Pentax OptioWP

As the number of sunny days begins to outnumber the rainy ones, the number of beach-friendly digital cameras appearing in the shops tends to rise as fast as the temperature.

This year the first to reach us is the Pentax Optio WP, a 5-megapixel camera waterproof to a depth of 1.5 metres so you can take photos underwater and also rinse sand off the camera after a trip to the beach without damaging it.

The Optio WP is remarkably compact, with dimensions of 102 x 22 x 51mm, and all moving elements, such as the 3x optical zoom lens, are contained within the metallic casing.

The slots for the SD memory card and the battery and the socket for the camera charger are under a flap at the bottom of the unit with a watertight seal.

There's no memory card supplied but the Optio WP does have 10.5Mb of built-in memory. However, the camera uses some of this for image processing, so you'll only be able to store about three images taken at the highest resolution setting.

There's a range of automated image shooting modes, including a setting optimised for taking underwater shots, as well as some manually adjustable settings.

Image quality was fair; close-up shots were crisp and clear but the camera didn't always produce colours particularly smoothly on indoor shots.

As a point-and-shoot camera to take snaps while you're on holiday, the Optio WP represents a good buy.

Also consider:
Olympus mini-Mju