The smallest, highest quality digital camera I've owned! | Pentax Optio S6 6MP Digital Camera with 3x...

SD limitation? | Pentax Optio S6 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

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	• Pentax Optio S6 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Pentax Pentax, 2005 average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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OK basic, point-and-shoot pocket camera - but buy an extra battery

I bought one of these slightly used, because I got a great deal on it and wanted a small camera that would easily fit in a shirt pocket or on a belt without being cumbersome. It was in very good shape, there was not a scratch on it. The camera takes decent pictures, but I found it lacking in several areas.

1. SHUTTER LAG - is bad, close to 2 seconds depending on how you're using the camera. It's, especially 'laggy' if you are using any of the automatic modes and a flash. I'm constantly missing pictures with it because of this. In that respect the camera is better for taking planned/posed pictures of fixed objects. Not good for quickly pointing to and picking out quick, sudden action shots where you don't have time to set it up before hand. The lag is a little less in the manual/ semi-manual modes.

2. BATTERY LIFE - is limited. The camera eats batteries like nobody's business. The person I got the camera from had only had it for 3-4 months. I don't know if it's a bad battery or they charged it too many times or what. For example, when I'm at a gathering and I'm sitting there panning around looking for candid shots, and reviewing shots to delete and save, the batteries run down pretty quickly. I barely got 2 dozen shots in a couple of hours at a family gathering recently. So, I HIGHLY recommend getting a second battery, which I just ordered. This is a problem with all cameras that have only a video viewfinder and no optical one. If you have to have the LCD screen on all the time to take picutures, then the manufacturer should include a decent-sized battery! By comparison, the heftier battery for my Panasonic LUMIX DMC LX2, which is just a little larger camera, lasts 2-3 times as long under the same conditions.

3. THE LENS ... is mediocre at best. Unless you need to crop your pictures heavily, There is no reason to bother taking any pictures larger than about 3 MP because this lens cannot resolve them adequately. I did a side-by-side comparison with my Panasonic Lumix, with a Leica lens taking pictures of lettering on a sign at several distances up to several hundred feet away, and you could clearly see the difference beyond 3 MP. I could not read the letters with this camera (cropped at 4 - 6MP) when I could still easily read them with the Leica lens. Part of the issue could be the noise reduction engine, I'm not sure. Anyway, I use 3 MP at the highest JPEG setting 98% of the time and find it works OK.

4. THE FLASH MODES - are kind of clunky. I kept setting up different automatic modes with various flash settings that worked best in a given lighting, however, when I turned off the camera (to save batteries) my settings were gone when I turned it back on and I had to go through the menus to restore them. Therefore, I recommend that you learn to use the manual, or semi-manual modes for best results.

VIDEO - It does do video, but since this is not a really a "video camera", I'm not going to complain about the video.

THE PROS

1. AUTOMATIC MODES - Most of the automatic modes work pretty well under a reasonable range of conditions. I recommend testing them to get used to how they work. I still prefer to tweak them a little when setting up a shot.

2. FLASH MODES - The camera offers several flash modes, including a "soft flash" that ia pretty nice for a $200 point-and-shoot pocket camera.

3. PICTURE QUALITY - Even though the lens is not the greatest, this camera does take better picures than most other inexpensive cameras in its class that I've seen and used. The color noise is not too bad either, but as noted above, I think it has some rather agressive internal noise reduction that causes loss of detail, particuarly at mid to low light levels. The automatic white balance settings for different lighting conditions (fluorescent, etc.) are pretty decent. Don't skimp on "picture quality" settings to save memory. Memory is cheap enough now that you should always use the least amount of compression on your photos.

4. SIZE / EASE OF USE - The camera is a very nice compact size, and is relatively easy to use with a short learning curve for most of the features. It easily fits in a shirt pocket and is easily worn on a belt.

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The smallest, highest quality digital camera I've owned!

I decided to buy this after comparing all of the other ultra-compact digital cameras, and found this was the smallest one. My boyfriend also had the S5 version, and absolutely loved his-- he has sworn never to buy another brand other than Pentax.

Needless to say, I have been SO impressed with this camera! The picture quality is second to none-- I honestly would have guessed the quality of pictures to be taken from a 10 MP camera, not a 7 MP. They are colorful, clear, vibrant-- I feel as though I could reach through the pictures and touch the actual objects.

A+++!!! Pentax is the best!

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SD limitation?

So I bought this as an X-mas present for myself. I've own an Canon SD100, 450, 600 and Casio EX-Z60 so I'm totally not a newbie to the digital world. I'm not going to repeat with others have stated in this review.

I'm really impress by the Optio S6 form factor; it really is compact. The response is quite quick turning on/off, zooming, viewing captured pict/video.

After playing with the camera for several hours, I was really disappointed in the following areas:
- temperature; the camera get warm/very warm (cool, warm, very warm, hot) after 1.5 hrs of continuous use
- continuous rapid shooting was slow; I was getting 1 pix every ~1.8sec
- can NOT read 4gb SD; I tried two different 4gb SD card I had laying around (PQI & Ridata) and received an "memory card error." All of my other cameras (even my 3 yr old Canon SD100) was able to use it just fine.
- the usb cable is propriety; why can't Pentax use a normal mini usb?

In sum, I like the camera size and its ability to record video in Divx format. The Divx function was the main impetus for purchasing this camera, but the SD limitation negate all the benefits the Optio S6 has to offer. I'm going to see if there's a firmware update (Pentax doesn't list one on their webpage) and report back here.

**update** so I received confirmation from Pentax Tech Support affirming my initial conclusion of the sd limitation. Indeed the maximum sd the Optio S6 can only read/write is a 1gb memory.

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Since the introduction of its first camera over five decades ago, PENTAX has maintained a legacy of product excellence and technological innovation. Today the tradition continues with an extensive line of digital and film cameras, premium-quality lenses, and an assortment of camera accessories, each designed to satisfy the creative needs of novice photographers and discriminating professionals alike. The new PENTAX Optio S6 slides right in. This latest tiny digital features a generous 2.5 inch monitor, 6.0 megapixels, and a powerful 3X zoom sliding lens system. Slim is still in, and the Optio S6 offers the slimmest PENTAX digital body available. Expect substance and style to blend perfectly in the PENTAX Optio S6. TTL contrast detection autofocus system Autofocus - 5 point AF, Spot AF, and Manual Focus modes PictBridge and DPOF for printing without a computer AV output terminal, USBterminal, DC input terminal Video Output - Compatible with NTSC and PAL formats (monaural sound) Unit Dimensions (W x H x D) - 3.4 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches (86 x 54 x 19mm) Weight - 3.5 oz. (100g) without battery and SD memory card, 4.2 oz. (120g) loaded and ready Can transfer images with PC and Macintosh computers Selectable Language Display Menus - English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Swedish, Dutch, Portuguese

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4