Pentax is about to release the 12th generation of the Optio water proof camera. Here it is:
http://www.pentaximaging.com/digital-camera/Optio_WG-1_GPS_Black/
Time to start thinking seriously about getting one of these.
Exactly what I was looking for
I went ahead a pre ordered one… green way cool…
Thanks Eric
Wow! Makes my old 6 mp Pentax Optio W10 look like a dinosaur, but then an old dinosaur USES it! 
It’s amazing what has happened with technology practically overnight.
Mike
Wait a minute GPS WTH???
positioning on my Photos…
NO WAY I NEED TO KEEP SOME SECRETS!!!
J/K I will get one maybe…
if they keep making them waterproof to deeper depths, we are all going to look like jaques cousteau with an aqualung and a fishing vest.
i think i’ll wait a few more generations (with 1080 video) before i give up on the w30 that takes really good fotos.
Natural progression, but I’m glad I got my WS80 when I did. Actually, I wish I’d have jumped in earlier and picked up the W60.
Of course the bells and whistles are cool, but there’s a few core things I don’t like about this one:
14 MP on a 1/2.3" CCD = overcrowding = loss of IQ, the CCDs in most compacts peak at about 8-10MP and any further boosting will degrade IQ
“Digital SR” is almost as useless as “digital zoom”, and like superfluous MP, is simply thrown in to attract someone walking by a display
Still no WB option calibrated specifically for the LEDs used in macro mode. Even if it’s not an option on the menu (It should be), it should default to an LED preset when you get into super macro mode.
Those are the big ones. Things I do like:
Supports SDXC…most new models DO, but its definitely a plus
Auto-bracketing. I’m shocked they don’t advertise this as a key feature. (Unless of course, it’s somehow neutered for this model.)
Overall, looks to be a nice, solid, well-specced camera, though, again, nothing that I see as a revolution in the product line. If someone has no waterproof compact and they’re looking to get a versatile, rugged, well-specced model to start with, this is a great choice. For anyone that’s picked up a mid-range or better WP compact in the past 5 years, though, this isn’t a cause for an upgrade (IMVHO).
Things I’m still waiting to see in a WP compact:
-Full P/A/S/M control. This alone will get me to seriously consider upgrading, and as long as they don’t ruin the rest of the features of the camera that does this…it’ll justify me taking the jaws of life to my wallet and breaking the $300 price point for a compact.
-Faster lenses. All this digital shake reduction nonsense is like wearing earplugs to fix that terrible noise your car is making. There’s other compacts with f/2.8, f/2, and even f/1.8 lenses…I don’t want something revolutionary, but f/3.5 just isn’t cutting it.
WOW! Thats pretty cool but I am not to thrilled about having gps cordinates on my top secrey brookies streams that hasnt seen a soul and my dog. My WPi has done a fine job and still is working great . Until it dies then I work have to figure out if I can disable that feature.:))
Or…you can get a model that doesn’t have it. (and is $50 cheaper for not automatically doing something you can do in PP anyway)
psst nothing is secret! somebodies been there long before you found it 
Eric,
Thanks for posting. I still don’t own a digital camera and have book-marked this for future reference. This camera seems to cover everything I would need. It’s been so long since I’ve done anything with photography, that I’m surprised that I can even spell c a m e r a! I have 5 rolls of Fujifilm in the fridge since 200?, that I’ve got to use up! SOON!
Cold - Is IQ affected by “excessive” MP in macro mode? Is it possible that Pentax has accounted/adjusted for this, or is that not even possible to do?? The reason I ask is because I want to be able to take detailed photos of flies to post on FAOL.
Best regards, Dave S.
You’ll get plenty of detail. The IQ degradation isn’t so severe as to ruin an image. In fact, the noise from high ISO will easily trump it. What you run into though with hi-res compacts is that the camera’s image sensor is trying to cram too many pixels (picture elements) onto a single receptor on its tiny surface. The problem is eliminated (for now) in the larger sensor SLRs and ILCs. Basically, you’re taking the same light coming through the lens and aperture, and casting it across the same area (sensor) and the higher pixels are simply dividing that area up into tinier and tinier pieces. Once the pieces get so small that they’re close to the size of the individual receptors, the camera has to decide which color to make that pixel, or to average out several bits of color information. This processing, multiplied by 14 million pixels, results in an image that will be very very similar to what your eye sees, but on an enlarged level, will show signs of this “fudging”.
