How do you define a perfect vacation camera? The things I would look out for would be compact size, fun features, sharp results with bright/vivid colors, easy connectivity and a good amount of resistance to rough weather conditions. We find out if the Pentax W20 waterproof/dustproof camera can fulfill these criteria and if it matches up to other cameras in its budget range in overall performance.
Build & Features
Pentax made some right decisions with the W20. The biggest problem I have with cameras that require an extra housing unit for underwater usage is the added bulk and the discomfort that comes with it. The W20 is an ultra-compact camera, and it stays that way when you take it in water with you. With the little bulk, you or anyone else using the camera will have no reason to leave this one at home.
Thanks to the camera's transparent protection, it can go up to 1.5 meters in water for 30 minutes and is also dustproof. The only thing you need to worry about is the battery and memory card lid that needs to be manually locked to completely seal it.
The 2.5", 115,000 pixel LCD display is great for most purposes, but suffers from classic problems like the image getting a bit hard to see in direct sunlight. Since this is primarily an outdoor camera, this is something that needs a solution as soon as possible. When I tested the camera inside the water, the screen was a bit hard to see underwater, unless you're wearing underwater goggles.
The button layout is simple and comfortable. Obviously the W20 cannot afford the luxury of a jog dial because of the risk of exposure, so buttons would be the only way to go here.
Even though the W20 has the underwater shooting capability, it still has all the standard features that one can expect from a regular ultra-compact. It has lots of shooting modes including kids, pets, snow, beach, etc. so you can configure your camera to the right mode under most shooting conditions.
The W20 sorely lacks in any kind of manual control, so you have to rely on the scene modes to get your shot. Restricting as it may sound, thanks to its comprehensive shooting modes, you don;t really miss out on too much. Besides, it's a fun vacation camera, so manual modes are many-a-times ignored in these models anyways.
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