Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother!
Review: I purchased this camera based on good reviews, 5MP, 5x zoom, and fond memories of my first camera, the Pentax K-1000. However, this quickly became a painful consumer experience. It started with Adorama Camera's ox wagon slow delivery - over 2 weeks after my card was billed, thus negating their useless return policy. Upon arrival, the camera did not write images to the SD card - I tried 3, all with the same non-functioning results. It is now in the Limbo of Pentax customer service . This is a brand new product that doesn't work out of box and I don't know if/when I will get another one, the same one, or if it will work when I get it back. I almost expect a repair bill from customer service. Petax is suffering from either a quality control issue or a design flaw from jarring. If you get a decent one, consider yourself lucky. I would recommend a Canon or Minolta Dimage. If you do buy this camera, get one from a brick & mortar store for a painless return.
Rating: 
Summary: Tons of options, sharp optics, incredible camera
Review: I received the camera as a gift a few weeks ago, and expected to spend at least a couple of hours learning how to skate around the various optional settings. The menu driven software made it easy to navigate and I was up and shooting in 15 minutes. The paltry 16MB SD memory card can only hold a few of my 5Meg picutres at a time, so plan on getting at least a 250MB card for it. But the pics are unbelievably sharp and balanced in the auto mode. I haven't even scratched the surface of its capabilities, but the manual mode allows you to experiment with depth of field and exposure ... it used to take a whole camera bag to house all the filters and lenses etc. that this little shirt-pocket camera has on board.
I've owned digital cameras since they first came out, and the Optio 555 is a jaw-dropping, great little powerhouse. Put this one in the "highly recommended" column.
Rating:
Summary: Pentax Optio 555
Review: I recently purchased a Pentax Optio 555 (not here though) after reading the reviews on Amazon. This is a great camera! It has everything. I love it. However it would not download to my PC using the USB cable so Customer Service recommended I send it to them to check it out. BAD Mistake. I didn't have the camera in my possession a week when I sent it in. Then they had my camera three weeks before I got upset at their lousy customer service that concluded there was nothing wrong with my camera. I finally got it returned to me but it still won't download to my PC so I use a card reader. The camera is great but customer service is terrible!
Rating: 
Summary: fair camera
Review: I was considering purchasing this camera and did a lot of review reading. I have not purchased it because I have read a fair amount of complaints about it damaging easily, pixels on the lcd screen. If you still want to buy it amazon is charging WAY to much you can find it for between 300-500 on line. use sites such as price grabber.com also read the reviews on steves- digicams and dcp photo review. good luck
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera. Unmatched options at any price
Review: I was looking for a 5MP camera with maximum zoom in an small package. The Pentax Optio 555 satisfies all of these requirements and more. I had a 4MP 4X zoom but was having a hard time capturing action shots of the kids. With the Pentax, I now have a camera half the size, 5MP and 5X zoom and the flexibility to adjust shutter speed to capture the moment. It's no easy task getting the soccer shots of the kids as they're always moving and you need a decent zoom to get close enough. This camera is perfect for that purpose. So far the battery life seems excellent. I fill up my 256MB SD card long before the battery runs out. I'm very pleased with the quality of pictures. So far I've taken about 100 pictures. It seems to have some difficulty in low-light conditions but it's better than my previous camera so I'm not sure it's the camera's fault. My only complaint is the 16MB included card is a joke. It seems typical of all mfrs to include such inadequate storage so it's not unique to the Pentax but never the less frustrating. The battery lasts forever but it also seems to take forever (~3 hours) to charge. I'm not usually in a hurry to charge but thought it was worth noting.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy replacement
Review: My Canon G1 started showing a CF error at niagara falls, and that really got me p'd off. I mean the G1 is a heck of a camera. With 2 small kids I needed a good replacement and I wanted a small versatile camera. I already had a 3mp and I wanted a compact five mp so I could keep it for a while and get my pro-sumer Big Cam fixed.
I was torn between the Sony Dsc-V1, the Canon S-50 and the S-500 digital elph and this camera. Frankly I chose the pentax because the sony was too big and would be 100 dollars more plus the memory stick. The S-50 would probably be just as good or better but the pentax lens is just better than the smaller canon lens in the S-50. THe G- series lenses are fantastic but they are big and the cameras are big. Also- I was familiar with the canon and the Zoom browser software gets on your nerves repeatedly. So I paid $400 for the pentax 555 at a warehouse club and I bought a 256 SD card at an office supply store for $70.
I have had the camera 3 weeks, about 500 pictures and here is my assessment so far.
Pros= zoom; battery life; flash performance; color; ease of playback; unlimited movie time(only limited by SD card size; Full Manual Control if you want it. With a 3x zoom you always are left saying "I wish I was just a little closer." th e5x zoom cures that. the battery lasts for days and I was extremely impressed with the flash performance on this camera. NO wash out at any distance. The colors are true as well. Manipulation may cure canon color problems but you cannot beat pentax for out of the camera colors. That movie mode is great- the canon limits to 30 seconds per movie. don't buy this or any digicam as a camcorder- but that is a superior feature really. It is immeasurable how nice it is to get true color right out of the camera. Pentax got this right on this camera. Cons: slight shutter lag; low light focus and general sharpness issues. The shutter lag is a little too much on this camera- you find yourself prefocusing so that it goes off instantaneously. Its about 80% of where it should be. The focus/ sharpness issues are correctable so thats ok. All in all, you most likely can't beat the features of this camera for the price and size. If you want a portable camera- really its thiscamera, the canon, or the sony dscv series (t1-V1). If you want a pro-sumer camera for a couple hundred more- buy the Canon G5.
Rating:
Summary: Great camera!
Review: Outstanding camera with tons of options and flexibility. Photo/color quality is superb. I researched many cameras before adding this one to my short-list and then finally selecting it. Note: it's almost small enough for an oxford shirt pocket but frankly it's a bit too large. However, the small leather Pentax Optio belt pouch (sold separately) works out very well and makes it easy to carry anywhere. I really enjoy my 555.
Rating:
Summary: Real good camera, but as good as I expected
Review: So far my photos seem ok, I'm no expert but I've had several digital cameras and some have taken pictures too dark or washed out. This one takes nice pictures. I got a fast 512mb sd card and it makes a huge difference in the speed of taking pictures, even smaller jpg is noticeably faster, tiff is about 10 times faster. (I had a Sandisk 512mb prior, now I have the Sandisk Ultra... big difference and worth the extra cost)
The camera is not as sleek as the canon's I've had and love and it doesn't seem as rugged. It is larger than many 5mp cameras but not much heavier. I like that you can zoom in movie mode. The biggest problem is the view finder is way off if you're taking photos of something within 15 feet. It gets better as you go out, but closer shots have to be done via the screen to get the actually shot you want.
I've had mostly Canon Powershot and loved them and I miss the small, sleek and rugged feel.
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera except in low light
Review: The Optio 555 has a great feature set and is a great size. Its outdoor picture are perfect, however indoors in low light the pictures are very grainy. My Olympus 3.3MP takes better pictures indoors.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Camera, but fragile; Very poor customer service
Review: The Optio 555 is an excellent performer but this is certainly not a rugged, reliable companion. I bought an Optio550 originally and had nothing but problems. The slightest jarring while in my suitcase rendered my $500 dollar investment worthless. However this is not my biggest complaint. I sent my camera to Pentax and it took them over 2 months to return it to me. When I got it back the exact same problem occurred but this time I had no idea how. I've read a significant number of reviews and several users have experienced the same problems from insignificant jarring. So I sent Pentax my camera again and finally had it returned to me shortly thereafter. However this took much complaining about the poor customer service I received earlier. At this point I have no confidence in Pentax products. So one day I decided to write a complaint about my poor customer experience. I found the name of several executives who I though may care about my problems and sent them an email. A VP read my email and made sure I was compensated for the nearly 3 months I was without my camera as well as the additional $50 I spent on shipping, by sending me a new Optio 555. So far I am satisfied but have not yet taken my camera out of the house. Although I admit this is a great camera, I would not purchase from Pentax again due to the fragility of their camera and a customer service department that cares little about its customers. I would look into Canon or Sony instead.
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