For macro, it’s probably less evident than a wide distant landscape, or worse, a wildlife shot that you couldn’t zoom in far enough, and instead are cropping the shot after the fact. Really, any way you slice it, it will become most evident with cropping…much like a lack of MP. There’s no way around it, and really, 8-12MP is about the practical limit for todays compact CCD sensors, but you can’t tell that to every uninformed customer, so they’ll keep boosting that MP count as long as the huddled masses keep thinking that a higher number means better images.
Fly shots should be just fine. When you do them, extend your OPTICAL zoom to the max, and position yourself so that your subject fills most of the frame. Add lots of light.
Man, who knew? I thought I just got the latest and greatest when I received the Pentax Optio W90 for Christmas this past year. I haven’t even had a chance to get out on the water yet and already they have a newer and supposedly better model. Dang! 
Kelly
It’s kinda like all new fishing equipment isn’t it Kelly?
It’s kinda like all new fishing equipment isn’t it Kelly? With supposedly being the key word! :?
Pentax makes great P&S. I just wish they never abandoned the 645 or 67 and came out with a digital version or back.
I would not worry too much about noise at higher ISOs given the camera probably has some sort of DNR built-in or you can buy DNR software if you tend to shoot at higher ISOs and noise is a factor. I have been using Dfine by Nix for years with excellent results.
Don’t I know it. Oh well. The way I see it, I’ve got a great camera that I’ll have for many years, and, to me, it is the newest and the best. Same as my old Sage RPL, to me, its the best rod I own and does a great job for all the fishing I do. I guess if we covet too much we’ll end up spending more than we have brains, we just need to learn to be happy with our lot until we can change it…
Kelly.
Nothing wrong with that W90 or any of the previous models. All are very good cameras in their own right.
Great point about mega pixel counts, pixel crowding and the mega pixel wars. It has been driving those of us that are into photography nuts for some time now. The only thing I will add to what Cold has said is that the type of sensor will also determine how the camera processes the image along with the latest version of software. Also it should be noted that Pentax allows you to adjust up or down th number of mega pixels you record the image with.
On the higher mega pixel CCD sensors like this one if you notice the picture quality drop of at the higher pixel count then drop the pixel count down until you get the results you like. Now if you are going to need a lot of detail or do enlargements up to poster size then you need the mega pixels. Otherwise most of us don’t really need much above the 8-12 mega pixel range. I have said this before and will say it again that I will take a quality lens and good optical (4x or higher) zoom over mega pixels any day. Digital zoom is not nearly as effective as real optical zoom.
Given the ISO and shutter speeds for this camera along with the aperture size Pentax must have felt that the camera’s sensitivity to light was sufficient to eliminate physical sensor shift shake reduction in this camera. I also prefer sensor shift shake reduction but it would add quiet a bit of bulk and price to this camera. Really for most of the shots that we take digital shake reduction will suffice. If you need any more than that purchase a mono pod or wading staff that has a stud for mounting your camera on it. Even with my point and shoot cameras most of the time I am using the mono pod or tripod.
As far as the GPS function on this camera goes just shut it off in the user menu if it bothers you. Like someone else mentioned that secret honey hole of yours is a secret to one person, you.
By the way you all have missed a very big new feature of this camera. It is crushproof. Now that might not mean a lot to you bantam weights out there but when you are the size of an N.F.L. lineman it means a lot! run it over with your ATV and it will mean something to you as well. 
Oh yeah, perhaps this is the purist coming out in me but if you want to shoot true HD video then please buy a dedicated HD video camera/recorder. IMHO this has added an unnecessary expense to our photography gear.
Just my opinion there so off of my soap box on that one.
I have said this before and will say it again that I will take a quality lens and good optical (4x or higher) zoom over mega pixels any day. Digital zoom is not nearly as effective as real optical zoom.
Absolutely. In fact, digital zoom isn’t effective at all. The only thing it does is crop the image in the camera. You’re much better off doing that yourself.
Really for most of the shots that we take digital shake reduction will suffice.
I’m not sure exactly how Pentax does theirs, but on my WS80, the only thing that the Digital SR seems to do is to limit your photo to 5MP (down from 10), and to crank the ISO, resulting in a low-res, grainy photo. The best SR for this camera is to find a place to rest it and use a 2sec timer.
Appreciate your info Cold, I like that SR idea. I have a 3x zoom nikon and my wife has a 12x panasonic, and her pics are much better than mine. Mine is older and smaller, her’s is newer and not a pocket camera like mine. I guess I am glad to see a 5x zoom in this new Pentax, instead of just 3x…