The beauty of the Pentax Optio W60 is that it is compact, extremely versatile and fully waterproof up to 13ft.
As an international Surf Photographer, we are often traveling with an abundance of heavy and expensive gear. Each item serving a unique purpose to deliver the types of images required for surf editorials.
Prior to each trip, I find myself pacing the night before, wondering which gear to bring, and how to pack it in order to bypass TSA restrictions for weight and carry-on limits.
Taking a moment to relax after a long flight...
Once on site, I have to lug around the mighty FA* 600mm f4
If i go purely with only a water setup (laptop, housing, body, fisheye, & small telephoto), I still need a carry-on backpack that is a bit more streamlined, but when stuffed to its maximum weighs a ton. The best for surf photographers are the Tamrac Adventure 9 or 10 series. The beauty of this setup is that it is the only pack on the market that has a large enough front pouch to safely carry your housing...
The hassle of lugging around gear, dealing with surfer prima-donnas, airline travel, & customs tend to make my mind drift off and dream of shooting an entire surf editorial with one of Pentax's Optio W cameras. I have shot with the entire line, from the WPi (which my wife and i used for our honeymoon, to the W10, W30, and most recently the
W60 (my favorite of the lot).
View of the Banzai Pipeline, North Shore Hawaii
The following images display the feature set and were shot entirely with the highly functional Pentax Optio W60:
1. The Digital Panorama feature. A composite of 3 Images stitched together in-camera. Now you can preserve ultra-wide landscapes.
Image shot hand held and on location, Haunama Bay, Oahu.
Northwest Philippines
2. the W60 has a fast start-up time and a nifty high speed burst mode feature to capture a sequence of images.
Inter-island travel is so much easier aboard outrigger canoes, esp. when all you have is your board and waterproof Optio...
"Secret Spot", South China Sea
burst mode:
3. The Macro mode feature. The following images illustrate the rugged nature of the Optio W60. with the attached accessory silicon skin you can take photos on the beach, in and around water carefree, knowing that the camera is protected from the elements. The Macro feature allows you to get up close and personal with your subject...
4. the Landscape mode adds the right amount of saturation and stops down to suitable depths of field.
5. the "green" or "auto-pict"mode makes family snapshots easy for any novice...
*The 28mm wide angle feature allows for handheld self portraits that look more natural, as opposed to the "outstretched-arm appearance"
6. The Food mode helps to preserve the memory of the delicious food you had while on vacation. I like how the in camera help display puts it: "For capturing food. Saturation is higher to make it look appetizing."
7. Sport mode, this image was shot under tricky lighting conditions, using the predictive focus and fill flash to freeze the action:
The waterproof design allows the photographer to shoot with freedom to capture perfect moments, no matter how harsh the conditions.
A river deep within the jungles of Subic Bay
*I shot this image handheld while wading waist deep within a flowing river. with an extended shutter speed, i was able to drag the shutter long enough to display the flowing water, yet fast enough to preserve the subject in-focus.
*This image was shot while balancing inside the pool at the basin of a waterfall. The turbulence and intensity of the falling water created a mist that would have ruined other non-waterproofed cameras.
The compact nature, portability, and ultra fast startup time make it a perfect walk around camera for photojournalistic use, when needing to be discreet.
Coconut vendor Olongapo, Philippine Islands
To be continued to include High Def Video feature, Digital shake reduction, focal length comparisons, & all-weather versatility plus available accessories...
