Review posted for Pentax Optio 450!
By
Mike Pasini, The Imaging Resource
(Friday, September 26, 2003 - 14:37 EDT)
Pentax's Optio line of compact digicams are among the better bargains on the market, well-built, with lots of features and generally good image quality. The 4-megapixel, 5x-zoom Optio 450 is all of that, but I [Dave, here] found it to be a bit of a mixed bag.
It has some strong points (nice case design, high-quality 5x zoom lens, excellent macro capability), and does a lot of things very well (very good color, lower than average image noise, excellent exposure and creative options), but falls down in other areas (a tendency to underexpose and somewhat sluggish shutter response).
If you're comfortable tweaking a camera's exposure with the Exposure Compensation adjustment (which is very readily accessible on the 450), you'll find the 450 to be a very appealing, well-built little camera. Its combination of 5x zoom and rugged, compact case make for a compelling value proposition, one of the better deals in the "compact 4 megapixel" space.
Overall, not bad, and a good deal for its price, but I personally have a hard time excusing the tendency of its exposure system to underexpose many shots. (Actually, I liked it well enough that it would easily have been a "Dave's Pick" if it had only done a better job on exposure metering.) Check it out!
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