[digital029art]

I find that the SP coating works great & usually just squirt fresh water and blow the droplets off. Also I'd like to mention using nose grease (it's on the outside of your nose) to lubricate the latch rubber seal. Works great! It's one of the finest oils, an old school trick to hide scratches in negatives.. (if you go inside your nose - that's your problem ~

On a different note, I was recently looking at full size W90 samples vs. my 4 yr old W10.
I was totally un-impressed! The W90 is 12MP, W10 is 6MP, yet there was about the same level of detail in either. In fact I think the W10 was slightly better!

I hope Pentax can come out with a real improvement in the next umpteenth iteration of their waterproof cams~

[Abstract]

Have you seen a w90 or any of the waterproof optios or ever tried to use them in a wet situation? The lens is behind a sheet of plastic or glass. Entirely encased. There is no lens cover that covers that glass/plastic - or anyway to protect it from getting scratched. I doubt that there's a coating on it.

Rain-x doesn't get anywhere near the optics and if you've ever tried to use any of these cameras in salt water, once you get the camera wet, you get water droplets that stay on the glass. If they dry there, you get a big salt smudge on your lens. Since you're using them underwater or in water, there usually isn't a way to keep a dry lens cloth and some lens cleaning fluid on you - I suppose I could carry a drybag with lenscleaner and then tread water and clean my lens while snorkeling or I could let go of my paddle when I'm kayaking in surf conditions to clean my lens (apparently I'm lazy, 'cause those aren't really acceptable courses of action for me). So invariably, you surface, the lens coating is covered with water droplets, and you try to find some clothing on you that is dry but typically you just use something wet, and hope it'll wipe it off. That doesn't work, so you try putting more water on it, and shaking it off. That doesn't work, maybe try dunking it. Nope, don't work either. The best way I've found to do it is to use my lip to push the water off.

And really... This is a camera that probably 20-40 times a day, I'm using my lip to push water off after I've tried using my wet swim suit, my life jacket, my spray skirt, or whatever to wipe it off. Do you think I care about whether the glass coating is gonna be damaged by rain X? If there was a coating on that glass, it was rubbed off years ago.

Rain-x works, it keeps me from going neurotic trying to get the water drops off everytime I try to take a picture with the camera - and the camera still takes pics as good as they ever were. And there is nothing that sucks more than finding out there was a water droplet on your lens after you've taken what would have been really great pics.

But no, I don't put rain-x on my dslr or lenses.

As an example, this pic would have been really nice if it didn't have about 4 water splotches on it:

These can be easily fixed in photoshop...no reason not to imo.

[ndolling]

A question for other W90 owners...

I've just noticed that on importing to iPhoto or Aperture, that the photos don't automatically rotate when in portrait mode... photos taken on the K7 are auto rotated perfectly.

In fact, now that I look.. even on the camera display the portrait mode shots still display in landscape..

Looking at the exif data.. 2 pics taken with the same orientation on the K7 and W90 have different data for "Image Orientation".

I can't see any settings to turn auto-rotation on or off... surely they didn't leave the function out of the camera altogether? It has SR so I assume it has an accelerometer.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Cheers,

Nick

[ndolling]

Actually... the SR is "pixel tracking" so it sounds like it doesn't use an accelerometer... still - my 6 year old IXUS has one for camera orientation... seems bizarre that the W90 wouldn't

[Pauld]

Pentax Optio W90-Great!

I used this camera exclusively on a recent Caribbean cruise and I do not have one bad thing to say about this camera and it's functions. Works great above and below water.

[lesmore49]

I'm the OP. Surprised to see this thread is still going. I got the W90 and I liked some things about it. However battery life is way too short. Mine malfunctioned very shortly after I started using it.

Took it back. First piece of Pentax equipment that malfunctioned on me since my first Pentax SLR I bought in '68.

I didn't replace it with a new W90. I bought a new Canon G 12. Very happy with it so far.

[tibbitts]

I'm the OP. Surprised to see this thread is still going. I got the W90 and I liked some things about it. However battery life is way too short. Mine malfunctioned very shortly after I started using it.

Took it back. First piece of Pentax equipment that malfunctioned on me since my first Pentax SLR I bought in '68.

I didn't replace it with a new W90. I bought a new Canon G 12. Very happy with it so far.

That's a totally different class of camera. Didn't replacing the W90 with a G12 somewhat defeat the purpose you had in buying the W90 orginally?

Paul

[lesmore49]

That's a totally different class of camera. Didn't replacing the W90 with a G12 somewhat defeat the purpose you had in buying the W90 orginally?

Paul

I wanted to have a very small outdoor camera and the W90's specs indicated it would fulfill that purpose.

I liked the waterproof, rugged aspect of the W90. Considering the small sensor, the pictures were quite good.

The G 12 as you say is in a different class...almost a class by itself. It cost significantly more than the W90, doesn't have the waterproof, rugged outdoors aspects.

But it does have all the controls and many features of a DSLR and the sensor is a bit bigger than a typical P+S. I like it very much.

I can adjust the white balance, the metering (3 types), shutter speed from 80 to 3200 ISO, I can set it on aperture, shutter priority, etc...use a separate flash (I intend to get a Canon 430 EX (like the Pentax 360)....it's like a small DSLR, w/o interchangeable lenses.

I looked at the new Nikon P7000...but some pro photographers I know...said while Nikon has great DSLR lenses...their small cameras aren't renowned, while the G series has great glass.

Also the G series has been around forever, has a great rep...the Nikon P 7000 is kind of new and seemed to be a bit of a copy of the G. So, not having had either Nikon or Canon...I went with the G 12, as the G has been around so long and has a great rep among advanced amateur and pro photographers.

Really what I wanted...was a small, daily carry around camera that was capable of taking very good pix...but wasn't as awkward to carry around as my DSLR's.

BTW, my primary camera equipment has been Pentax, since '68. Currently I have 2 digital bodies (K10D, KM (K2000 in the USA) and 7 Pentax lenses...digital, ranging from 10-17 Fisheye, 12-24, 50 Macro, 50 Normal, 55-300, etc.

I'm very satisfied with my Pentax DSLR equipment and have no desire to switch to Nikon or Canon.

Although, I do like the Canon 5D Mark 11 full framer and the Canon17-40mm L lens.

But I also like the Pentax 645D, as I was an old medium format photographer in the film days. I still have my Mamiya 6 X6 system...3 Mamiya - Sekor lenses, etc.

I think the new Pentax that came out and replaced the W90...has an optional GPS...great idea is appealing.

[barakaphotos]

Actually... the SR is "pixel tracking" so it sounds like it doesn't use an accelerometer... still - my 6 year old IXUS has one for camera orientation... seems bizarre that the W90 wouldn't

Nick, I have the same issue, no rotation!

You can INDIVIDUALLY rotate photos when viewing them in the camera, but otherwise, you have to manually rotate them after import.

I was so amazed that this camera would not have auto-rotation, I thought it must be a defective camera or some setting that I had messed with.

I contacted Pentax support. They said No. You must either manually rotate each image in the camera, one by one; or batch-rotate within your image software.

THIS CAMERA DOES NOT RECORD THE ORIENTATION!

I shoot a LOT of verticals, so this is a major pain for me.

Am actually thinking of returning the camera. It's like discovering that it doesn't have a flash built-in, or something.

Lisa