1. 8.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints
2. 2.5-inch LCD display; 3x optical zoom
3. Face Recognition AF and AE function; Digital Shake Reduction mode
4. 16 photography modes including Natural Skin Tone, Flower, Sport, Pet, and Food
5. Stores images on SD memory cards; powered by li-ion battery

Editorial Review :

Ultra-slim and stylish, the Pentax Optio M40 offers so much more than you might expect from a digital camera with an affordable price. Loaded with 8.0 megapixel image quality, 3X optical smc PENTAX lens, the Optio M40 hosts an array of advanced features including Digital Shake Reduction, an Auto Macro feature, Face Recognition Auto Focus and Auto Exposure. The sophisticated, metallic Optio M40 body also features high-quality extended movie capture in QuickTime motion JPEG (640 x 480) at 30fps.

Customer Review :

Pentax Optio M40 8MP Digital Camera

Thank you for the speedy service. I am enjoying my new camera.
I checked different locations for prices. Your company was by far the
best place to do business. Again thank you and I hope we can do business
in the future.

Rating :

Excellent little workhorse

I purchased this camera to replace 5mp camera. The huge screen makes lining up those shoots a breeze, pictures have all turned out very nice (though red-eye seems a little bit more common than I am used too), and I absolutely LOVE the video recording. Sure the video is not put on your TV quality, but for those times when you don't carry a full camcorder around and just happen to have this in the car or wife's purse, the video is perfect. Since I live away from home, I am able to upload these smaller videos for family back home and allow them to see allot of our lives that they would miss.
A great camera, especially for the very low price.

Rating :

disappointed

My pictures comes out dark when i am taping a dance video in a club.. when i put auto flash the pictures comes out as if there were ghosts all around and it comes out yellow. i have to put flash oen when i am in a dark place and sometime it comes out dark yellow.. everytime i take pictures the screen goes black then if the people move after the flash it comes out blurry..it is nothing like what i heard it will be.. money wasted.


Rating :

Misleading about an accessory

I like to use an ac power cord when doing work where the camera is connected to the computer, to save on battery life. This is also suggested in the instruction manual. But though the specs say this camera comes with an ac cord, that cord doesn't connect to the camera; it's part of the battery charger. To buy the right ac cord, you must go to another vendor, and put out another $35-40. Also, I haven't found any photo stitch ability the ability to align several landscape photos and then stitch them together) with this camera. I do like the small size.

Rating :

Pentax Optio M40; a great performer

Great "carryability". It can be carried in a small pocket and has the versatility of a larger camera...you're not an "Instant Tourist". It can be used for good effect under most conditions and easily downloads using
the provided software. Nicely finished.

Rating :

More reviews...

1. 10-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality poster-size prints
2. 3x optical zoom
3. 2.5-inch LCD screen with wide viewing angle and Bright mode
4. Enhanced DivX movie capture with Digital Shake Reduction
5. Capture images to SD memory cards (not included)

Editorial Review :

The stylish Optio S10 compact digital camera with 10.0 effective megapixels offers digital Shake Reduction and a high-speed Face Recognition AF and AE function for fast, high-quality portraits. The Optio S10 is the seventh DivX Certified digital camera from Pentax. Now enhanced with digital Shake Reduction, the DivX format enables photographers to create high-quality video files that may be played back on a wide variety of DivX DVD players and other devices. The Optio S10 digital camera is one of the smallest, lightest 10-megapixel digital cameras in the world.

Customer Review :

Best i've Ever Had

This is honestly the best camera that I have ever had. I've owned nothing but Canon's (and a brief stint with a Panasonic) and I love this camera a lot. I got mine at Wal-Mart for $200, but I really like it. It's small, lightweight and I'm so thankful that I don't have to buy batteries anymore. I heard that the rechargeable battery in this, lasts for like 2000 shots so I'm not too worried. I just make sure that when I'm not using it, I charge up the battery; I have yet to have it die on me.

I love this thing so much and would recommend it to anyone!!

Rating :

Digital for Dummies

I had a very old Fuji FinePix 2400 for long time. Decided it was time for this grandmother who has thousands of pixs of grandchildren on my pc to upgrade to more megapixal quality. Tried many makes and models for hours. Decided on the Pentax S10 for ease of use. I loved it from day one. Sadly it was stolen and now I have to replace. I'm going for the same one. It's really easy to use for an older photographer.

