Pentax Optio S10

...Optio S10...

Pentax lenses are the best in the world and what with our experience of the superb build quality and 100% reliability we were very excited to be offered the S10 - I am pleased to say that this does not disappoint!

Out of the box we got the camera, a case, a wrist strap, all the necessary cables and software, battery, manuals galore and a charger.

The most important thing to mention is that ...
...Incidentally, it has the famous Pentax 'sliding lens' system, which allows the lens to fully retract inside the camera when switched off.

You can choose between six image sizes ranging from 640x480 to 2560x1920, There are three different quality settings as well. The maximum image (resolution) size is 2560x1920 pixels. Do bear this in mind when choosing your camera because the higher the resolution, the higher the quality of the pictures.
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When my Optio S4 was destroyed by my god-daughter I was distraught. The camera had been around the world with the wife and I (and bore the battle scars to prove it) and had never let us down, producing superb quality photos that the small size didn't seem to offer.

However, give a 2 year old a glass of milk and the camera lasted only 5 minutes... broken screen and liquid damage :-(

Having said that, with the joys of accidental damage cover on my home insurance Iwe have just taken delivery of the all new - and VERY IMPRESSIVE Optio S10...

Pentax lenses are the best in the world and what with our experience of the superb build quality and 100% reliability we were very excited to be offered the S10 - I am pleased to say that this does not disappoint!

Out of the box we got the camera, a case, a wrist strap, all the necessary cables and software, battery, manuals galore and a charger.

The most important thing to mention is that the Pentax Optio S10 is so very easy-to-use. It has a simple interface on the back that consists of just 8 buttons that control EVERYTHING about it. Zooming, picture section, reviewing, editing, EVERYTHING can be done with some very very very clever and intuative controls.

There's even a "green" button that loads all of your favourite settings with one touch without having to go into the menus - superb if you've changed something and can't remember what you've done!!

The display is huge (especially compared to my old S4) and takes up 3/4's of the back of the camera. It is large, bright and clear. It has an easy-to-understand help menu which you can access when in either recording, or playback, mode.

Simple explanations appear on-screen (there is also an instructional CD-ROM included if you want to swot up on what your new camera can do). It really is great for those who are new to the delights of digital.

It's TINY and light and looks great in a smooth and sleek aluminium alloy shell. Although I wasn't sure about the blue colouring when I saw the photos online, in the flesh the colour is much more subtle and makes the unit stand out from it's competitors without looking too brash.

It's clearly well made and sturdily built. It looks classy and not at all cheap-looking.

Size is a tiny 54mm x 87mm x 20.5mm and weighs in at just 130g INCLUDING the battery and memory card!

Incidentally, it has the famous Pentax 'sliding lens' system, which allows the lens to fully retract inside the camera when switched off.

You can choose between six image sizes ranging from 640x480 to 2560x1920, There are three different quality settings as well. The maximum image (resolution) size is 2560x1920 pixels. Do bear this in mind when choosing your camera because the higher the resolution, the higher the quality of the pictures.

It is PictBridge compatible, which means you can print straight from compatible printers without the need for a personal computer. As I have a relatively new HP Photo I don't need to connect the camera to my computer to edit and copy pictures. I merely take the memory card out of the camera and slot it into the printer. It's a doddle.

There's roughly 22mb of built-in memory inside the camera, but you can add to this by inserting a memory card. 22mb will hold about 30 pictures at the highest quality and size so a memory card is recommended, I use a 2gb SD card brought online for about £20 and it'll hold between 200 and 2000 photos depending on the quality.

The camera also displays world time and has an alarm clock.

The battery lasts for AGES compared to my ols S4, and so far we have used it for over a week on the single charge!

You also get audio-video output (AV) cables so you can connect your camera to your TV and view your pictures and videos on your television set. You can also connect it to your computer with the USB cable that is also included.

So far I am blown away by the camera and cannot recommend it highly enough. There's nothing bad to say about it - GO AND BUY ONE!

Full details and photos etc are here:
http://www.pentax.co.uk/_uk/photo/products/index.php?cameras&gruppe= digital%20compact&produkt=19345&id=uebersicht

Buy basically the specification includes:
10 megapixels sensor
Takes JPEG(Exif 2.2),DCF,DPOF,PRINT Image Matching III
AND MOVIES in Movie AVI(DivX® compatible with MPEG-4), 30 fps, with sound and Movie anti-shake
SOUND RECORDING in WAV(PCM), monaural
3 quality levels
Internal Build-in Memory (approx. 22MB)
External SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card
3x Optical Zoom,
5.4x Digital Zoom
Auto Focus with assist lamp available
5-point AF, Spot AF, Tracking + FACE RECOGNITION
Speed approx. 1/2000 sec. - approx. 4sec.
Red eye reduction
Self-timer (10 sec, 2 sec), Continuous, Remote Control (3 sec, 0 sec)
LCD 2.5 inch, TFT color LCD (with back light), approx. 232,000pixels, field of view:approx.100%
View One Shot, Index (9 thumb nails), Enlargement (up to 8X, scroll available), Movie Playback, Sound Playback, Histogram, Select&Delete, Calender
Digital Filter Slideshow, Resize, Trimming, Image&Sound Copy, Image Rotation, Color Filter, Digital Filter, Brightness Filter, Movie Edit, Red-eye Compensation, Voice Memo, Protect, DPOF, Start-up Screen, Frame Composite 

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