Pentax Optio W60

The Pentax is not 'unique' in any major way. A side-by-side comparison with the Olympus 1030sw would be useful
http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2008/04/16/Olympus-mju-1030-SW/p1

You'd think that the under-exposure would severely hamper any under submerged picturing. shame there was no example to check this.

Hmm, a point and shoot that underexposes quite badly. I'm not sure that the target market would know or even want to work out how to use the exposure compensation or fiddle about in PS..

Also, I know the vast majority of users won't use it, but that has got to be the most stupidly placed tripod socket i've ever seen on a camera!!

Actually, the W60 is absolutely capable of shooting movies with Optical Zoom. You simply have to enable the option in the control panel.

From the sample shots it seems it exposes for whites. It's not that usual among compacts, but perhaps that could actually help with underwater photography if you only have one strong light source (or any similar kind of photography).

I have been the owner of the first Optio WP camera for 3 years (http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2005/04/01/Pentax-Optio-WP-Waterproof-Digital-Camera/p1). I smashed it, swimmed with it, throwed it in the ocean. It should be really fucked up now, but because of the internal optical zoom and the fact that it is water, shock and dustproof makes it only look fucked up on the outside but nothing is wrong with the camera after 3 years of extreme sport.
I kitesurf, do parachute jumps, hike and travel alot. . . I have never used any kind of camera protection, i just put it in my pocket and then its protected more than enough.
Negatives about my old Optio WP: 1. The video quality is no good. Just a bad resolution. But W60 got it fixed. 2. It only has 3 optical zoom, but again w60 got it fixed.
I recommend this camera alot, even when i havent got it yet :) The only reason why i buy this W60 camera is cause of the video resolution. My old WP only got 320x240 which is a bit to low for a good movie clip. With the W60 i will never need a new camera or video camera.

A huge advantage that Pentax waterproof cameras have over Olympus's is the option for the camera to always be left turned on. This is a great feature when using it for surfing with the help of the Surf Camera case (found at www.surfcamera.com). You have to be very quick to get a surfer shot and if the camera auto turned off you will miss the opertuned surfer shot. The battery will last longer than a full 2 hour surf session.

It seems that the Pentax camera does not a viewfinder. I continue to look for a waterproof compact digital camera of good quality, with a viewfinder. I tried the Olympus WP770 and had to return it. It is almost impossable to use the viewing screens in sunlight on moving objects. Dog sports in my venue, but almost any sport/activity with movement is a problem. Any suggestions?

ok - as soon as someone take a picture while doing snorkelling, please post it.

As the contrast is usually reduced underwater, I don't agree with the comment that under-exposure would apply underwater. The underexposure is only evident when there is strong contrast.

I am keen to see whether the distortion is reduced.

Cliff - I like your approach of giving the full picture at minimum and maximum ISOs for compacts. I agree that the close ups show serious degradation at higher ISOs but reckon that the rest of my family would probably be quite happy with the high ISO shot of your cars - given the joy they get out of my 6x4 prints of their photos from their mobiles.