... How did I end up with a Pentax Optio 430RS and how well does it work?
Although digital cameras have been around for several years they are only becoming available at prices that seem reasonable to the average consumer and can produce pics of a quality equal to the traditional methods. They ... Read review
The device is workable for both direct hot shoe photography (when switches to Normal mode) ... more
and remote flash photography (when switches to Slave On mode. The device features 4 slave modes that allow it to work with cameras that fire their built-in flash instantaneously or that have single or multiple flash red-eye reduction systems. Please check your camera's owner manual to determine which flash system your camera has.
Postage & Packaging:£5.00 Availability:Usually dispatched within 3-4 business days...
When your digital camera needs support for unique photo shoots, an ordinary tripod might ... more
not be able to tackle the job. The Gripster is the lightest and most versatile camera tripod available today. Featuring over two dozen flexible leg joints that bend and rotate, the Gripster will firmly secure your compact digital camera to virtually any surface ? anywhere and everywhere! Gripster is the ideal camera accessory for photographers on the go. Throw it in your pocket or backpack and you'll be ready for your next adventure! While the Gripster serves all the functions of a traditional camera tripod - steadying your camera under low-light conditions, taking timed group shots, etc. - it is the only tripod malleable enough to provide you with the perfect shot while wrapped around a tree branch, hanging from a pole, or perched on a jagged rock. The possibilities are endless!
Postage & Packaging:£5.00 Availability:Usually dispatched within 3-4 business days...
Don't be the invisible man (or woman) in your family photo album! Get yourself in the ... more
picture using your camera's self-timer and this professional steel tabletop tripod which has superior rubber tip legs provides extra stability. Also great for steadying your camera for sharper close-up/Macro images.You receive also as a bonus a screen protector for your digital device
Postage & Packaging:£5.00 Availability:Usually dispatched within 3-4 business days...
BRAND NEW! 145cm (57 Inch) TRIPOD For Use With Most Digital Cameras&Video Cameras** ... more
Bonus** Free Carry Case* 20mm Legs Diameter* Extends To 145 cm (57 Inches)* Folds To 55.88 cm (22.2 Inches)* 1 kg (2.2 Lbs)* Made Of Quality Aluminum Materials That Will Provide Stability For Your Camera For Many Years Features* 3 Section Channel Legs Locks* 3 Way Fluid Pan Head With Bubble Level* Quick Release Mount* Center Column Brace And Lock* Center Column Bubble Level* Adjustable Rubber Feet* New Pro Hand Grip"*More*This Camera Tripod is designed for mostfilm and digital cameras as well as camcorders. Featuring a quick-release plate that makes it a breeze to switch to handheld shooting and a professional grip for fluid 3-way panning and tilt, This Tripod lets you capture images from any angle you can imagine. The tripod can extend to a height of 145 cm (57 inches) when in use, and collapse to just 55.88 cm (22.2 inches) for travel or storage. For your convenience, a carrying case is included. Lightweight, versatile, and affordable, This is a great tripod for photographers of all levels of experience.
Postage & Packaging:£5.02 Availability:Usually dispatched within 3-4 business days...
Advantages: A lot of punch from a little box of tricks Disadvantages: Maybe the box is too small?
...I end up with a Pentax Optio 430RS and how well does it work?
Although digital cameras have been around for several years they are only becoming available at prices that seem reasonable to the average consumer and can produce pics of a quality equal to the traditional methods. They are also more and more consumer friendly and less seen as gadgets for people with computers. In fact most cameras can be used successfully without a computer. ... .../>
I eventually chose the Pentax at £295. It has four million pixels, telephoto lens (x3), 11mbyte built in memory and 'compact flash' removable memory (none included), lithium ion removable battery with mains charger, wrist strap and USB cable to connect to a PC. It has a normal viewfinder and a small colour display on the back. In the reviews there were no complaints of any substance.
Case is a robust feeling metal, that looks ... more
Having just written an op on a camera pouch it was suggested that maybe I should write about the camera itself. (There were other suggestions that I’ve chosen to ignore!). How did I end up with a Pentax Optio 430RS and how well does it work?