Rating :

Pentex Optio S10

Pentax Optio S10 10MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Blue)Great little camera. Small and very easy to carry. Super value for price. Produces outstanding quality pictures. Easy to download pictures onto laptop. Uses SD card for expanded memory. I purchased the camera, two extra batteries and a 4 GB SD card to use on a 10 country european tour. I took a laptop to download and back up files. It worked well for my purpose and budget. One 4 GB SD card will hold approximately 1000 top quality pictures or an hour and 45 minutes of video. It takes about an hour and a half to recharge a battery. I am very happy with the camera and would recommend it if you can live with the less desirable features listed below.

There are some features I don't like. While camera turns on quickly, it takes a second or so to auto adjust aperature opening. Also, you must hold button down halfway and wait for autofocus. This takes another second or two. Battery must be removed from camera to be recharged. Each battery will allow 150 to 200 pictures at 10 megapixel setting. I purchased two extra batteries and took 400 to 500 pictures a day.

Rating :

I still love Pentax

My first camera ever was a Pentax, when I was starting college, before the "digital craziness", and I needed a 35mm SLR for the photography course. I bought a used ME super at a cheap price. Later, I went through a few compact digital cameras (Sony and Canon) during the next years. Someday, then, I saw a Pentax ad in a photography magazine. It was the classic first "Optio S", the one that could use an Altoids tin as a case. The mega-tiny size was the main attractor to me, and I decided to get one some day. Finally, a couple years ago I bought one of the sucessors, the wonderful Optio s5z, which lasted me fore a little more than a year until it was stolen. That small camera was one of the best buys in my life. It was the first digital camera that I could keep with me in my pockets, and helped me record many priceless moments of my youth in pictures and videos. Talking of videos, I used that function A LOT, maybe more than the pictures, and because of that, I now keep in my computer very nice footage of me and my friends that I wouldn't have right now if I didn't carry that tiny Optio with me. Today we still enjoy and laught with those videos, and one of my friends bought the S7 optio as a consequence.

Anyway, last christmas I was looking to replace my lost s5z, and found out that the S10 was the new sucessor, but it was sold exclusively at Walmart (not avaliable where I live). Looking around for something I could order from Amazon, people recommended me the Canon SD1000, because of the size, that was almost identical to the optio. Having used Canon in the past and my work, I didn't hestitate and ordered it. It is a marvelous camera by the way.

However, a few days ago I saw the Optio S10 avaliable at Amazon, and in an impulsive shopping moment (Pentax love?), I got it, and gave the Canon to my girlfriend.

Let me tell one thing, however. For the first 2 days I was disappointed with the camera, but I later found out it was because I was used to the SD1000 operation menu. Pictures came very grainy, and I felt the images were of less quality that the canon. Wrong! After 10 days of use, I can assure you, as the above reviewer wrote, that the images I've gotten from the tiny Optio S10 are sharper and more natural than the SD1000! I recently shot some portraits using the nice "Natural skin tone portrait" mode in the camera, and they pictures were A-W-E-S-O-M-E, they have the backround blurred, and the look of a photo taken with a SLR, something I haven't been able to do with the canon. Very natural and fine colors too.

The operation is very fast, though the canon is still a bit (milliseconds) faster to start and take pictures. A feature I like a lot is the Anti-shake mode, that I use without flash when taking a picture indoors or with little light and serves me well. The night scende mode is great too. I'm not joking when I say that this little camera produces photos with a very peculiar feel, more "artistic", vintage, more SLR-like... than other digicams. I love it. Superb image quality, though I had to learn to set it to not go at 3200 ISO unless I want "cell phone" quality pics. Yesterday I printed a portrait of my girlfriend and I (using ISO 1600), in black and white, at 8x10 size, and there's no visible grain. The print looks like if it was taken with a film camera. This is something I had never seen in a compact camera!! I'm Totally amazed.

Now, I will tell you the three reasons why I didn't give it 5 stars:

- "Cheap plastic feel": For me, compared to the aluminium canon this camera is just plastic made. It doesn't matter too much to me, because I use the P&S cameras as semi-disposable units, expecting them to last me 6-12 months until they break or get stolen. But for many people it may be a no-no. If you're those kind of persons that buy point & shoots and expect to keep them usable until they get old, then I suggest you look for another brand/model of better body build.

