin 5MP Digicam

The Design: Pentax Optio X

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The front of the Pentax Optio X features a 3x optical zoom lens that extends out when the camera is powered up. To the upper right is the built-in flash with a working range of 0.6 - 11.8 ft. at wide angle and 0.6 - 3 ft. at telephoto. Opposite the built-in flash is the self-timer lamp. The battery is actually located under the gray panel on the left.

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To release the battery cover, you must twist the camera halves to reveal the battery cover button (above). By sliding this button, the cover can be unlocked and removed.

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The battery can then be removed by pulling up on a plastic tab that lifts the battery out. It is not usually necessary to remove the battery because the battery is charged inside the camera via the supplied cradle.

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The back of the Optio X features a 2 inch LCD monitor with approximately 210,000 pixels. To the lower left of the LCD monitor are the Menu and Fn buttons. Just to the right of this is the multi-controller, which acts as a button as well as a 4-way selector. To the right of the multi-controller is the Display/OK button. On the bottom right corner are eight tiny metal stubs that help give your thumb something to grip. Just above this is the zoom controller that can slide up (telephoto) or down (wide). The zoom controller is supposed to return automatically to the middle position after you release it. As a side note, we found that during some of our field testing outside in the cold (28° Fahrenheit), the zoom controller began to stick in the telephoto direction. Finally, at the very top is the Play button. If the Play button is held down when the camera is powered up, the camera will start up in Play mode without extending the lens.

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On the top of the camera are three main power buttons. Depending on which button you press, the camera will power on/off or switch to Voice Memo, Still Image, or Movie mode. The microphone is located to the left of these buttons and the shutter button is on the far right side.

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The only thing on the bottom of the camera is the USB connector for the cradle and an indentation on either side for grips. In order to use video, you must connect the camera to the cradle. Then, you can use the supplied A/V cable to connect a TV to the cradle.

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On the right side is the SD flash card slot. Although the camera does not come with a flash card, it has 14 MB of internal memory. However, we highly recommend picking up a 128 MB or larger SD card.

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The left side of the camera features a metal tripod mount, a speaker, and an eyelet for the wrist strap. It is a bit annoying having to mount the camera vertically on a tripod. Unless you have a tripod that allows you to rotate the camera to its normal position, you will have to lean your head sideways to setup/review landscape-oriented shots.