Pentax A10 Performance

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Pentax Optio A10 Performance

Timing and Performance

Slow to average speed for a consumer camera.

Startup/Shutdown
Power on to first shot	4.7 seconds	Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy
Shutdown	2.0 seconds	How long it takes to retract lens
Buffer clearing time	3 seconds (3 seconds buffer clearing in LF JPEG)	Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
Mode switching
Play to Record, first shot	1.4 seconds	Time until first shot is captured
Record to play	3.5 seconds	Time to display a large/fine file immediately after capture
Display recorded image	0.2 second	Time to display a large/fine file already on the memory card.
Shutter response (Lag Time):
Full Autofocus Wide	1.36 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.
Full Autofocus Tele	1.64 second	Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.
Prefocused	0.30 second	Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.
Continuous AF	1.60 second	This mode usually shows no speed increase with our static subject; we have no way to measure performance with moving subjects
Manual focus	0.47 second	For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused"
Cycle time (shot to shot)
Single Shot mode Large Fine JPEG	2.80 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Single Shot mode 640x480 JPEG	2.09 seconds	Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots
Early shutter penalty?	YES	Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer
Continuous mode Large Fine JPEG	2.11 second (0.47 frames per second); 3 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Continuous mode 640x480 JPEG	1.11 second (0.90 frames per second); 2 seconds to clear	Time per shot, averaged over buffer length or 20 shots, whichever came first
Flash recycling	6 seconds	Flash at maximum output
Download speed
Windows Computer, USB 2.0	1,925 KBytes/sec	Typical Values: Less than 600=USB 1.1; 600-770=USB 2.0 Low; Above 770=USB 2.0 High
*Note: Buffer clearing and continuous-shooting times measured with a Kingston Ultimate 133x SD memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode.

The Pentax Optio A10's performance ranges from average to quite slow, beginning with a sluggish start-up time for an average zoom-equipped camera. Shutter response at wide angle and telephoto zoom settings is quite slow, with lag times of 1.36 and 1.64 seconds respectively. (1.64 seconds can seem like an eternity if that's how long your camera takes to snap a shot after you've pressed the shutter button.) "Prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are better at 0.30 second, though still not as fast as many competing cameras. Shot-to-shot cycle times are also slow, at about 2.8 seconds for large/fine JPEGs, though the camera can capture frames continuously at this rate without pausing, with a sufficiently fast card. Continuous-mode speed isn't stellar either, at only 0.47 frame/second, but again, the camera captures frames at this rate without having to slow down to wait for the memory card. Flash recycling time is about average, at about six seconds. Download speeds are where the camera's performance picks back up, with fast enough speeds to eliminate the need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Pentax A10 is sluggish overall, and not a good choice for action shots or photographing small children. But if you're purposes are mainly travel shots and family pictures (of the posed variety), then the A10 will perform just fine.

Battery and Storage Capacity

Battery
Modest battery life with the LiIon battery pack.

Operating Mode	Number of Shots
LiIon rechargeable battery	150

The Pentax Optio A10 uses a single LiIon battery for power, and comes with a battery and charger.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions. This is a very modest battery life by current standards: We strongly recommend picking up a spare battery and keeping it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Pentax Optio A10 accepts SD/MMC cards, though no card is included; 24MB RAM is built into the camera.

Image Capacity with 24MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal	Basic
3,264 x 2,448	Images	8	12	17
3,264 x 2,448	File Size	3.0 MB	2.0 MB	1.4 MB
2,592 x 1,944	Images	13	19	27
2,592 x 1,944	File Size	1.9 MB	1.3 MB	928 KB
2,304 x 1,728	Images	17	24	34
2,304 x 1,728	File Size	1.5 MB	1.0 MB	732 KB
2,048 x 1,536	Images	20	29	41
2,048 x 1,536	File Size	1.2 MB	849 KB	613 KB
1,600 x 1,200	Images	28	41	57
1,600 x 1,200	File Size	876 KB	606 KB	438 KB
1,024 x 768	Images	52	75	104
1,024 x 768	File Size	481 KB	333 KB	241 KB
640 x 480	Images	96	141	195
640 x 480	File Size	262 KB	179 KB	129 KB

We strongly recommend buying large capacity SD/MMC memory card, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. (These days, 256 MB is a good trade-off between cost and capacity.)