Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more

QuoteSmall, tough camera for those who want to integrate photography into their existing hobbies, rather than vice-versa.

Suggested Price: £270

(http://regmedia.co.uk/2010/06/02/pentax_optio_w90_2.jpg)

QuoteVerdict

In terms of whether you should get this or the Olympus 8010 the choice is fairly clear: the 8010 has a higher Mp count, is more expensive, bigger, and heavier, so the Pentax Optio W90 is a good choice for anyone who wants a reasonably good camera that will survive most calamities.

Review (http://www.reghardware.com/2010/06/04/review_camera_pentax_optio_w90/print.html)

Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0035WT8K8/ni-wild-21)

looks like a good piece of kit but what happens when the glass covering the lens gets scratched? looks like you'd have to become a dab hand at PS to get rid of all the marks.

Yup, from the review:

QuoteThe first unusual thing to note about the W90 is the lack of any kind of lens protection. "Lens protection" is a bit of a misnomer - the 28-140mm (35mm equivalent) lens assembly is safely housed behind a sheet of glass and, as is the fashion of reinforced cameras, doesn't poke out beyond the main housing in the name of safety.

However, with nothing to protect the front glass element at all, the front of our W90 quickly became smeared with fingerprint grease, fluff and other detritus that you can expect a ruggedised camera to pick up. Note: to real men, just remember to carry a hankie around with you.