Pentax Optio S4

Opinion: This is my 2nd superCompact camera (4th overall camera after a FujiFilm, Kodak and ultracompact CannonSD200). After reading reviews, I can tell most people know what they are talking about and judge the camera correctly. This camera is not better nor worse than the Ultra compact cameras (not too many) in its class, I did some research (Fall2005) and found this camera to be the SMALLEST on the market!!! Pls someone prove me wrong.
Only If you are an experienced photographer (and read the manual) your review has value. I am NOT but this is my review:
the colour response is better than average,
sharpness is average
auto WhiteBalance is average
autofocus is average
An excellent pic can be easily taken with this camera but you must know how to counter the given lighting, depth conditions and basically pay attention to what the camera's LCD is telling you. Sometimes other Point-and-Shoot type cameras I had appeared to have taken better pics under same conditions even with lower MPixels. And its true that the slowest exposure doesnt go below 1/8 sec(so just use NightMode), but I can tell you for sure that after my trip to the Nevis Peak in the Caribbean I could barely feel the camera in my pocket and the pictures I took gave me a world of joy upon my arrival! The design of the battery cover on a hardened rubber is not flimsy but actually unbreakable.

Opinion: This is an great little camera. I bought it a about almost two years ago. It still works great. The macro mode is wonderful and very easy to use. I bought this as a take anywhere camera and have kept it in an Altoids tin. Works wonderfully. It has gotten a little scratched on the metal body and the Altoids tin does cut a little in to the camera on the corners but it still works like new. Also RAW is available if you know how. (do a search in the Pentax form) I have found that a faster SD card does improve the speed a little.

Opinion: one amazing cam, very light, your texture of body is safe, good zoom in so small cam. Good batery life and time to charge is faster, but i change for dual AAA baterys.

Opinion: perfect for ultra compact!

Opinion: Excellent camera for such a small size. Been using it for 12 months now and have few complaints. I also use a Kodak 6490 (to give me other features I want). I expected there to be a big difference in picture quality, but there is not, provided you use best quality on the Pentax. (There is a noticeable diff, but you need to be at larger than 8x10 to spot it).

Bought this so I could always have a camera with me as well as to carrry during my marathon running. Exceeds my expectations in this area.

Hand position on camera is intuitive and keeps fingers out of the way of sensors and the lens. Might be a problem for large fingered people, so try it out first.

Battery life is very good, given its small size. I routinely get 60-90 photos minimum. However, I rarely use flash. I expected to need a second battery, but have not bothered. I would get a backup if this was my only camera.

Camera exterior is well constructed - gives a good sense of durability (battry door excepted - see below). The Altoids tin makes an excellent case. I have a lot of fun with the cat "meow" sound I can select when I turn the camera on!

Saving the image is slow, but I help this by using a fast memory card (32x Lexar). These are worth the little extra cost to speed up intra-shot delay.

ACDSee software supplied is a great starter interface. I much prefer it over both Canon and Kodak (the only other software I have used).

You will not get SLR quality & features in this camera. What you do get is amazing for such a small box. If small and easy to use is what you want, the Optio S4 is worth every penny paid.

Opinion: So far so good.

Opinion: PERFECTLY SMALL. Incredible battery life! As I write this review, I am charging the battery for only the 4th time since June 2004! Unbelievable. When shopping for a digital camera to replace my 35mm camera, I was either going to get the best camera I could find under $1000, or I was going to get the smallest one I could find. I opted for this camera, and have no regrets. I could not find a smaller digital camera that was at least a 4 megapixel camera. I paid extra for the leather form-fit case and take it with me almost every day, attached to my belt. The printed images have turned out very well. Having a small camera means that it is convenient to carry around, and has subsequently made photography much more fun for me.

Opinion: what can I say but after reading reviews was expecting lots of so and so images but its nice to be pleasantly surprised. This camera is better then the z40 from Casio , I tried out last year. I was hesistant to get this because it was not the s4i and while everyone had good things to say they talked about soft images. Where? The images blur because its easy to move but heck with a little effort this thing delivers with a A nice expectation realized .Its not a v1 or slr but definitely adequate or above expectation.The battery life is great and its time to charge was ten minutes. ( i got a extra charger online).

Opinion: I absolutely love this camera! I've had the camera for 4 months now and take it
with me everywhere. You cannot beat it for the size and the quality. It really does
fit in an Altoids can. In fact, I lined an Altoids can with sticky-back felt and that is
what I use for a camera case. Prior to purchasing this camera, I had tried other
cameras in the ultra-compact category. None of which came close to the quality
and sharpness of this one.

It also has some fun features like the night mode which takes slow sync flash
shots. You get some really interesting available light
photos. Also, the video mode is not bad to for e-mailable video greetings.
Although, I would not recommend the video mode for anything else. It lacks
detail once you zoom in.

No complaints about battery life. I use the flash quite frequently and the battery
lasts for quite a while.

This is definitely of better construction than the OptioS4i which is an updated
version of this camera.