Shooting underwater images with a compact digital camera always seemed self-defeating to me. On the one hand, the beauty of a compact camera is that you can take it anywhere. On the other hand, if you want to take pictures near, in, or under the water and not ruin the advanced circuitry of your little technological marvel, you’d need to purchase a pricey and cumbersome underwater camera housing that you’re bound to forget the next time you go to the pool.

Digital cameras also seem to have this uncanny ability to get caught in rain when that perfect blue sky you’re photographing on vacation suddenly fills up with storm clouds and unleashes a downpour.

Like a lot of compact cameras from Pentax though, the W10 is full of surprises, both good and bad. It offers unexpected picture-taking quality underwater and on land in daylight settings, but it suffers from some serious deficiencies in low-light. Read on to find out the full details.

Looking at the Pentax Optio W10, you would have no idea there is anything out of the ordinary about it — and that’s a good thing. Though it has a Class 8 Waterproof rating (submersible for up to five feet for a maximum of 30 minutes of continuous use), the W10 resembles most other compact digital cameras on the market. While it’s slightly thicker than competing non-waterproof models, the camera’s overall dimensions make it just the right size for a travel camera — 4.2 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches (107 x 55 x 23mm).