Rating: 
Summary: Optio 550 = just right
Review: I purchased the Optio 550 to replace my original Kodak DC215. I was looking for a camera with decent Optical zoom, good photo resolution, and not something so big I would dread carrying it around.So far I have been VERY pleased with this camera. It weighs significantly less than the Kodak, and is a good deal smaller too. It's a little big to put in your pocket, but I was able to get a reasonably small camera case which will work very well. The pictures I have taken so far have all been very good quality, and you can't beat the 5MP resolution :) Connecting it to my computer was a snap, and the menus and options while a little bit criptic, provide easy access to lots of features. I only have 2 complaints with this camera. 1) You will DEFINITELY need a larger memory card. The bundled 16MB card will only hold 4 pictures at the highest quality setting (below TIFF). However, this is true with every single digital camera I was looking at so I can't hold it against Pentax. 2) The movie mode does not support Optical zoom, only digital zoom. I have no idea why they did this, but for some reason you cannot use the optical zoom while shooting movies. Granted, this is a still picture camera, and I will probably seldom use the video mode, but it seems to be a very strange oversight. I would DEFINITELY recommend this camera to anyone who wants a relatively easy to use camera, that takes very good pictures.
Rating:
Summary: Optio 550 = just right
Review: I purchased the Optio 550 to replace my original Kodak DC215. I was looking for a camera with decent Optical zoom, good photo resolution, and not something so big I would dread carrying it around. So far I have been VERY pleased with this camera. It weighs significantly less than the Kodak, and is a good deal smaller too. It's a little big to put in your pocket, but I was able to get a reasonably small camera case which will work very well. The pictures I have taken so far have all been very good quality, and you can't beat the 5MP resolution :) Connecting it to my computer was a snap, and the menus and options while a little bit criptic, provide easy access to lots of features. I only have 2 complaints with this camera. 1) You will DEFINITELY need a larger memory card. The bundled 16MB card will only hold 4 pictures at the highest quality setting (below TIFF). However, this is true with every single digital camera I was looking at so I can't hold it against Pentax. 2) The movie mode does not support Optical zoom, only digital zoom. I have no idea why they did this, but for some reason you cannot use the optical zoom while shooting movies. Granted, this is a still picture camera, and I will probably seldom use the video mode, but it seems to be a very strange oversight. I would DEFINITELY recommend this camera to anyone who wants a relatively easy to use camera, that takes very good pictures.
Rating: 
Summary: Pentax Optio 550
Review: I really didn't have any luck with the camera. I took it with me to New Orleans and about 2/3 of the pictures turned out. The other third did not. Some had shadows around the frames and some objects were fuzzy around the edges and those were the day shots. I set the camera on the night scene mode, for night shots in the French Quarter and that was a disaster as there were streaking lights and double exposures. I had practiced with the camera at home before the trip and night shot worked good, but I think the problems were caused by electrical interference as there was a warning in the manual about it, but I had never experienced it with my other digital camera. I had always kept the Pentax on point and shoot for the most part to be safe as the camera was supposed to take care of everything. I was used to my Olympus Camedia which pretty much gave it up after 4 years and chose the Pentax as a replacement. Frankly, there was no comparison, with the Olympus I could shoot anything at any time with fantastic results. People were so impressed with the photos they would ask what camera I used. I thought the Pentax would have the same quality. I had planned to return the camera to Pentax so they could check it out, but it unfortunately it went missing on my trip, leaving me only with a spent SD card. In case your wondering why I didn't buy another Olympus is because the retractable lense made alot of noise and they use some plastic parts, which didn't set right with me as the new one would have been over $500.00. The memory card was also changed. Maybe the bad experience with Pentax is that is was just a bad camera out of the lot, maybe the camera was just too sensitive for my use or maybe it has too many bells and whistles and gets confused in the point and shoot mode.
Rating:
Summary: Pentax Optio 550
Review: I really didn't have any luck with the camera. I took it with me to New Orleans and about 2/3 of the pictures turned out. The other third did not. Some had shadows around the frames and some objects were fuzzy around the edges and those were the day shots. I set the camera on the night scene mode, for night shots in the French Quarter and that was a disaster as there were streaking lights and double exposures. I had practiced with the camera at home before the trip and night shot worked good, but I think the problems were caused by electrical interference as there was a warning in the manual about it, but I had never experienced it with my other digital camera. I had always kept the Pentax on point and shoot for the most part to be safe as the camera was supposed to take care of everything. I was used to my Olympus Camedia which pretty much gave it up after 4 years and chose the Pentax as a replacement. Frankly, there was no comparison, with the Olympus I could shoot anything at any time with fantastic results. People were so impressed with the photos they would ask what camera I used. I thought the Pentax would have the same quality. I had planned to return the camera to Pentax so they could check it out, but it unfortunately it went missing on my trip, leaving me only with a spent SD card. In case your wondering why I didn't buy another Olympus is because the retractable lense made alot of noise and they use some plastic parts, which didn't set right with me as the new one would have been over $500.00. The memory card was also changed. Maybe the bad experience with Pentax is that is was just a bad camera out of the lot, maybe the camera was just too sensitive for my use or maybe it has too many bells and whistles and gets confused in the point and shoot mode.
