Performance
Sample photos and images of the product are
available in Equipment Database, where you can easily find your own opinions,
photos and assessments about the product.
Sample
photos
Portrait
| 1/80 sec | f/3.8 | 11.8 mm | ISO 1600
Landscapes
| 1/250 sec | f/7.9 | 4.5 mm | ISO 125
Low
Light | 1/13 sec | f/4.9 | 18.0 mm | ISO 1600
Pet
Portrait | 1/125 sec | f/4.9 | 18.0 mm | ISO 125
HDR
| 1/1500 sec | f/2.8 | 4.5 mm | ISO 125
Underwater
| 1/45 sec | f/2.3 | 5.5 mm | ISO 1250
Colorful photos are well brought by the
well perform WG-3. Portraits have beautiful skin tone and no sign of red-eye
effect. Underwater shots are also look good. You can also take HDR shots, which
is a hard update that Petax have to innovate a lot from the previous compact
camera.
Lens
performance
Wide
Angle | 1/1500 sec | f/2.8 | 4.5 mm | ISO 125
Full
Optical Zoom | 1/500 sec | f/6.5 | 18.0 mm | ISO 125
Digital
Zoom | 1/500 sec | f/6.5 | 18.0 mm | ISO 125
Macro
| 1/45 sec | f/3.1 | 5.5 mm | ISO 250
When the lens is in the wide-angle status,
detail level at the center of the frame is very good, although it is a little
bit soft at the corners. When shooting with the full optical zoom, details
level is not very good and there is the appearance of purple fringing. With the
minimum focus length of just 1cm, shooting beautiful macro shots is likely.
ISO
performance
Sample
photos with different ISO levels
The noise level is very low when ISO is at
the level of 125, but there is some image quality problem at ISO200. The image
still retains its good sharpness but some colors have been affected. At ISO400,
noise level just rises a little bit, but the images become slightly soft when
ISO reaches 800. The images start to be less sharp at ISO1600 but still sharp
at most of the point. However, they show a significant level of detail loss at
the ISO level of 3200. You can shoot at ISO6400, but it should better be avoided
as the image quality becomes extremely bad at this level.
White
balance performance
Under
incandescent light
Under
fluorescent light
Under tungsten light, the Auto White
Balance produce soft colors, and the preset tungsten mode gives high quality
images. Under fluorescent light, AWB also performs very well. The magenta color
can be clearly seen when the preset fluorescent mode is used.
Filters
performance
Some
sample shots
There are three different colors tones for
you to choose when shooting. After shooting, in the playback mode, you can
freely edit your shots with some of the digital filters, the picture above is
an example.
Value
The price for the Pentax WG-3 is $478. Other
waterproof camera includes the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5, available for $531, the
Nikon Coolpix AW100, which costs $322 and the Canon Powershot D20 whose price
is $383. For further details about water-resistant camera, have a look at the
Top 10 Best Waterproof Cameras.
Conclusion
There are many ideas that have inspired the
design process of this WG-3, making it look like an outdoor camera and in fact,
that is exactly how it works. You can drop it, freeze it or even sink it to the
depth of 14m underwater, which is the similar depth as other waterproof
cameras. However, what we expect about its image quality is not fully
satisfied. The detail is not clear and bad images are likely from the ISO level
of 200 or above, although the bright lens can help you avoid higher ISO
setting, unless you are in a dark environment. In that case, the LED macro
lights can be used to add more light into the ambient environment. If you wish
to share your shots on a website, the image quality is good enough to fulfill
your wish, especially the wonderful color reproduction.
Advantages
·
The camera body is ideal to use in extreme
weather conditions
·
1cm minimum focusing distance
·
Full 1080p HD video recording
·
Fast f/2.0 lens
·
Waterproof to 14m
·
LED macro lights
·
HDR mode
·
Good range of digital filters for editing photos
Disadvantages
·
Noise effects image quality from ISO 200 or
above
·
Detail is not too good
·
Only 4x optical zoom
Evaluation
·
Features: 4.5/5
·
Handling: 3.5/5
·
Performance: 3.5/5
·
Price: 3.5/5
·
Overall: 3.5/5
Specifications
|
Lens
·
Max aperture: f/2 – f/4.69
·
Max Aperture: f/2 - f/4.9
·
35mm equivalent: 28mm - 140mm
·
Optical Zoom: 5x
Image Sensor
·
CCD pixels: 16Mp (Megapixels)
·
Pixels (W): 4608
·
Pixels (H): 3456
·
Sensor Type: CMOS
·
Sensor Size: 1/2.3 inch
·
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 16:9 1:1
LCD Monitor
·
LCD Monitor: 3in
·
Screen resolution: 460,000 dots
·
Touch Screen: No
Focusing
·
Min Focus: 1cm
·
Focusing modes: Autofocus
Exposure Control
·
Shutter speeds shortest: 1/4000sec
·
Shutter speeds longest: 1/4sec
·
Exp modes: Program, Scene modes, A
·
Metering: Centre-weighted – Average, Multi
Pattern, Spot,
·
ISO sensitivity:125 - 6400
·
White balance: Auto, Manual, Outdoors/Daylight,
Incandescent, Fluorescent, Shade
·
Exposure Comp: +/-2
Shooting Options
·
Continuous shooting: 1fps
Video
·
Movie mode: Yes
·
Video Resolution: 1920x1080,1280x720 720p, 640x480
VGA
·
Video FPS: 30
·
Stereo Sound: No
·
Optical Zoom with Video: No
Other Features
·
Image Stabilization: Yes
Interface
·
HDMI: Yes
·
USB: USB 2
·
Wi-Fi: No
Storage
·
Card Type: SD, SDHC, SDXC
·
File Type: JPG
Power Source
·
Battery Type: Rechargeable D-LI92 Lithium-Ion battery
·
CIPA Rating: 260
Box Contents
·
Box Contents: USB cable, AC cable, Li-ion
battery, Battery charger, Carabiner strap, Strap, Macro stand and Software
Dimensions
·
Weight: 194g
·
Width: 122.5mm
·
Height: 61.5mm
·
Depth: 29.5mm
|
