Hi, everything depends on what something is compared to. Compared to SLR, nearly every P&S is a snail. Big "internet reviewers" tend to write the reviews on absolute base, i.e. literally they compare low-end compacts with high-end SLRs. In my opinion, that sucks. Basically I could also write about every P&S (and most of SLRs) that those are useless crap - buy Hasselblad or quit taking pictures :) BS you say? Agreed... this is why I last year switched to something like head-to-head reviews of more or less similar models. It is not easy as Estonia is a small market and it is quite difficult to get suitable models every month, but I am still trying. OK, we walked quite away from Optio A10/20. Just now I am reading my reviews of those ( I have also tried A10 when it came out). I complained about operation speed and jpeg-packing issue (strange - the files are nearly the same size as the ones from my 4MPix 43WR, despite the sensor is 8MPix. I do NOT believe in much better packing algorithms). A20 is not worse. Speed is an issue, but the camera is definitely not crappy in use. I've seen much worse cameras that have got much better reviews at Dpreview or Steves. For example, someone could explain me what's so wonderful in Canon 400D. It's in my table right now and I'm troubled to figure out my usual three "strong points"... It's SLR without spot metering, without comfortable way to connect to PC and it produces hazy images. The very same camera earned "Highly Recommended" from Dpreview. BR, Margus
Jaume Lahuerta wrote: >Hi Bruce, > >Well, what bothered me was a strange unanimity in various reviews: > >>From Dpreview: >"On the other hand it can be really, really annoying to use; by today's >standards shooting feels slow and unresponsive, and has a screen that can't be >seen at all in bright weather. Throw in the dismal battery life and total >unsuitability as a social 'party snaps' camera and you'd think this was a >camera you'd only recommend to someone with a masochistic streak, or someone >you really didn't like." > >>From DCResource: >"Camera performance is undoubtedly the A10's weak spot. The camera is slow to >start up, there's noticeable shutter lag (especially with flash shots), and >shot-to-shot speeds are below average. Focusing speeds were about average, and >low light focusing was good thanks to the A10's AF-assist lamp. The camera's >continuous shooting mode was especially poor. While it will keep shooting >until you run out of memory, the 0.5 fps frame rate and blacked out LCD make >the feature almost useless. Battery life was well below average." > >>From Steves digicams: >"Bottom line - While the Pentax Optio A10 offers some appealing features >(8-megapixels, Shake Reduction, etc.), the overall performance of this camera >in all areas was disappointing. It does have the ability to capture pleasing >photos that have enough resolution to create poster size prints. However, its >poor movie mode results and extremely slow shooting performance really bring >the model down." > >After this I concluded that performance was a real issue with this camera and, >thus, that it should be addressed in its replacement model. That is why I was >disappointed when Margus mentioned that the A20's was 'a little slow in >operation'. > >Anyway I am glad to hear that, from your actual experience, you don't find it >that slow. > >Regards, >Jaume > >----- Mensaje original ---- >De: Bruce Dayton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Para: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> >Enviado: viernes, 3 de noviembre, 2006 18:44:42 >Asunto: Re: Compact point and shoots - Optio A20? > >Hello Jaume, > >I'm curious - we have an A10 (my wife's) and have had many other >P&S digitals from several manufacturers. When compared with an SLR - >they are all poor performance. Can you specifically tell me what >bothers you about the A10 vs many other compacts? > > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
