Pentax Optio S50 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Rating:
Summary: Does not live up to the Pentax name
Review: I bought the Pentax S50 last December. I already own a Nikon 5700 but I was looking for a camera that I could:
a) take anywhere, and
b) take scuba diving
With its compact size and available underwater housing (and even supported "marine" modes) the Pentax seemed to fit the bill. I was actually undecided between the S50 and the Casio Exilim, so I actually ran a side-by-side comparison of the two. The S50 lost out in almost every discipline, the most important being picture quality (even though I was comparing to a 3MP Z30!), which I actually found to be quite poor on the S50. Apart from this, I was disappointed by the LCD screen, which was smaller and far less sharp than the Casio's, the larger size (although not by much) and the general build quality - the buttons, flaps and doors just felt cheap compared to other cameras.
On the positive side, I did like the idea of being able to use standard AA's, but when you consider the amazing battery life of today's ultracompacts, it's really not an advantage. I was also impressed by the incredible array of features and options that the S50 packs in - unfortunately, these don't make up for the poor picture quality. My advice would be to choose a Casio Exilim. If price is an issue, get the Z30 or Z40 - you will still get better pictures.


Rating:
Summary: Whoa
Review: I bought this camera as my first digital camera. its simplistic design and 5mp are what turned me on to this product. when i got it home and started to play with is i realized it had an abundance of features that i didn't notice at the store. it can take point and shoot pictures easily, it has a manual focus override, and you are able to take black and white or my personal favorite black, white and red! these are just a few of the features on this relatively inexpensive camera. to top it all off it takes really really good high resolution pictures that you'll think were taken by a professional.

Rating:
Summary: I don't understand the lack of reviews on this camera
Review: It all started at the Chrismas boat parade party in Huntington Harbor, CA. I noticed this guy with a small camera taking pictures across the room. I could see the viewfinder screen from across the room, and it was clear. I just had to see that camera up close. The user was from Hong Kong, where everything is knocked off and relatively less expensive than the US. That impressed me, because, not only was the user very knowledgeable about cameras, he owned a fairly large company and could afford any camera. Why did he pick Pentax? I looked the camera over, he let me take some shots. I made a quick decision, I had to have one. The camera just felt good in my hand. That night I found a new one for $219.00 on the inet and bought it from a new camera discounter. (Buy Digital)

OK, now I have it, what do I think? I think 5 stars. 5 MP, operates on 2 AA batteries, huge LCD RGB quality viewfinder, quality metal construction, no flimsy doors like the Canon SD300, no red eye, easy to understand and operate controls, fantastic pictures, flash works for more than 6 feet away, pictbrige photo transfer. The only negative is it does not come with a memory card, you have to buy one. The camera comes with 11MB, built in. I might mention that I also have a Nikon D70, I tend to grab the Pentax first, it's much easier. I'd love to see a comparison between this camera and the highly reviewed Canon SD300.

Reviews are important before buying a camera, but if an educated camera enthusiast from Hong Kong says good things about a camera, especially, if a bargain price is not an issue, it meant more to me than 15 Canon reviews. My observation proved to be accurate. If you don't believe me, buy on, if you don't think it's excellent, keep the box and resell it on Ebay.


Rating:
Summary: What a deal!!!
Review: Really good Camera. Search the web for better price. I bought same brand new for $207 plus shipping. I am a very happy consumer of this product. Excellent features and beautiful size and looks.

Rating:
Summary: low battery life
Review: this is a great little camera. i bought it because of its size. it has some great features like being able to reduce the file size photos stored on it. panoramic assist is good and its very easy to use. it has some drawbacks too. red eye reduction always has to be used. the pictures are quite dark in low light settings and my biggest problem, low battery life. it uses 2 AA batteries. the rechargable batteries that came with it were charged for 12 hrs as recommended. i only got about 90 pictures out of them (16 were with
flash). it also takes a while to write the images to the disk( even with the enhanced SD II card)
but i still think its a great camera.