- Video: I don't know why, but the video quality, although it is still good quality divx 640x380 @30 fps, feels like 'downgraded' from the optio s5z. I see more pixels in this optio in low light than with the last one, and the sound is very poor. The avi files I got with the s5z showed a quality rivaling that of the powershot sd1000 one (which uses not compression). But this one lacks "something"...

- Short battery life: For me, this is very important. If you're thinking of buying one of the optio S line cameras, buy at least one more battery, and if you're traveling, get another one more. I'm not joking. This is something Pentax could have 'upgraded' in all these years...

My conclusion: If you want SUPERB quality images (certainly sharper than the canon sd1000) in a mega-compact ultra-lightweight camera, at the cost of sacrificing 'durable' material, and don't care much about the battery, this is your best bet. If not, then just look around, there are other brands out there that offer stronger cameras at the same price, with longer battery life.

If my girlfriend gave me back the Canon powershot sd1000 today, I would keep this optio S10 as a backup camera, even if I still love Pentax, for the reasons I wrote above. In fact, I'm keeping it as a secondary ultra-compact, after I recieve a Casio exilim Z80 I just ordered, and which, according to the reviews, has a great battery and aluminium body. Pentax, take care of those details, but I still love you!

Rating :

Excellent photo quality makes this little camera a big winner

I'm writing this review for the Option S10, which I bought a few weeks ago to replace my Optio S5. The S10 is much better than the S5, which I've had for 3 years and really liked. For some reason Pentax doesn't attract a big following with their consumer mid-range digital cameras.

Other cameras I tried: Sony T-200 and the Canon SD750 and Canon SD1000. In my opinion, the picture quality of the Optio S10 was better than the Sony and the SD1000, and about the same as the SD750.

I took the Optio with me on vacation, and posted some test shots. Before launching into my review, I listed my priorities, so you know on what basis I'm judging.

PRIORITIES, in order of importance:
- Picture quality
- Ultracompact size
- Durability
- Speed (shuttering and powering on)
- Zoom
- Attractiveness
- Cost
- Variety of modes, extras, user options
- Newness of model

Also, I'm a Mac user, so it has to be Mac friendly. This works on iPhoto easily.

Things I Don't Care About:
- Touch screens
- Face detection (it does have face detection) / Smile detection (I find this creepy)

PROS
- Excellent photo quality at all MP levels (5MP, 7MP, max 10MP)
- Very good shake-reduction (HUGE improvement over previous models)
- Turns on in about 3 seconds (another huge improvement)
- Excellent Macro and Super-Macro output
- Pocketable, easily fits in an evening bag
- Powerful flash for its size
- Solid build quality
- Easy-to-understand, intuitive layout and menu options
- Wide variety of modes (Text, Portrait, Landscape are especially good)
- Adjustable flash (none, soft, regular, auto)
- Adjustable red-eye (none, forced, auto)
- Competitively priced at $249 ($236 on Amazon)

CONS
- Does not fit inside an Altoids tin like previous models
- Awkwardly-placed USB input alongside the battery/flashcard slots (must open door first)
- Just average battery life (about 150 pics at highest 10MP quality setting)
- Double flash (I don't mind, but some find this annoying)
- Must remove battery from camera to charge (previous model had a better cradle charger)
- Takes 1-2 seconds to rest between shots
- Must press down half-way for a half-second on the shot button before taking a shot to trigger focus

In conclusion, the Pentax Optio S10 is a solid, all-occasion camera that I can take with me everywhere, and the photo quality is surprisingly excellent. I would recommend it to amateur photographers in a second.

Rating :

1. 10.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 18 x 24-inch prints
2. 2.5-inch LCD display; 3x optical zoom with Shake Reduction technology
3. Face-Recognition Auto Focus and Auto Exposure assure properly exposed portraits
4. Record movies with sound in Divx MPEG-4 movie format
5. Powered by D-LI8 lithium-ion battery; stores images on SD/SDHC memory cards (includes 22 MB internal memory)

Editorial Review :

