This review is for the Pentax Optio S12 digital camera.

Setup
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Setup is extremely easy for this camera; you first have to make sure you put in the batteries they include which are just cheap everyday value batteries inside the camera. You then have to make sure you have got the disc loaded onto the computer; the reason for this is because without the software loaded on it becomes really difficult to alter the pictures you take using this camera.

Once you have done both of these simple steps you then can have a play around taking pictures in any way you feel like.

Design
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This camera has a really nice overall design. The front of the camera is grey like the entire camera is and has this metallic look to it which has a nice clean shine which makes the camera look very interesting.
You have the camera lens which is closed but very big and this dominates the face of the camera and can actually be one of the reasons not to purchase.

On top of the camera you have the power button which is quite small considering and can be a real handful when attempting to turn the device on. The picture taking button is right next to the power button and is longer and easy to use in my opinion.
On the right hand side is the little section which you open which contains the memory card and batteries. This is well hidden and needs to have a piece of plastic removed in order to touch the batteries or the memory card.

Inside the same slot where the memory card goes is the connection you use to get the pictures from the camera to the computer. This is very well hidden as well and very clear what this little tiny section does involve.
On the left hand side is absolutely nothing at all.

On the back of the camera is the fantastic LCD screen and next to the screen are various buttons to help change the sort of picture you are taking. For example you have the buttons to delete an image after you have taken it depending on the way it turns out. You have a button to play back all the other photos and other buttons to change the sort of picture you are taking.

Overall the design is very good because and not many buttons are close together and the chances of you pressing a wrong button by accident are remote.

Specifications
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This camera is 87mm in length, 54mm in height and 21mm in depth. The overall size is very compact and extremely easy to place in many locations for safe security.

The camera weighs 110g which to me is outstanding. I have had cameras before which weigh much more then this and to be honest mobile phones weigh more than this, so this camera is extremely light in weight.

The camera is 12 mega pixels which is absolutely superb. The camera has also the ability if you use the right features online can increase the overall pixel quality for each image and make them all 14 mega pixels which is great.

The LCD screen on the back of the camera is 2.5 inches in size and it looks pretty good. They could not make this any bigger without increasing the cameras overall size and this is a great size LCD screen to have.

The camera has a 6x optical zoom which is really good and you get to see the camera lens really come out when you want to zoom into something.
There is also a 4x digital zoom as well which is very handy.

The camera I believe has a 21mb integrated memory built inside which is terrible considering how big each picture size can be. This has to be bigger in my view.
The video resolution for this camera is 640x480 pixels and that is not to bad considering and it does look fairly good on the camera.

The video quality for this camera is 30fps which is fantastic and the best I have ever had for a camera. The video format is always in AVI which is very good as this means this can be used on the computers for DivX player and then transferred to a DVD+R disc to view on a DVD player.

Image resolution for this camera is 4000x3000 which is fantastic and the best it can produce.
This camera can use up to a 32GB SD memory card, which is extremely good for a camera, this size.

Overall the specifications for this camera are simply fantastic.

Features
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This camera has one very good feature which in my view outshines the rest. You have the ability when you are trying to take a picture to see the face recognition pop up and locate the people in the picture. This is a feature which is becoming frequently common in most digital cameras but with this camera you can have up to 15 people being recognised which is fantastic.

The camera can even locate the facial features of pets as well which is quite handy, especially if they are hiding in a place which is kind of dark and you’re unable to find them yourself, the camera does this for you.

When you are trying to change the type of photo you are taking for example from portrait to landscape you get a little tiny message on the screen telling you the best route for taking a picture. So instead of using the manual and searching for the correct page the camera actually assists you and this happens all the time you are altering between the types of pictures you want to take. I find is extremely helpful and very sufficient.

