S$468
Product Summary
7
out of 10View score
The bad: Poor-quality LCD display; grainy night shots; low resolution.
The bottom line: An excellent choice for anybody looking for a cheap camera with basic functions and low capture resolution.
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Average User Rating
CNET Asia Review
DonÂ’t be fooled by the appearance of the Pentax EI-100. With its black plastic casing and S$468 price tag, it may give the impression that this is another cheap, low-quality digital camera. Once you start to use it, you will realize that it offers a lot more.
What's In The Camera
Sporting a design similar to conventional 35mm film cameras, the Pentax EI-100 is surprisingly light and comfortable to hold. In fact, at 240g, it is 10g lighter than Canon’s ultracompact IXUS. The EI-100's 105 x 67 x 48mm dimensions are also just right for a camera, neither too big nor too small.
There is really nothing much to complain about the 1.3-megapixel Pentax. Although there isn’t any optical zoom or video recording functions on the camera, the device is pretty straightforward and easy to use. First-time digital photographers will find the user manual very handy as it gives clear instructions on topics, from using the camera to connecting it to the PC for image transfer.
As expected in an entry-level camera, the EI-100 comes with a poor-quality 1.8-inch LCD screen and not a lot of camera features. Other than white balance and exposure compensation settings, there isn't much else you can do to tweak your shots besides the standard flash and image resolution options.
Decent Image Quality
That does not mean the Pentax camera suffers in terms of image quality. In fact, most of the pictures we took while testing the camera turned out quite good, especially in the 640 x 480 resolution. Day shots were generally sharp and clear. But we wouldn’t advise you to use the camera for night shots as the test images came out quite blur and dark.
And unless you need a close-up, we would also recommend against using the 1280 x 1024 mode because the images came out slightly grainy at the higher resolution.
That aside, the camera worked just great. On top of a self-timer mode and a 2x digital zoom, we found several useful features such as a tripod mount as well as video-out and power interface. You won’t to worry about forgetting your memory card as the Pentax EI-100 comes with 8MB of built-in flash memory and a slot for an optional CompactFlash card.
Power On
The supplied four AA alkaline batteries lasted slightly more than 2 hours even though the LCD was kept on most of the time. Other accessories include an instruction manual, software CD, wrist strap and USB cable.
Conclusion
While most people have an impression that low-cost digital cameras are often of poor quality and low capture resolutions, the Pentax EI-100 with its entry-level price and decent image quality proves that this is not always the case. It's good enough for those who want a decent digital camera but don't want to spend too much.
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