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Outdoor resolution - Pentax W60 vs Olympus 1050SW vs Canon 870IS / SD 880IS   To compare real-life performance we shot this scene with the Pentax W60, Olympus 1050SW and Canon IXUS 870IS / SD 880IS within a few moments of each other using their best quality JPEG settings, lowest sensitivities and default processing options. The lenses on each camera were adjusted to deliver the same field of view. Each camera was set to Program, or Auto with Manual ISO override. As mostly automatic cameras, there's no control over the aperture selected.

The image above was taken with the Pentax Optio W60 at a sensitivity of 50 ISO, and the lens set to 6mm f4.6; the original ***10M JPEG file measured 3.33MB. The crops are taken from the upper left, centre, lower right and left of centre, and are presented here at 100%.

Note: the W60’s crops show a slightly larger area due to its lens zoom increments not exactly matching the coverage of the other cameras on test here; the closest match was with a slightly wider focal length, which means there’s subsequently a little less detail resolved as a result. We were able to compensate for this on the second results page by adjusting each camera’s distance where necessary.

In the first row of crops of the mountain ridge taken from the upper left corner, the W60’s output is impressively bereft of coloured fringing, especially compared to the Olympus 1050SW. This may be down to superior optics, lower sensor blooming, or digital removal, but most will prefer a lack of fringing by any means.

In the second row of crops, there’s a little less fine detail, partly down to the slightly wider coverage used for this shot, but even then there’s a lack of crispness compared to the Canon sample. This general softness continues onto the third row of crops, where both the W60 and the Olympus are falling behind both the resolution and contrast of the Canon.

This is repeated in the final row of crops, where again the W60 is lacking the punchiness of the Canon. Once again the slightly wider coverage used in this shot is responsible for a slight reduction in fine detail, but there’s also lower contrast on the W60 which you’ll also see on the next results page. While different image processing will be a factor, this effect may also be influenced by its protective lens covering under certain conditions.

But while the W60 is lacking the ultimate punchiness of the Canon here, it’s still a fair result overall, especially for a waterproof model. Now let's see how they measure-up across their sensitivity range in our Pentax Optio W60 High ISO Noise results.