Image Quality and Performance
Color - The Olympus Stylus 1050 SW is the clear winner here. Both cameras had similar color errors – 8.73 for Pentax as opposed to a slightly better 8.28 for Olympus – but the Olympus edged out the Pentax as its color-corrected images fared much better. The Olympus Stylus tended to overdo the warm colors – especially when underwater – and the Pentax leaned too far into the cooler portion of the spectrum. The color error seems to be most noticeable in unfavorable lighting and underwater; taking pictures of fruits and vegetables in studio lighting still makes for a luscious shot.
Both digital cameras oversaturated a little bit, which is completely normal for compact cameras of this caliber. They do this to exaggerate skin tones and make them a little more flattering. The Olympus 1050SW topped off at 109 percent saturation while the Pentax W60 topped off at 104 percent. Both cameras’ saturation dropped as the ISO was increased, so don’t expect eye-popping skin with the ISO bumped up.
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| Olympus Stylus 1050SW |
Pentax Optio W60 |
White Balance – After photographing the color chart in all kinds of lighting and at every white balance setting, the results are in: the Olympus Stylus 1050 SW is the most accurate of the two. Neither digital camera has a manual white balance setting, so accuracy of the preset modes is important.
With the cameras set to the automatic white balance and tungsten light on the charts, the Olympus came through on top. Under daylight, Olympus won handily. Under fluorescent light, the cameras performed similarly although the Pentax had a slight edge. When the flash was used, the Pentax W60 was the clear winner. Overall it’s a mixed bag for the automatic white balance.
Auto White Balance: Daylight
Olympus Stylus 1050SW
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Pentax Optio W60
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Auto White Balance: Tungsten Light
Olympus Stylus 1050SW
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Pentax Optio W60
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Auto White Balance: Fluorescent Light
Olympus Stylus 1050SW
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Pentax Optio W60 |
Auto White Balance: Flash Light
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(Olympus Stylus 1050SW)
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(Pentax Optio W60)
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We took some photos under daylight with the daylight preset and both cameras performed well. The Olympus was slightly more accurate. Under fluorescent light, the Olympus was generally more accurate than the Pentax; it helps that the 1050 SW has three fluorescent white balance settings. Under tungsten lighting and at that preset, the cameras performed similarly.
Noise - Neither camera performed very well in this area. The Olympus 1050 SW’s lowest ISO setting of 80 produced a little speckled blue noise that increased dramatically throughout the range until the image was reduced to the look of sandpaper – and worse. The Pentax W60 was even worse, producing even more noise in its images. At ISO 800, the W60 had strange green-colored horizontal lines that appeared in the image. At 1600, yellow spots appear in the noisy soup and it looks like a picture that has sat in the sun for a few years. Whenever possible, keep the ISO below 200 on these cameras; they’re both terrible beyond that.
We shot some photographs of hair at different ISO settings to see how detailed the images were from these two digital cameras. At ISO 50, the Pentax W60’s resolution isn’t fine enough to follow a straight strand of hair. It only gets worse. Add the speckled noise at ISO 200 and a few settings beyond that, you can’t even tell that it is hair. The Olympus 1050 SW performed poorly as well, nixing details. At ISO 800 and 1600, you can’t tell that the picture is of hair.
Resolution - Between the two cameras, the Olympus Stylus 1050 SW has better resolution. We snapped shots of an industry standard resolution chart and analyzed them using Imatest Imaging Software to determine which camera captured the most details. The Olympus 1050 SW captured the most details; perhaps some of this can be attributed to its lens causing less chromatic aberration than the lens on the Pentax W60. Again, problems with the lens can be seen when photographing a wall of bricks: the horizontal lines are straighter on the Stylus but are bowed on the edges by the Optio.
If you look closely at the resolution chart, you can see the effects of in-camera sharpening. It is more pronounced on the Olympus’ image: around the black lines and numbers there is a whitened outline.
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| Olympus Stylus 1050SW |
Pentax Optio W60 |
Metering - The Olympus Stylus 1050SW has two metering modes as opposed to three on the Pentax Optio W60. The W60’s offerings are pretty standard for a digital camera: spot, center-weighted, and multi metering. We used both cameras to photograph an action figure in front of a window and some opened blinds. The Pentax W60’s multi metering mode produced a very dark action figure, but a well-exposed background. The Olympus 1050SW’s multi metering mode, called ESP, also produced a well-exposed background and a dark figure but the subject retained more details than the comparable mode on the W60. The W60’s center-weighted metering mode was very similar to the multi mode with its dark subject and acceptable background. The spot metering modes both produced an angelic-looking action figure with the backgrounds in both completely blown out and the subject lightened as well. The W60’s subject was the darker of the two, but the 1050SW retained more of the original color.
Low Light – Um, who turned out the lights in here? Ah yes, when the lights are dimmed to 15 lux, a clear winner appeared. The Pentax Optio W60 has completely skewed colors with its weird bluish tone, but at least you can see the subject matter. The Olympus 1050 SW, on the other hand, skews its colors to a warmer tone but darkens the image so much that it’s hard to see much of anything.
Dynamic Range – Neither camera excels in this area. Set to the lowest ISO settings, the Pentax W60 has the clear advantage. But when the ISO is bumped to 1600, the Olympus Stylus 1050 SW comes out on top – just barely.
Speed – What speed?! Both of these cameras snap a shot as fast as your grandma can run a mile. Between the two, the Pentax Optio W60 is the fastest. It takes 2.61 seconds to start up and take the first shot as opposed to the Olympus’ slower-than-molasses 3.42 seconds (and it takes even longer if the mode dial is on the “SCN” position because you have to push the “OK” button before you can take a shot). The shutter lag is longer on the Olympus 1050 SW too. When you push the shutter release button, don’t expect a picture to be taken right away. It takes just over a half-second to actually capture the image. As for the Pentax W60, it does much better with its 0.14-second lag, but that’s still nothing to brag about.
The Olympus Stylus 1050 SW has a burst mode tucked away in its recording menu; there are burst and high-speed burst options. The standard burst mode snaps a shot about every 1.5 seconds while the high-speed option snaps about a half-dozen shots each second. It goes much faster but that’s because it shrinks the resolution to just 3 megapixels – hardly enough for a decent 4 x 6-inch print. To make matters worse, the Olympus flashes its obnoxious orange light on the back while processing images throughout the burst sequence.
The Olympus’ burst mode isn’t impressive, but it still beats out the Pentax W60. The W60 doesn’t have a burst mode in its menu; the closest mode it has is the sport scene mode. It takes a picture about every 2.5 seconds, but you have to continuously lift and press your finger on the shutter release button.
Head-to-head, the Olympus wins the burst contest and the Pentax has the faster startup and much less shutter lag. Unfortunately, both cameras are unimpressive when it comes to their speed: expect lots of turned heads, blinked eyes, missed shots, and frustration.
