Pentax Optio S1 Digital Still Camera - Chrome (14MP, 5 x Wide Angle Optical Zoom) 2.7 inch LCD

I received my S1 today. First impressions are of how compact it is and how good the build quality is, it really feels like a quality product. First step was to charge the battery then setup the camera. This was a breeze with the camera taking you step by step to select language, location, date etc.

I took a few test images using full auto mode and they were of a very high quality with natural colours. Using in point and shoot mode the camera selected what it thought were the best settings and the camera turned out to be right. One of the main reasons I waited for this camera coming onto the market was the super macro mode. I cannot believe how good this was, taking some hand held pictures, indoors of a 20p piece with the image filling the frame. Despite being hand held from a distance of about 2cm the images were sharp with all the details of the 20p being clearly visible.

The screen is sharp and easy to view, I have not tried it in very bright sunlight but in normal daylight it was easy to see, The settings are very easy to manage via the controls on the back panel. If you have owned a digital camera before then you will probably not even need to read the manual. Selection of the various options is quick and intuitive.

The software supplied with the camera is OK but I prefer to use my own imaging software. Plugging in the camera (windows XP) allows you to view the cameras images via a folder on an add on drive letter. Transfer of images from the camera to PC is very quick.

All in all I am very pleased with the Optio S1 and would recommend it to anyone who needs a small, fully featured camera with extremely good macro facilities.

I really love this camera - to demonstrate the level of my photographic expertise I should tell you that I chose it for the colour! I have read the reviews and comments from others who seem to have a lot more knowledge than me and they seem to be very happy with it as well. As I wanted a camera which was as simple to operate as possible I have to say I am thrilled with this. It has a good quality feel about it which I hadnt really expected due to the price but most importantly even I could pick it up and use it immediately without resorting to reading the manual - this camera really does it all for you and the pictures are very good and the colours absolutely natural on the automatic setting. I hadnt wanted to use the advanced features as with my previous camera (a panasonic lumix FS20) I found it too complicated - it took great pictures in the hands of a more experienced photographer but mine were never quite right and I never really got to grips with it. However, the Pentax is so simple to use that even the advanced settings are not a problem for me. The one difficulty I had was finding the delete all setting but now that I have found this I would give this camera 10/10 for quality, price and ease of use. Love the colour too!

I received this very quickly on the post free option. I got it for my son ,who is not into the technical side of photography, to take pictures and videos of my grandson.
It is very small but seems to have a very robust metal case.
It is very easy to operate. Has a built in memory but needs a memory card.He does not have a computer but we very quickly were looking at videos and pictures on his T.V.
The Macro facility is very good.The menu is very easy to use . It has a face recognision system so people should be in focus and porperly exposed.To delete pictures, this has to be done individually,could be a problem, compared to my panasonic which allows all delete, or multi delete and pictures can be selected by date. As he can take 1000 pictures with a 2gb card i hope he deletes unwanted pictures as he goes along . I would recommend this camera at the price(79.00) to anyone who wants a camera for family snaps with the ease of fitting into a pocket or handbag.

The camera is a stylish looking compact that was very reasonably priced.
Easy menus and operation. The photos are generally very good, although the night shots seem a bit dark around the edges.

Purchased this for the wife for Christmas after her disappointment with her older Samsung.

To date, we've been very impressed. From the box in auto, pictures inside and out have been clear, crisp and well balanced for colour. Chromatic aberration has been minimal, and the same for vignetting and pincushion effects at either end of the zoom.

Battery life has proven to be good (200+ shots per charge, including quite a few flash shots), and the camera is comfortable to use, with a simple and easily navigated operating system.

Naturally image resolution can't be compared with a DSLR - sensor size will always win out, even if the lenses are comparable, but if you're looking for a compact and easy to use point and shoot which delivers quality pictures in a variety of situations, the Pentax Optio S1 is more than worth a look - a cracking little camera at a budget price!

Very pleased with the camera. Small but still easy to hold and use the controls. It uses a standard size flash memory card which is better than the smaller ones and my television and laptop both accept this size. This camera has a micro and super micro option for taking really close shots. Easy to use the controls in a point and shoot mode and has the ability to make lots of manual settings for the more advanced photographer.