The 10.0 Megapixel CCD and 3x optical zoom assure high-resolution images while Enhanced Shake Reduction technology includes SR, Digital SR and Movie SR. The 2.5-inch LCD monitor makes sharing images easy with Bright mode and wide field of view. Face Recognition Auto Focus and Auto Exposure assure properly exposed portraits. The 0.02-second shutter lag time let's you have swift operation and the intelligent zoom function enhances the digital zoom. High-quality movie can be captured at MPEG-4 DivX (640 x 480) at 30fps with anti-shake and editing functions. Choose from a wide range of automatic and manual exposure modes including manual exposure and shutter priority modes. ISO Auto - 64-1600, 3200 available in Digital SR Mode at 5MP ISO Manual - 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Manual modes Shutter speed - 1/2000 to 4 sec Sensor Type - 1/1.8-inch Interline Transfer CCD with primary color filter Lens Type - SMC Pentax Zoom Lens (7E, 5G, 2 dual aspheric lenses, 1 single aspheric lens) 160 degrees horizontal and vertical wide angle viewable LCD Viewfinder Capture Modes - Auto Picture (Normal, Night Scene, Landscape, Portrait), Program, Night Scene, Movie, Voice Recording, Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Kids, Digital SR, Surf & Snow, Sport, Pet, Text, Food, Frame Composite File formats - JPG (EXIF 2.2), DCF, DPOF, Print Image Matching III Sills, AVI (DivX with MPG-4) Movie, WAV (PCM), monaural sound NTSC and PAL Video out Aluminum Alloy Construction Materials System Requirements - Windows ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS 9.2, X (10.1 or later) and USB port Dimensions - Width 3.5 x Height 2.3 x Depth 0.9 inch Weight - 4.6 ounces without battery

Customer Review :

Nice Camera :)

My husband bought me this camera about 2 years ago for my birthday, and now again that my birthday is approaching in 6 days, my husband purchased me the new Pentax 70x. I loved this camera when I first got it, however after a year of having it, no drops or any misuse. The lense wouldnt shut properly, and the pictures are always blurry. Its like you have to wait for the camera to adjust whenever you need to take a picture, and take multiple pictures until it does. Also, the camera will turn on and the lense will go out, and then turn itself off right away even with a fully charged battery. I love Pentax products, I have used their cameras all my life and my husband has a scope for his rifle made by them. For some reason this camera is just iffy after a year of use. I also find that it is very pricey on Amazon.com. Much cheaper on QVC and you get a kit full of extras.

Rating :

Best camera for the price

searching for reviews i got to this one, seemed cheaper and better specs than the cybershots. works great

Rating :

Great little camera for the price!

I just bought this Pentax Optio A30 as a replacement for my old Pentax Optio M20 that died from one fall too many. I took a chance on buying a used unit to keep the price down, but I have had no problems with it so far.
The shake reduction feature is great. The pictures are much sharper than the M20.
I do prefer the battery option in the M20 of AA rather than the charger type, but I'll just have to get a spsre to carry.
I haven't yet taken a video, but I expect that function to be at least as good as the M20.

Rating :

Pentax junk

First camera DOA, lens extended on power up and the camera locked up. Have to pop battery out to reset.
Sent back, 2nd camera worked about 3 months and then the famous date-time resets everytimg you power off. Very common read dpreview.
Got it fixed under warranty (PCB repair) and 6 months later the problem reappeared.
Picture quality good though very contrasty and oversharpened. Divx video is horrific. LCD near impossible to see in daylight. Battery life non-existent

Rating :

Pentax will take you to the cleaners.

DO NOT BUY PENTAX- THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE. The product is just as bad. Amazon needs to really consider dumping them.

Rating :

More reviews...

1. 12.1-megapixel resolution image sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality 13 x 19-inch prints
2. 4x wide-angle optical zoom; shake reduction
3. Automatic Face Detection; Triple anti-shake protection
4. Widescreen HD movie recording at 30fps
5. Capture images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

Editorial Review :

The ultra-slim PENTAX Optio P80 digital camera features a lightweight design in three fashionable colors including Black, Pearl, and Mint. This stylish camera features a lightweight body with advanced features including 12.1 megapixels, a 4X wide angle optical zoom, HD video capture, Shake Reduction, Face Detection and Smile Recognition. Great shots come easily with an Auto Picture mode that selects from eight shooting modes. The large 2.7 inch LCD ensures accurate composition and playback of still images and video. Sensitivity up to ISO 6400 boosts shutter speeds to freeze subject movement for blur-free images even in low lighting.

Customer Review :

Great for the price

I have used this camera for a couple of weeks and have found it to be a great buy. I wanted a very compact camera to carry basically anywhere and this fit the bill. It has a wide range of options that I am still trying to master. One negative I have found so far, and it may be user error, is the pictures blur very easily as the magnification is increased.

