Speed and Time Tests
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.
| |
Pentax W60 |
Olympus 1050SW |
| Start-up to Capture (seconds) |
2.61 |
3.42 |
| Shutter-to-Shot (seconds) |
0.14 |
0.51 |
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.
