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Pentax Optio S 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

Pentax Optio S 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

List Price: $369.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than the Canon Elph and Dimage XT
Review: I bought this camera for my fiancee for x-mas and he absolutely loves it. It is very user friendly and the picture quality is great. The start up time is also much faster than the Elph. So far, the battery life has lasted for a week after a single charge while using it for 5-6 pics a day. I don't know why this is not a best seller!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Up & running in no time
Review: A long-time Nikon SLR owner, this was my first foray into digital cameras ... the choices were overwhelming. Since this was a gift for my sister and her family, I opted to invest $$ in size rather than pixels. So far ... an incredible choice. The 13- and 11-year olds were taking/mailing pictures in 10 minutes, mastered it in day. With them as (impatient) teachers, I found it "mostly" intuitive without a glance at the instruction booklet (which wasn't to be found anyway). I may NOW get one for myself ... waiting a bit on the planned iPOD!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must-have item......
Review: ....especially if you have a small child and you want to share every joyful moment of your growing child with your parents and other family members overseas. I paid $600 Canadian plus 15% tax six months ago but it was still worth it. Because the camera is so small that I carry it with me all the time, taking pictures of my two and a half years old son when he's playing, laughing, singing, or even crying. The price has dropped significantly. Go get it! You won't be regretted.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: size advantage, but not as good as competition
Review: I agree w/ the reviewer who said it's not as good as Casio Exilim Z3. I've been using this camera for about a week, previously i owned Canon S200, my roommate has Casio Exilim Z4(same as Z3, just 4.0 megapixels), and another friend has Canon s400. I compared these 4 cameras side by side... in terms of design material, ergonomics, construction, feel, s400 feels quality and professional while Optio S feels cheap and rough, relatively speaking. the Z4 has the same LCD as the Optio, also the same Pentax Lens. The LCD is 2.0" on the Z4, w/ around 88k pixels, which makes it look very bad, full of noise and blurriness. While Optio has the same LCD, it looks better because the size is only 1.6" I love the LCD screen on the Canons, 1.5" with 120k pixels, crystal clear, beautiful color. The only LCD better on small-sized camera that's available now in the market can be found on Sony's P8 and P10, w/ 124k pixels.

Photo quality wise, Pentax falls short, photos come out not as bright, vibrant, and clear as my Canon S200, which is only 2.0 megapixels. Casio Z4 has the same pentax lens as Optio, and i didn't find much difference between these two... though strangely on *some* shots the Z4 comes ahead in clarity.

I'm picky about size, and i set out to buy the smallest, but i do feel that maybe too much (photo quality, design, etc) is sacrificed for the size ... if there isn't any other camera in the market that's small, then this is the best, bar none... but w/ cameras like Canon S400, the upcoming small Sony DSC-T1 w/ Carl Zeiss lens, I advise those who put pix quality 1st but also want something easy to carry to check out those cameras before buying. one more thing, the control jog stick on the camera is hard to use ... check out dpreview.com's review and look at the camera's back. i keep pressing OK when i try to press for direction, very frustrating when u want to change setting quick

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not as good as the Casio Exilim Ex-Z3
Review: I liked the Exilim much better than the Optio S. I am a current Pentax Optio S owner but had the Exilim previously. I found the Exilim to be much more user friendly and better designed ergonomically.

The 2 advantages of the Optio S is that it performs better under dim lighting and is slightly smaller. My primary gripe with the Optio is with its super slow shutter speed. My goal was a simple point and shoot camera to conveniently 'capture the moment' after I have my baby. Adults can't even sustain a genuine smile/pose long enough for me to take a good candid shot let alone expect an infant to. I feel like I keep missing the moment vs capturing it. The downside outweights any potential advantage to me.. unless your primary targets are still lifes in dim settings.

I used the Exilim extensively for my honeymoon and loved it! The only 2 cons I experienced with the Exilim is 1)the flash is not powerful so not ideal for taking pictures in dim light and 2) the docking station broke after the first month. If Dell, the reseller, wouldn't have hassled me about replacing the docking station I would not have returned it.

