Pentax Optio WG-3 ($ 300) - dustproof andwaterproof, shockproof representative of the line of compact cameras of enhanced design. The 16-megapixel camera offers many improvements over the previous WG-2 model, including a more high-aperture and clear lens with a 4-optical zoom covering the wide-angle range and a maximum f / 2 aperture, image stabilization by offsetting the sensor, 3 ”LCD screen resolution 460 thousand points and an overall improvement in image quality. True, the photos are a bit noisy, and they do not look as good as the shots taken by the Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS.
Pentax WG-3: Design Review
Отделка корпуса, сочетающая яркие металлические colors, diagonal lines, sharp corners and industrial screw fasteners, clearly speaks of a particularly durable device design. The camera is slightly wider than most compact cameras. Its dimensions are 64.5 x 125 x 32.5 mm and weight is 209 g. If you compare it with the catchy, reinforced design of the Canon PowerShot D20, despite the elegant lines of the design, the D20 has more traditional proportions - the camera dimensions are 71.1 x 111.8 x 27.9 mm with a weight of 227 g
A standard flash is complemented by 6 LEDs,surrounding lens that provide uniform illumination in macro mode. They can be activated through the menu and automatically turn on when switching to digital microscope mode - a special setting that allows you to focus on objects located at a distance of about 1 cm from the camera.

С правой стороны камеры, если смотреть со стороны The LCD display is an industrial type mount for a short mountaineering carbine, rather than the usual elegant strap. On the bottom panel there is a plastic mount with a screw thread for mounting the camera on a tripod, but it is located on the side and not, as usual, in the center, and takes up about half of the base. A sliding cover protects the bay with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, an SD card slot (compatible with Eye-Fi cards) and two HDMI and AV / USB ports. The cover has a protective lock and opens with considerable effort.
Вообще говоря, качество сборки WG-3 высокое, и The camera certainly gives the impression that it can survive heavy loads with minimal damage, better than many of its cheaper, plastic competitors.

Pentax WG-3 GPS Review
The model in question is one of twoversions of the camera, produced by Pentax. Another, WG-3 GPS, is $ 50 more expensive. It has a GPS system, supports Qi wireless charging and has a monochrome front-facing information display. The Pentax WG-3 GPS is available in green and purple, and the WG-3 in orange or black. The rest of the cameras are identical.
Lens
Оптика представляет собой 4-кратный зум с pretty wide angle. The lens is designed so that it increases inwards, never protruding from the body, so as not to expose the camera to potential hazards. Therefore, the fingers sometimes accidentally appear in the field of view of the camera, since they have nothing to rest on. Fortunately, the optics coating is impervious to prints and dirt, and the water itself drains from it, so the device does not require special care after immersion in water. The focal length range is 25–100 mm with f / 2-4.9 apertures (in 35 mm equivalent). The lens is quite bright at the wide end, which is useful for underwater photography. It is necessary to swim as close as possible to the object being photographed, since even the cleanest water will cloud the field of view. When zooming in, less light enters the lens, but this should not be a problem when using the camera outdoors in the daytime.

Controls
The shutter and power buttons are located onthe top panel of the Pentax WG-3, and the other controls are behind the right of the LCD. There is a zoom control rocker, a separate video recording button, the navigation bar allows you to change the self-timer, macro, flash and mode settings. There is also a proprietary green button from Pentax. It brings up a program menu with 4 customizable functions, each of which is invoked by a standard 4-way navigation bar. By default, they set the ISO, exposure compensation, focus area and cause automatic macro shooting, but the user can give them such features so that they best fit his shooting style. Despite the fact that all the buttons are textured, for a photographer in gloves, they will be too small for comfortable and accurate use.

Screen
Pentax WG-3 3-inch widescreen LCDwith a resolution of 460 thousand dots wider than other cameras. It has a 16: 9 aspect ratio - the same as that of HD video. The image sensor has a 4: 3 format, but the camera cuts it down, recording 12-megapixel images in 16: 9 format, if it is his preference. The screen is not as clear as the 610th. Olympus TG-1 and TG-2 point OLED, but it is much clearer than the display with 230 thousand points of the budget Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS20. The image is clearly visible in bright sunlight, but it lacks contrast so that you can better see the small details.
Reinforced construction
The camera is designed for use in water onto a depth of 14 m, which is 1.5 m deeper than the previous model. The camera is strong enough to withstand weight up to 100 kg and fall from a height of up to 2 m. The camera can shoot at temperatures down to -10 ° C, which is good news for those who live or like to spend time in cold conditions. The camera can dive a little deeper than the Olympus TG-1, which is limited to 12 meters, but the model TG-2 can withstand 15 meters.

Performance
From the moment Pentax WG-3 was turned on until captureimage takes about 2.5 seconds. The camera can continuously shoot with a delay of 0.7 seconds between each photo, and the shutter operates in 0.2 seconds. Canon D20 is faster - the camera starts in 1.4 seconds, removes every 0.5 seconds.
The launch speed of the WG-3 is hampered by the fact thatphotographers are used to fully press the shutter release after turning on the power. In doing so, the WG-3 activates the pan function, which focuses on distant objects and does not activate the AF system. The camera can turn on and take a picture in this mode in about 1.8 seconds, which is still not the fastest result. If you do not remember about the features of the camera, then you can accidentally start focusing panning when you need to aim at something closer. To avoid this, you can turn on the macro function, which will always confirm focus when a frame is captured, if it is on. Unfortunately, after turning off the power, the camera does not save this setting.

Image clarity
По отзывам пользователей, проверявших резкость photos using Imatest, at the widest angle and aperture of the lens, the camera shows a result of 1,948 lines in the height of the image. This is better than the 1,800 required for the photo to be clear, which is an exceptional achievement for a camera of enhanced design with such a high-aperture lens. This is one of the areas in which the model is ahead of the Olympus TG-1 with 1656 lines, mainly due to the softness at the edges and corners of the image.
Light sensitivity
As the ISO increases, the camera becomes moresensitive to light, but with extra sensitivity, grainy noise arises and details are lost. Pentax WG-3, in the opinion of users, in this respect does not shine. The camera is capable of maintaining a noise level below 1.5% to ISO 200. The detailing remains pretty good up to ISO 400, even with 1.7% interference, but as soon as the photosensitivity is set to ISO 800 or higher, the image quality quickly deteriorates. Compared to WG-2, pictures are much better, but they cannot compete with competitors in this class at higher ISO settings. For example, the Canon D20 controls noise at ISO 800, and images at ISO 1 600 and 3 200 are much better than the WG-3.

Video
The video quality is ambiguous.The Pentax WG-3 camera shoots in QuickTime format with a resolution of 1080p30, 720p60 or 720p30. The frames are sharp and the colors are accurate, but the sound of the lens is focused on the soundtrack. When changing the focal length, the sound of the motor drowns out everything.
Connectivity options
Micro HDMI port is located in the battery compartment.There is also a USB connector, which also serves to charge the battery. Special charger not included. Standard SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards are supported.
Finally
Pentax WG-3 is one of the most interesting.models of reinforced designs on the market. The camera can be deep under water, its lens has a high luminosity and clarity, and the LEDs around the latter are a great help when macro shooting. Image quality is noticeably better than the WG-2, but it still lags behind the Olympus TG-1 at medium ISO settings. The camera does not have inductive charging and a GPS module available in the more expensive WG-3. If shooting is usually done in bright light, then the quality of the photos will be excellent, but in situations where you need to shoot at a higher ISO, it’s better to use a Canon PowerShot D20. However, it will have to pay a little extra.