Although digital cameras have been around for several years they are only becoming available at prices that seem reasonable to the average consumer and can produce pics of a quality equal to the traditional methods. They are also more and more consumer friendly and less seen as gadgets for people with computers. In fact most cameras can be used successfully without a computer. Link to a TV for viewing, link to a special printer for your own prints or take your camera/digital film to a camera shop or traditional film processor and they produce the prints you need i.e. only the ones you like.
My first digital camera was funded by selling all my traditional equipment to a local second hand camera shop and there was enough to buy a Fuji 1500 – 'smart media' for storage, telephoto lens (x3), some software on a CD and of course 1.5 megapixels. Quite enjoyed it, but as the number of pixels in other cameras increased rapidly as time passed I decided it was time to upgrade. Bought a few digital camera magazines for detailed reviews and looked up various consumer reviews on the internet. Set a budget of £300 having pre sold the Fuji to my daughter. (Funny don’t remember the cheque arriving yet!).
I eventually chose the Pentax at £295. It has four million pixels, telephoto lens (x3), 11mbyte built in memory and 'compact flash' removable memory (none included), lithium ion removable battery with mains charger, wrist strap and USB cable to connect to a PC. It has a normal viewfinder and a small colour display on the back. In the reviews there were no complaints of any substance.
Case is a robust feeling metal, that looks like brushed aluminium and the size is a very compact 90x60x35mm. Instructions come in a printed booklet in English only. I hope its not a racist comment, but I get fed up with manuals with a single set of diagrams followed by instructions in ten different languages. It’s a game called spot my language.
A pouch for the camera is not included – you can read of my search for one, in an op under Lowepro Photographic Accessories. Extras I’ve bought, are a spare battery – in shopping around I discovered that it’s the same as a Fuji model – usually cheaper and available from compatible manufacturers as well and two compact flash memory modules. E-bay a good source for both.
At this point I will happily admit that I have still not got to grips with all the facilities built into this camera (and probably never will). If I’m going away from home the camera manual always goes with the camera as does the battery charger - you can’t use Duracells in an emergency.
The camera can be set easily to operate as automatic - point and shoot.
However some optional facilities that I do use are:
the flash options – always on, always off, automatic and red eye reduction.
The number of pixels for recording – low number (640x480), lower quality but more than adequate for a displaying on a computer monitor, emailing, web site etc. higher number (2304x1712) for higher quality, for use in a newsletter or magazine.
The telephoto lens – operated by a rocker switch on the back. Its 3x optical and a special macro mode for that close up. So far as already mentioned I operate the camera in automatic mode.
My only complaint so far is that because of the cameras very compact dimensions it can be a little difficult to hold – I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone with particularly large hands or with even a small degree of arthritis.
For processing I simply remove the compact flash card and plug it into a USB reader connected to my PC. This can be done directly using the supplied USB cable. Our holiday pics are transferred to CD for storage and others are transferred to friends or family by email. I haven’t really got into picture manipulation with computer software but obviously anything is possible. Picture quality is excellent though as with any automatic camera the auto focus and auto aperture can occasionally get confused.
Overall I am delighted with the purchase but I am sure that there are many equally good models out there. The difficulty is deciding which one best meets your needs assuming you know what your needs are in digital camera terms.
So if you are choosing a digital camera for the first time or as an upgrade and it's to be used for general purposes, the key issues to consider are:
Your budget – cameras from £30 upwards
The number of pixels - the more the better (but remember you don’t need a large number if your viewing is only on a computer monitor). 4 mega pixels should be more than adequate. Don’t go for a large number of pixels and forget a spare battery or extra memory module.
Availability of removable media and is any included in price
Lithium ion battery they are the best for capacity and lack of memeory effect but more expensive – normal batteries will expire very quickly. Can the battery be removed, is the charger separate. (in some cameras the battery can only be charged in situ)
Telephoto lens – 3x is now a norm but 5x gives that added flexibility
Included software, especially if you want to try building up libraries of photos or do touching up work. Will the software work on your computer ? Is it compatible with my version of windows? Or Mac Os?