Though in most respects both cameras are very comparable, I still think the Exilim is a superior camera overall. In retrospect, I would've reordered another Exilim.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: style for miles
Review: This camera is the most sleek I've ever seen, and is also very reliable. 3.2 Mega Pixels makes even 5"-7" prints look crisp. The only problems I've experienced with it is that the auto-focus is useless at night, and bright pictures can be taken out of focus at times. This is an exelent camera for someone who is interested in photography, bacause it's easy and really fun to use. You can take video up to 30 seconds with audio as well! The camera also doubles as a tape recorder for audio use, and an audio clip can be attached to any picture. It's hard not to become excited when it comes to this camera.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This thing has changed my life!!!!!!!
Review: This camera is probably the best purchase I have ever made. It is truly as small it looks (smaller than my cell phone). I say that because it drops in a pocket so easy, that I have had it with me everywhere I go nearly every day since I bought it. Next time you're at the store, try dropping even a Cannon Elf in your back pocket, and tell me that you would be comfortable carrying that thing around all night (I swear every one of my friends has one of those things, and they all want mine). I now have incredible pictures of everything that I have done for the last six months! On top of that, the battery has never failed me. This surprises me because once you take it out at any gathering; every one wants to play with it (just drop it on the charger quick before you head out, and you're set - very important feature). Simply amazing! I would recommend this camera to anyone.

As far as picture quality goes, I will not claim to be an expert. What I do know is that my images come up very clean even on my screen saver (19" monitor), and every print that I have made has been clear as can be (4x6, and 5x7). The zoom gets done what needs to get done (3x optical is plenty for this camera). I do come across a decent amount of red eye in my pictures, but with 2 seconds on the very easy to use editing software (included), everybody has their baby blues shinning again!

Like I said before, I would highly recommend this camera to any one. Make sure to grab an SD card (at least 64MB - std for any camera like this you're going to buy). This thing is put together very well. It has been with me through everything from hunting and fishing trips, to many of nights out on the town, and still looks and performs as well as ever. Keep it on the highest resolution setting because, why not? It stores pics well over twice as fast as my friends Minolta. Pick one of these up, and start taking the pictures of all of those times you wished you had your camera with you. I just wish I had one of these in my college days! Enjoy.
-Very Impressed Electrical Engineer

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hottest gift
Review: The Optio S, the smallest digital camera that's not a toy, makes a perfect gift this holiday season. Words cannot describe how small and compact it is -- especially if you don't even know what a mint tin looks like! Chances are, you've seen people carry this small wonder, perhaps at the World Trade Center memorial site or Central Park or David Letterman show. It's one of the things that prompt you to ask, "Wow, what is *that*!" Well, it packs 3 megapixels and 3X optical zoom, and come with all the amenities you find in a modern digital camera, such as a real-time LCD viewfinder and a bunch of settings that, alas, require frequent trips to the user's guide. But, you'll take comfort in the fact that Optio S's basic functions are really easy to master. It's what the Asians affectionately refer to as a "moron's camera", so easy to use anyone can pick up and shoot right away.

There's some controversy regarding the picture quality out of Optio S. I recommend you experiment with it and find the best combination of settings for you. (This suggestion applies to all cameras anyway.) And be sure to get an extra memory card and set the picture resolution and image quality settings to maximum.... I highly recommend the dimunitive yet powerful Optio S. Another model I also love is the Minolta Dimage Xt, which is a little more expensive but has the advantage of a periscope zoom lens. Now how cool is *that*?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: i love it!
Review: if size and weight matter, this one is for you. it's very small yet it does everything other bigger cameras do. it deserves 5 star rating in my opinion. i'm surprised this one is not at number spot on the bestseller list.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just plain Cool
Review: I have had the camera for 6 months and find that now Im getting 35mm quality pictures. It took some getting used to how small it is and to be able to hold it correctly to make sure you dont move it while snapping the picture...but once you know how it best fits your hand...all you be able to say is WOW!

The camera is never in the way and you end up talking it everwhere. I take it to business shows and my collegues have since purchased 3 of the same and they are all very happy. I see there is now a 4 mp version and might just have to sell mine to see if the quality of the new 4mp gets my 8x10 pictures any better, but they are already great....


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