Rating:
Summary: Everything You Expected...But Since it was Given PCWorld's
Review: I think capitalism is a fine thing. Everyone deserves their fair profit. I read the PC World "Editor's Choice" review and bought the camera for less than $500...and still got $50 back on the rebate. That's a net of $450. I also did a lot of other homework. Many side-by-side comparisons. I read the Consumer Reports Digital Camera issue which didn't rate this camera because it was too new. Today you will be hard pressed to find the camera for less than $599. Although it is still worth every penny. I am surprised at the speed with which online retailers responded to the demand. Maybe the camera is in short supply. It should be! Pentax has developed a great product. Even if the price has gone up 25% in two weeks, you will still get a wonderful camera (others have outlined its features so I do not have to) and after your $50 rebate (Hurry)you will have many chances to share the love ;-) Get a 256MB SD card right away. The little 16MB that comes with it is good for about 16 high quality (or 50 lower quality) stills. I took about 300 photos in two days. There was still battery power left and the color was as good as my 35mm SLR. Just outstanding!
Rating: 
Summary: still unsure on this one
Review: i think this is a great camera with a lot of powerful features! what attracted me to this camera was that it is a 5 megapixel camera with a 5x optical zoom! when i received the camera i was pleased with it's small size (though some men said too small for their hands) the camera is well constructed and compact. To save a 5 megapixel picture takes a while and the camera only comes with a 16mb sd card (they might as well sent me a candy bar - i would have enjoyed that) - a 16mb card does nothing with a 5 mp camera! i was also frustrated by the lack of accessories - i realize this camera just came out in february but i couldn't even find a place online to buy an extra battery. The folks at pentax assured me that it is because the cameras are selling so well and the accessories are being snatched up - i'm not sure that's exactly how it's working. I hope more people notice this camera and more accessories become available and i can say i had it back when nobody had heard of it - but in the meantime, i'm afraid i'm returning it.
Rating:
Summary: Four Other Settings
Review: In addtions to the comments of the previous reviews, I would like to mention four other settings for the Option 550:
1. The "Dawn/Dusk" setting allowed me to take pictures in very low light, sometimes of very dark objects. [Note: In such instances, I should have used a tripod or other stabilizing method.]
2. The "Snow/Sea" setting allowed me to take pictures of some backlighted objects.
3. The "Distance" setting allowed me to shoot through glass with little back reflection.
4. The "Recording" setting, allowed me to record over 8 hours of voice/music on a 256 card. [Note: I'll need help in making the recording more audible, however.] In brief, I am very pleased with almost all of the 800+ pictures that I took on a recent trip to Italy. 4/2004 Addition: I have had the camera about a year now and have a major criticism about the ACDSee software: Whenever I transfer photos to the computer with ACDSee installed (or uninstalled) the file type is changed to ACDSeeJPG. The first time I took out red-eye and transferred the photo back to the SD card, the whole SD card froze up; I have not been able to reformat that card in the Pentax Optio 550, in Windows, or in DOS. The second time I (mistakenly) transferred a photo back to the correct folder on the SD card, all of the photos were distroyed, but this time I was able to reformat the SD card on the Pentax Optio 550.
Since then, I have tried to uninstall ACDSee, but when I copy photos to the computer they still arrive there as ACDSeeJPG.
