Digital Cameras - Picky Details of the Pentax Optio WP Digital Camera

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"Picky Details" for the Pentax Optio WP digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Pentax Optio WP:

Pentax Optio WP Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	2.4
Shutdown	~0.2 - 47	First time is simple shutdown, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time.
Play to Record, first shot	1.3	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to play	6.3 / 1.8	First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.92 / 1.16	First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto.
Shutter lag, continuous autofocus	1.53
Shutter lag, manual focus	0.586
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.149	Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button.
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	2.30 / 2.23	First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. In large/fine mode, shoots 7 frames this fast, then slows to 4 seconds per shot. In TV mode, continues at this pace for over 50 shots. Buffer clears in 13 seconds in large/fine mode, 4 seconds in TV mode.
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution	1.27 / 1.10 (0.79 / 0.91 fps)	First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. In large/fine mode, shoots 6 frames this fast, then slows to 3 seconds per shot. In TV mode, continues at this pace for over 100 shots. Buffer clears in 12 seconds in large/fine mode, 47 seconds in TV mode.
Cycle Time, "High Speed" mode, max/min resolution	0.29 (3.49 fps)	Image size is fixed at 1280x960 pixels. Times are averages. Shoots 7 frames at an irregular pace, clears the buffer in 5 seconds, and is ready for another burst.

Power

The Pentax Optio WP uses a custom rechargeable LiIon battery for power.

Operating Mode	Power (@6.5 volts on the external power terminal)	Est. Minutes (four 1600 mA cells)
Capture Mode, w/LCD	536 mA	126
Capture Mode, no LCD	500 mA	100
Half-pressed shutter w/LCD	533 mA	127
Half-pressed w/o LCD	420 mA	161
Memory Write (transient)	702 mA	n/a
Flash Recharge (transient)	1350 mA	n/a
Image Playback	297 mA	228

Storage Capacity

The Pentax Optio WP stores its photos on SD / MMC memory cards or in approximately 11 MB of internal memory, and no card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored in the internal memory at each size/quality setting.

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card		Fine	Normal	Basic
2560 x 1920	Images (Avg size)	3 3.4 MB	6 1.8 MB	10 1.0 MB
2560 x 1920	Approx. Compression	4:1	8:1	14:1
2304 x 1728	Images (Avg size)	4 2.6 MB	8 1.4 MB	11 950 KB
2304 x 1728	Approx. Compression	5:1	9:1	13:1
2048 x 1536	Images (Avg size)	5 2.1 MB	9 1.1 MB	14 758 KB
2048 x 1536	Approx. Compression	5:1	8:1	12:1
1600 x 1200	Images (Avg size)	8 1.2 MB	15 737 KB	20 540 KB
1600 x 1200	Approx. Compression	5:1	8:1	11:1
1024 x 768	Images (Avg size)	18 589 KB	33 327 KB	42 262 KB
1024 x 768	Approx. Compression	4:1	7:1	9:1
640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	39 278 KB	61 180 KB	75 147 KB
640 x 480	Approx. Compression	3:1	5:1	6:1

Download Speed

The Pentax Optio WP connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 751 KBytes/second. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)

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