Rating :

Great Camera

I am a novice, and I use it for family pictures and videos. It does the job perfectly! The Pentax brand stands up well to the beating delivered by a family with several toddlers and young children. I like all of the settings, helping me to be a better photographer than I actually am. My only difficulty with the camera is that one of the settings delivers two flashes, so my family would forget and moves as soon as the first flash occured. With several reminders, though, my family has gotten used to it, so now our pictures turn out beautifully! Plus, if I just use a different setting, it's not a problem! One thing I really like: my old Pentax wouldn't take pictures of my son playing b-ball in a gym very well. This model does a great job of taking indoor photos of moving objects with the proper amount of flash!

Rating :

1. 10.1-megapixel CCD for high-quality, poster-sized prints
2. 3x wide-angle optical zoom lens; 2.4-inch LCD
3. Face Recognition AF and AE function automatically detects up to 10 faces in the picture frame
4. High Sensitivity Digital SR mode for reduced camera shake
5. Captures images to SD/SDHC memory cards (not included)

Editorial Review :

CAMERA, OPTIO E60, BLACK, 10MP, 3X

Customer Review :

Great picture quality!

FIRST I WILL TALK ABOUT MY FIRST PURCHASE-THE OLYMPUS FE-25 10MP CAMERA:

I purchased this camera off e-bay factory-refurbished. I love the look of this Olympus camera-very sleek and sophisticated. But it was all show and not go. I was told by the company that this camera recorded sound in movie mode. I didn't see any speakers on this camera. Just know this beforehand. This one issue was not a deal breaker for me because I mainly bought the camera for taking pics. The main issue for me was looking at the LCD screen. The images looked slightly grainy/fuzzy for a 10mp camera. Also, I took this camera into the store and compared it to other 10mp cameras (Canon, Nikon, Kodak, Fujifilm, and other Olympus fes) and noticed a yellow/dull tint in the LCD screen in comparison. Imagine looking at the world with slightly colored amber glasses. That's what this LCD screen was like! But I am not electronics savvy, so I waited until I could print the shots to see the print quality. The pictures printed slighty fuzzy-not the quality I would expect from a 10mp camera. I contacted the warranty department and they questioned whether I had it at a high enough ISO or whether I had set it to the right mode. But high ISO settings didn't change this. The customer service was sluggish to switch the camera but offered to look at it and repair it if need be. But I decided on another camera. I thought that problems with this camera was because it was a refurb, until I read other reviews that a blurriness was a problem with this camera. A few people have reviewed the Fe-25 as taking good pictures. I don't know which is true, I just know what happened with my camera, but I will stress that it was a REFURB.

NOW FOR THE PENTAX OPTIO E60:

I ended up looking at the Pentax Optio E60. It is 10mp with a clear sharp LCD screen and when I uploaded pics onto my PC they were so clear compared to the Olympuse FE-25. My final choice was between this one and the Nikon L18. I even liked the look, feel, and performance of the Pentax. One plus about the Nikon was that the LCD screen (3 inch) is really large compared to the Pentax (2.4 inch) and I liked that feature, but I can see just fine with the Pentax and I can be confident that I will get a quality picture! The Olympus Fe-25 camera ate my batteries up after the first 50 pictures! The Pentax will last through about 150-200 pictures; and 3X that with two AA lithium batteries. Don't be fooled by the marketing or big names; because they may represent both great and also mediocre performers. I was not as familiar with the Pentax products or their history when I bought this camera; but if you are looking for quality pictures and features that are easy to use this is definately the way to go!

Rating :

Awesome DC!!

I have a Nikon D40, two Panasonic Lumix DCs, an HP DC, but the Pentax E60 DC performs the best overall. Ideal night scene mode for low light shootings, extra ISO helps a lot. I'll buy a Pentax DSLR next time.

Rating :

Broke after several uses

I bought this camera for my son. He only got to use iy a couple of times before it stopped taking pictures. screen would be WHITE. You could view old pics but anu new pics would just be blank. He was very disappointed.

Rating :

staff coming with the product

great product with corel photoshop in the pockete. easy to use, images are so clear and beautiful.

Rating :

Love this camera

Very good camera. Easy to use and sharp picture quality. Very good for the price.

Rating :

More reviews...