Pentax PC 550 AF

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

...As I am sure most Ciao members will now know, I am a professional photographer but as well as taking pictures I also hold photography seminars at my local camera club and over the last few years I have become somewhat of a target for sales persons asking me to try out their latest digital cameras and give talks and written reviews on them. I figured a couple of years back if I was going to be testing out all these cameras and doing reviews anyway then I may as well be posting them on Ciao and Dooyoo and making some money for charity which as you well know is what I do now. The latest camera to be handed to me is the Pentax Optio M60 and as you read on you will find that this little digital camera is a real breath of fresh air. For months now I have been handed very expensive digital point and shoot cameras that claim to be able... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Functionally very good at the price
Disadvantages: Unfashionable

...simply have to get yourself a digital camera. And rest assured, you don’t HAVE to get a computer to enjoy the quality – many of this you can connect directly up to a printer to do your stuff. Anyway, enough of the generic advert for digital cameras – this review is about the Pentax Optio 550, so let’s get down to the detail. First, the price – Kelkoo via Ebuyer offers this beauty at £291.86 including £3.99 post and packing. Tesco online offers the same beast at a whopping £489, so please shop around for the best price, although Internet Cameras Direct - http://www.internetcamerasdirect.co.uk/Pentax-Optio-550-digital-camera-deals.htm?campaign=google&pentaxoptio550 - warns that the camera is discontinued. It’s very hard to be definitive, but the Pentax website seems to suggest that it’s still available, so perhaps that website has got... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average 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