Pentax 8-16X21 UCF II ZOOM

Advantages: Great build quality, easy to use and good picture quality.
Disadvantages: No image stabalisation and no wide angle capability in the lens.

...rather than great quality because if you want great quality then quite simply you need a DSLR not a point and shoot. Pentax are one of the original so called big 5, the 5 best known names in the camera market, along side the likes oc Canon, Nikon, Olympus and the now collapsed Minolta which has recently been taken over by Sony, well not exactly taken over but Sony design their DSLR cameras around the old Minolta workings which allows the old Minolta lenses to work on the new Sony bodies, anyhow, I digress. Pentax having been around for so long have seen and done it all and it shows in this great little point and shoot camera, it has 10 megapixels (more than enough), a 5X zoom (more than enough) and it offers some great user settings that will keep even the most avid amateur very happy and what's more it actually produces images that... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: image quality,shake reduction, backwards lens compatibilty
Disadvantages: DSLR's are still too big

...REVIEW OF PENTAX K100D DIGITAL SLR BACKGROUND I've owned SLR's for 30 years starting with screw mount lenses and moving to Pentax K mount. In the last 5 years I became interested in digital photography owning a Canon A200 and Konica Minolta Dimage Z3. We've also got 5 other digital compacts in the household including new Samsung and Fuji 6MP models. The KM Z3 is a great camera with a 12 times optical zoom and anti shake sensor but I was a little disappointed with noise in the dark areas of some pictures. This could be kept to a reasonable level if ISO was fixed at 50 but this limits flexibility when the sun isn't shining. I'd thought about buying a digital SLR for some time but couldn't really justify the expense over what seemed to be minor benefits. However, when I discovered that the K100D would work with my old K mount... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A true SLR
Disadvantages: Will not fit in your pocket

...The K 20D is a well balanced digital SLR camera. It sits nicely in a medium to large hand and has enough mass to help steady longer lenses. The image quality is superb although the kit lens is a bit slow not allowing you to take full use of the camera's functionality. The large display and easy to use function buttons of which there are several make this camera a pleasure to use. The sealed body means you have to be less frightened of using this camera in rainy, damp or dusty conditions. The built in anti-shake mechanism works very well and means you can use any of the older Pentax lenses still producing sharper images at lower shutter speeds. Overall a truly great camera.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful