Rating: 
Summary: Amazingly Cool Piece
Review: Pentax Optio S4 is amazing digital camera. We can say "Size does matter". The size of the makes it stand tall from others. The camera can fit in pocket and it is very useful when we are travelling.
Operating the camera can be little tough. The picture clarity is good and the resolution is very decent for road warriors like me.
Rating:
Summary: the perfectly balanced digital camera
Review: Pro:
-It's SMALL: Smaller in both length and width than most flip phones (like Motorola or Samsung) and has the same silver finish
-Ease of use: I'm not really a techie, but I was able to figure out how to use it by reading the manual over a couple of times. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.
-It came with an updated USB driver for the camera that installed in less than 30 seconds on my WinXP PC. I chose not to install the included photo editing software, but that's up to individual users.
-When connected to my USB port, the pictures (w/o the editing software) showed up in folders under "Removable Disk" icon that pops up next to my CD-Rom drives whenever I plug in the camera
and I just view them with the WINXP picture fax viewer
-I've taken about 50 pics already and there were no "RED EYE" problems for me in any of them, unlike a lot of other reviews I've seen on the internet
-The frame rate for the video was almost the same as watching home movies from my camcorder, although the sound was very very low (just need to bring the camera in closer to the person talking)
-has built in speaker! I watched and listened to the small video clips, each one about 60 secs.
-The flash is very, very good!!! Pictures in low-light (not withstanding the LCD problem) at about 12 feet, come out crisp and clear for me
-All the other buttons and controls (except the four-way dial) are extremely easy to use and all the major regular features like flash settings and manual focus are literally at the push of a button, not through the menu screen
-I've been using only my right hand for all menu options and also taking pictures (warning to left-handed people, this is a right-handed camera)
-OVERALL: This camera has features which will please even up to an Intermediate level photographer.Con:
-The metal body scratches easily. I've had it for about four hours, and there's already a small scratch, but any small scratches are not a problem if you are not less than half an inch from the body of camera.
-There are discrepencies in the manual, specifically with the various photo "modes" available. Several of them are not even listed or explained at all.
-There are only four fixed resolutions you can take pictures in
-The four-way dial is way too small for most hands
-The LCD screen is almost totally black in very low light conditions
-NO (Secure Digital) FLASH MEDIA STORAGE CARD INCLUDED (prepare to shell out anywhere between $25 to $200 additional for storage -- about 40 pics with a 128 mb card at the higest resolution)
-The AC adapter for the camera itself is "optional" (either buy another battery or keep your battery charger handy)
-the battery life also is not very good, and it seems it needs more charging time than its use time
-NEED A CASE if planning on TRAVELING with the camera. CONCLUSION:
If you're looking for the digital camera that has everything, go for a 5 megapixel one (e.g. Canon S50) which is larger in size but has everything a semi-professional photographer would want. But if you're a gadget freak, this will impress the @#$% out of your buddies. But, not just aesthically, this camera was extremely easy to use and doesn't involve any sort of a lengthy learning curve, even for complete newbies to digital cameras, like me. Even with the con's, I still love this camera!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Ultra-Compact Digital Camera
Review: The Pentax Optio S4 is a superb camera; the fact that it's an ultra-compact camera as well makes it even more amazing. I researched and tried out many different compact digital cameras before settling on the Optio S4. I travel quite a bit and was looking for a camera that I could slip in my pocket without sacrificing too much in the way of quality images. What I found in the Optio S4 is an extremely compact camera that sacrifices nothing with respect to image quality. The resolution, edge-to-edge sharpness and color rendition rivals or exceeds that of larger cameras, much less other compacts. It's exposure metering is precise and handles backlit and mixed lighting scenes with ease. In terms of size, the Optio S4's closest competitor is the Casio EX-Z4. The Casio is a bit slimmer, but it's taller and wider and the Optio S4 outperforms it in resolution and edge sharpness. The Casio uses a folded lens system, which is innovative but detracts from its optical performance. Also, the Casio (at least the US version) does not offer a movie mode, something the Optio S4 does very well. The Optio S4 is so small it will fit inside an Altoids breath mint tin! Battery run time on the Optio S4 is quite acceptable and there are a number of built-in power saving features you can elect to activate. As with most of the compacts, internal memory is small, so plan on buying a SD data card along with the camera. A 64mb or larger card would be a wise purchase. Overall, the Pentax Optio S4 is a superb 4 mega pixel camera in a compact package.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Camera
Review: This camera is awesome. I've had it for two weeks now and it has lived up to every single one of my expectations. I did have to buy an extra memory card, but what camera has enough memory these days? I love this camera, it definitely has the 'wow' factor and also works really well. The pictures I've taken with this camera are definitely of the highest quality. Amazing.....
Rating: 
Summary: Great little camera
Review: This camera is small, light and easy to take along anywhere. The 4m pixel resolution is plenty for your average amateur photographer to take snapshots on vacation or when out with friends. I've printed out many photos taken with this camera and they come out sharp. It may just be the printing process, but the prints come out with better colors from this camera than they did with my film camera.
Rating:
Summary: Great Beginners' Digital Camera
Review: This review is from the perspective of an amateur photographer and a first-time digital camera buyer. My primary goal was to have a) something very portable with b) intermediate features that I could grow into. So this is what I think: Pros
• Excellent portability - extremely light and small
• Numerous settings allow you to take pictures under vast majority of conditions
• Very good macro function
• Great 'WOW' factor!
• High resolution - 4MP
• Good optical zoom - 3x
• Records short videos - upto 60 seconds
• Decent-sized LCD screen Cons
• Average picture quality (you have to print the photos to see the real quality)
• No SD card included (only 11MB of internal memory; budget for SD card)
• One proprietary battery not enough; budget for spare
• Battery cover somewhat flimsy - handle with care
• No case; you could get one from Fry's/BestBuy for less than $10 Optio S4 serves my purpose very well. I hated lugging around my previous 35mm camera. Now I pretty much have the S4 with everywhere I go during the four weekends that I have had it. Overall evaluation is thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect "take everywhere" camera
Review: This tiny camera has now been everywhere with me in its Altoids tin -- the snow of the Rockies, the outback of Australia, the beaches of Mexico. It is the perfect camera for those shots that you would never have got with a bulkier model. The thing just works well, has all the bells and whistles you could want and takes great pictures. Durability? Use the Altoids tin desdigned to protect it! Quality? Great for memories, and, from what I've managed so far, often good enough for sellable art prints. Convenience? Can't be beaten!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect "take everywhere" camera
Review: This tiny camera has now been everywhere with me in its Altoids tin -- the snow of the Rockies, the outback of Australia, the beaches of Mexico. It is the perfect camera for those shots that you would never have got with a bulkier model. The thing just works well, has all the bells and whistles you could want and takes great pictures. Durability? Use the Altoids tin desdigned to protect it! Quality? Great for memories, and, from what I've managed so far, often good enough for sellable art prints. Convenience? Can't be beaten!
Rating: 
Summary: What a pain
Review: What a pain to have to write this. I loved this little gem, but it died the second day we had it. It appears to be a fine piece of equipment, but I had to send it back. I'm going to buy the Canon S400 instead. The Canon is a tiny bit larger and hopefully will last longer than two days. While examining the menu options a grinding sound came from the speaker and my wife turned the camera off. Then it would no longer respond to the on/off switch. I called Pentax and it was indeed a dead puppy. There was no software reset or anything of that nature. I opted for a refund.
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