Pentax Z10 Performance

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Pentax Optio Z10 Performance

Timing and Performance

The Optio Z10's performance ranges from average to a little slow.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	2.5 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy.
Shutdown	0.1 second	How long it takes to retract lens.
Buffer clearing time	5 seconds (2 seconds buffer clearing in LF JPEG)	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.

Start-up time is fair considering its 7x optical zoom lens, but shutdown is very quick.

Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	0.8 second	Time until first shot is captured.
Record to play	1.0 second	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture.
Display recorded image	0.6 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.

Mode switching times are a little faster than average.

Shutter response (Lag Time)
Full Autofocus Wide	0.722 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	0.768 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.151 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Continuous AF	0.489 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects.
Manual focus	0.463 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".

Shutter response is moderate at both wide angle and telephoto, at 0.72 and 0.77 second respectively. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in a quick lag time of only 0.151 second. (Not the quickest on the market, but still fairly fast.)

Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	2.05 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over buffer capacity of 3 shots. Buffer takes 3 seconds to clear. Speed drops to 2.73 second after buffer has filled.
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	2.41 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots.
Early shutter penalty?	No	Some cameras snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	2.03 seconds (0.49 frames per second); 20+ frames total; 2 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG	0.83 second (1.20 frames per second); 20+ frames total; 5 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first.
Flash recycling	4.69 seconds	Flash at maximum output.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme III 133x SD memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode.

Shot-to-shot cycle times are a little sluggish, at about 2.05 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, and the camera only captures 3 frames this quickly before having to stop and clear the buffer. Continuous mode is also slow, at only 0.49 frames-per-second, but the camera can capture over 20 large/fine JPEG frames at this average rate. Decreasing the resolution speeds it up to 1.20 frames per second, for over 20 frames. The flash takes 4.69 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, which is pretty good.

Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	1,434 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-769=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High

Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds are pretty good.

Bottom line, the Optio Z10 is responsive enough to handle most family photo opportunities, though it may not keep up with speedier subjects.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Below average battery life for a lithium-ion design.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery, (CIPA standard)	180

The Pentax Optio Z10 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Battery life is a little less than average, we recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Pentax Optio Z10 accepts SDHC/SD/MMC memory cards, and includes about 52MB of internal memory.

Image Capacity with 52MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal	Basic
3,264 x 2,448	Images	12	24	38
3,264 x 2,448	File Size	4.1 MB	2.1 MB	1.4 MB
2,592 x 1,944	Images	20	38	55
2,592 x 1,944	File Size	2.6 MB	1.4 MB	942 KB
2,304 x 1,728	Images	24	49	71
2,304 x 1,728	File Size	2.1 MB	1.0 MB	727 KB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	31	61	89
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	1.7 MB	843 KB	579 KB
1,600 x 1,200	Images	49	82	1212
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	1.1 MB	628 KB	430 KB
1,024 x 768	Images	98	165	209
1,024 x 768	File Size	529 KB	314 KB	248 KB
640 x 480	Images	196	286	393
640 x 480	File Size	264 KB	182 KB	132 KB

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SDHC or SD memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 2 or 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and video. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)