Pentax Optio S5i & O-WP2 Housing Review

October 9th, 2005

The Pentax Optio S5i comes on the heels of what has been one of my favorite lines of digital cameras for underwater photography. The S5i is the third Optio I’ve had in a row, and that’s saying a lot since I am a fair weather fan when it comes to digital technology. At an impressive 5 megapixels, the camera is still small enough to fit in a tin of altoids, is very light and all of its controls are amazingly intuitive and easy to use. Its only weakness is in low light situations when shooting a subject at distance, its internal flash has its limits and could use the help of an external digital strobe. However, this minor shortcoming is more than made up for by the fact that the Pentax Optio S5i is superb at imaging small subjects using its macro setting at 6mm.

The Pentax O-WP2 underwater housing is the compliment to the Optio S5i, allowing you to take it to 130 feet (although I brought mine to 175 without incident). These two Pentax products work so well together, I have no complaints and plenty of praise.

First, the Optio has a quick button, easily accessible and programmable. I programmed it to be the manual white-balance calibration button. In a snap I can adjust my white balance to account for the absorption of longer wavelengths depending on my depth, resulting in stunningly accurate photos without flash. Second, the housing and camera together are slightly negatively buoyant, resulting in the unit always reliably being right there when you reach for it, unlike my new rig, the Canon SD500 Elph and WP-DC70. The housing has a difussing filter for the internal flash, and it is cleverly and firmly attached via rubber stoppers that plug into the polycarbonate housing. All buttons and dials are operable from the housing and are seated at different heights so that you can know what you’re pressing just by tactile sensation. This camera has terrific battery life. With the display sleep setting on, you can expect up to 4 dives per charge on the unit. The Optio and its housing cost under $500.

Together the Pentax Optio S5i and O-WP2 underwater housing form the most potent and affordable ultra-compact rig for capturing your dive excursion. The only thing I could ask for is more megapixels, which is available in its successor the Optio S6, which is even thinner. However, the Optio S6 does not yet have an underwater housing available. You can visit here to find out when it will be scuba-ready.

Entry Filed under: SCUBA