There is a really cool feature which is the green button on the back. Now this is used for deleting images you do not want anymore, but it can be used as a backup button. You might have settings for the camera for which you are accustomed to and like to use all the time. Sometimes you accidentally press the wrong button and lose those settings, so if you press the green button it restores all previous settings you had so it saves you worrying about it. I find that superb.

There is a way on this camera to turn on dynamic range. Now this is used mainly for those higher budget cameras you see but this cheaper alternative has managed to put this feature on to it. You basically turn this feature on when you’re in a place which has got bad lighting, such as an alleyway or a room with shadows around because this enables you to gain extra light and make the image much more visible and easier to look at. Very nice idea to add this and works extremely well.

Good points
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Instantly the best point for me is the amount of optical zoom you have with this camera. Most usually have around the 3 or 4 optical zoom length but this has got 6 and without a doubt you can tell the difference. I like it when you’re trying to take a picture of a pet and you know if you move closer to them they will either move or the image will not turn out correctly. I like how you can sit back and zoom straight up to the pet and manage to take a picture with fantastic quality and without a single problem attached to it. I love this amount of optical zoom you are given and it makes this camera very special in this case.

I think how the camera is able to assist you when you’re visiting a new picture setting is quite surprising yet very helpful. You would normally need to hurry through there manual and try to locate the correct page and end up with no idea what is going on. This feature enables you to actually understand what you’re doing and when it keeps popping up every time you change the settings then I find that extremely helpful and very clever by the manufacturers.

I have to admit the weight for this camera I find superb. This camera is just 110g that is lighter than many new phones in the market right now and very easy to place into a camera

case and not feeling loaded down by the weight of the camera. The size as well makes this camera really easy to store away and take with you many places which is extremely useful.

I think the way you can delete the images if you wish to do so on the camera is very clever. The reason this is quite clever is because you can get the image before you delete it and analyze in much closer detail by zooming into the image. If you’re still not happy you can delete this straight off the camera without hesitation.

Bad Points
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When you are doing an image and the yellow box appears and finds the faces of people you just automatically assume the image will be fantastic and come out completely clear. This is not the case at all. There are occasions I find that if you have the face recognition locate a person it will occasionally make the image blurred. I have no idea why this is because usually they come out pretty good but I find if you’re taking a picture of two people close together then the image seems to come out all wrong and completely out of focus.

Another issue is that the face recognition turns itself on when it feels the need to. This feature does not work for every single image you use. You can sit there and attempt to take a picture and hope the camera locates the people you are focusing on but then the face recognition feature doesn’t seem to load up at all. This is a regular occurrence and something which is very frustrating.

Another issue would be the way the camera can one minute take a quick picture and then another can take for eternity to take a picture. So you can have an animal in a funny situation and when you go to take the picture it will feel as if the camera is restraining itself from taking the picture. Another time the camera will take the same picture within seconds. So you have a huge difference on the speed of a picture being taken all depending on the mood of the camera. This for me is not good especially if you’re taking pictures of a sporting event and the camera takes forever to take an image, and you end up missing out a fantastic photo.

The final bad point for me would be the flash on the camera. Now I like the flash to be used when it is absolutely necessary. The flash for this camera does come on when you need it to but completely ruins any image. You can be there in a dark environment and the image once taken is so bright afterwards you cannot even make out where the picture was taken from. This is not good enough for a camera of this price.

Summary
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The camera does have some fantastic features and the ability to have some awesome pictures taken at the same time.
I would struggle to suggest this camera for people to buy, mainly because of some of the bad points which the camera has got with it.

You want a camera to take images which are consistently superb quality and the absolute best your camera can produce. This camera fails sometimes with the quality of pictures it does take.

I would suggest if this camera was cheaper than it would be good for people to use on the odd occasion, however if you’re considering buying a camera for someone who is doing photography for University or as a career then I would avoid this camera at all costs.

I paid £100 in February for this camera and recently I have seen the same camera priced around £80.
It is nowhere near the quality you would expect.

© Tink-er-bell