And a few concluding points - unless budget is very tight I would go for a well known brand. Some of the budget brands work well but difficulties can occur with incompatible software, poor quality lenses, low capacity batteries, low power flash if any, and poor documentation. Spend some time reading reviews before going into a shop and after you’ve made your purchase expect a more up to date model to be released within a month – it always happens!
Advantages: Compact, feels bombproof with steel body Disadvantages: takes a few seconds to start up
I bought the Pentax Optio 430RS because the guy in the camera shop used the 330RS, and you can get the 430RS for the same price online.
Obviously the 430RS has more pixels (4 Meg), so you can expect a pretty good resolution.
The user menu is really easy to operate compared to some I have looked at.
I bought the digital camera because I wanted to have the choice of having only the good pictures instead of the usual 3 out of 36 type holiday photos ... ...but I have bought a spare battery (£27) as when people in a crowd want to see the pics the display eats the power. With the display on, but no people looking a the pics you can easily get 150 pics at 1024x768 high res
The display can be on, off, or have a histogram showing which is basically a light meter in the form of a graph, which gives a good idea of how light or dark your picture is going to be. If you see the displayed picture looking very ...
foursprungdugtechnique 09.03.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Pentax Optio 430RS
** Update - 23 Mar 2005 **
2 years on and some developments (if you will excuse the inappropriate photography pun)....
Quality of the unit is coming into doubt; the shutter mechanism is starting to play up and sometimes refuse to set the focus and exposure for shot. The result is the shot is not available and you have to try again.
Whilst intermittent, this is frustrating as I can miss the picture I wanted.
Image quality is excellent still and ... ...posters / framed images using our Canon S9000 printer (see my other review).
We have found that the Compact Flash cards were filling up rather alarmingly on holiday so invested in a 512Mb card whilst in the US.
Other lessons - the camera cannot take 'raw' or uncompressed shots for maximum quality. This would be very useful for ultimate quality images and latter printing. All images are stored as JPEG files (and work out at 2Mb each at top resolution).
...
a4angus 28.05.2003 (23.03.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Pentax Optio 430RS
Advantages: Compact, Easy to Use, Good Pics Disadvantages: Battery Life
Overall quite a good camera, with Compact flash, and high resolution giving good results. Found the camera really easy to use and get good results, and much better now the memory is a lot cheaper (was about £50 for 64MB now £15 for 256MB 03/2005).
The camera does come with 11MB internal memory, which is unusable when you have a memory card in which is pretty stupid!
Can take up to 512MB Compact flash cards.
You can adjust the size of the picture ... ...to 4mb, useful, if you have a website!
The other complaint I have is with the battery which seems to get eaten up pretty quickly if left in the camera unused, someone else mentioned they brought an extra battery,which is exactly what I ended up doing too independently! (But can be brought for about £15 on e-bay).
The delay on taking pictures is also annoying , but this is common to almost all digital cameras.
The menu is very easy to understand ...
giblets46 24.03.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Pentax Optio 430RS
Advantages: Compact, good-specification. Disadvantages: Takes time and practice to get good results.
This little guy's not cheap, but the quality and specification are all there, in a very neat package - it's the Kylie of digital cameras.
My only concern is that some of the results are dodgy. Is this a result of my own incompetence, or is it a flawed product? I suspect that it's the former, and that with time and practice, I will get better results. You see it's not exactly a point-and-shoot affair. There are more modes and settings than you would ... ...amazing shots, but needs a bit of thought.
This product will be a reasonable choice for someone who is willing to spend a bit of time reading the manual, and experimenting with different settings. If on the other hand, you think that "cos it's digital" the camera will deliver perfect results every time, then forget it.
Some Facts and Figures...
- I paid £440 although I think you can get them for £400 now.
- 4.0 megapixels
- 3X Zoom (Plus another ...
Cheekie-Chappie 21.12.2002 (24.12.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Pentax Optio 430RS
Picture Quality
Range & Quality of Feat...
Ease of Use
Durability
Overall Look & Design
Value for Money
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