I have communicated with ACDSee tech service a couple of times but have not resolved the problem.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding camera of all occassion, but not picture perfect
Review: Pros: Very compact for its specs; comprehensive feature set; high-quality images; long battery life. Cons: Autofocus speed average at best; continuous-shooting mode only 1fps; no slow-sync flash setting; no RAW mode. I recently brought the Pentax Optio 550 and this camera has a wide range of possibilities. THe colors are vibrant, the 5x optical is awesome, the 5.03 mexapixels are nice, and the wide range of options is awesome. The microphone records at 64 kpbs and can record somewhat decent clips. I have only taken 100 or so pictures, but most of them have turned out very nice. Only two possible down sides, though they are easily compensated for. First of all the noise levels at 400, and even 200 can be hideous. Just go to user mode and set the ISO to 64 or 100. Then set the Exposure Compensation to +1 or +1.3. Secondly, the movie mode is not of high quality, as it only records 320 * 240, however, given that this is a digital Camera, and not a video camera that is acceptable I have two 256 MB lexar card and those are definitely useful.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME Little GIANT
Review: The 550 is a small but powerful camera. Picture quality is excellent! I would recommed this little Giant to anyone who is serious in owning a digital camera. Camera is easy to operate, controls are very user friendly. I hope my Epson Photo printer is up to the task of printing the same quality I get with this Awesome Little Giant. Buy it, you'll be plesantly surprised!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent image quality with very good portability
Review: The major pros of the Optio 550 are its overall image quality, 5x lens, battery life, feature set, and portability. The major downsides I've experienced are ISO noise, a slightly slow zoom and autofocus, and a delay in shutter release. A few other problems are ignorable or easily fixable in photoshop (vignetting) or can be largely fixed in camera settings (indoor photos). Size and Build: I wanted a camera that is unobtrusive and the Optio 550 is certainly small enough. It is not a one-hand camera because of the weight, but it fits my hands (which I believe are slightly below average male size) very well. In addition, the build feels solid. Image Quality: On the whole, very excellent. ISO noise is a problem (400 is unusable, 200 is marginal and will probably depend on your tolerance for grain, 100 and 64 are just fine) and so this camera isn't best for lots of shots in dark spaces, especially if the flash won't be able to illuminate the subject. In some of my images there has also been minor vignetting (slightly darkened corners) and according to dpreview.com, which has a good review, this occurs in wide-angle to half-zoom shots. Most of the time it is barely noticeable, and it is never a showstopper because a forum member at dpreview.com created a Photoshop file that can be used to easily correct the problem, which I have so far used a few times with good results... Cropping out the affected portion is, of course, another option. Otherwise, the image quality has been excellent, provided one sets and keeps the sharpness (and possibly also contrast, this seems to be more a matter of taste) down a notch from the default value. Outdoor images are, in my experience, sharp and detailed using the camera on full auto. Indoor images without good illumination are a bit harder for this camera, but forcing the camera to use ISO 64 or 100, in conjunction with the lower sharpness/contrast settings, will almost always give a very good photo. I am colorblind, so I will not offer an opinion on color accuracy. The comments of others on this aspect seem to be uniformly positive, however. The camera has three levels of JPEG compression, as well as a TIFF mode. The visible difference between ** and *** images is very difficult to see, but ** is about half the size. Users who aren't scrutinizing or heavily editing images will probably find that a very suitable compromise. The purist in me wants to use TIFF but my budget demands otherwise, so I usually stick with ***. Battery life: Quite long. I was, for instance, able to go a week of casual picture taking (perhaps 15 pictures a day, no flash) with around two-three hours (all told) of nothing but reviewing pictures before it finally ran out. An AC adapter is not included, unfortunately, although a charger is. The lens: The 5x optical zoom was a major selling point for me, and I have already appreciated its ability to get me up close several times. At this point in time, if you value small size and zoom capabilities, no other camera is its equal. It takes about 2 seconds to completely zoom in from a wide shot, which sometimes seems too slow. The Optio 550 has a 4x digital zoom also, but this type of zooming is best done after the fact with Photoshop or something else anyway, so I turned it off. Feature set: Has full auto, full manual, an aperture priority and a shutter priority mode all of which operate as expected. Movie quality is adequate, but not great. The sound quality of annotations and movies is quite decent, however. Several filters (for color, softness, etc) are available which I haven't used. Modes for certain picture types (sunsets, snow, portraits, etc.). Of these, I've only used sunset and fireworks so far. The manual neglects to mention that fireworks mode sets a long shutter time, requiring the camera to remain motionless. 3D and panorama modes. The continuous shooting mode is about a frame per second at full resolution. The flash can be on, off, on with red-eye reduction, autoflash, or autoflash with red-eye reduction. The camera will display a histogram on the lcd live or after the fact. There is a 3x3 grid overlay available on the lcd to help framing. There is a mode for taking movies more slowly, allowing playback to appear faster, in addition to time-delay and time-interval settings. Two macro modes. More that I don't have space to detail. LCD: Sharp enough, bright enough. No adjustable brightness settings, however. In bright sunlight it is, as others have noted, difficult to see. You can also elect to turn it off. Miscellaneous: The autfocus is a bit slow, there is a slight but noticeable lag between pressing the shutter release and the actual picture, and these in combination with the fairly slow zoom will probably make some action shots very difficult to capture. Includes ACDSee software, and USB/NTSC cables. The SD card that comes with the camera is an anemic 16MB, so buying a 128MB or 256MB card is a necessity. I use the user mode on the camera to hold all my indoor shot settings, which means that I am always only a turn of a single knob away from alleviating indoor image concerns. Conclusion: Given all the positives, I think the negatives are outweighed. I think the Optio 550 offers the best overall quantity of features and quality of images for a "take anywhere" camera of any that I researched before purchasing. The price is excellent as well, considering what it offers. I am very satisfied.
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