Pentax Optio S50 Digital Camera [5MP, 3x Optical]

The software included is a breeze to use and has all the essential photo imaging facilities you could want. Powerup up time is good and shutter lag time is adequate.

This camera has many manual functions which I am still finding out about so I would recommend reading the manual thoroughly ( as I seem to keep doing in this review ) to get the most out of this camera. Uses 2 AA batteries which do tend to get used up fairly quickly but get some decent rechargeable batteries and charger as I have and you should be able to get around 200 pictures with the flash used 50% of the time.

All in all if you want a camera that slips into your shirt pocket, takes great pictures, takes movies at 30 frames/sec and can act as a standalone voice recorder then I would not hesitate to recommend this camera and it looks fantastic too.

There are however a couple of negative points, there is a lag between pressing the shutter release button and the picture being taken (shutter lag?)which can get annoying if you need to take a picture quickly. Also the camera eats alkaline batteries so rechargeable batteries is a must (most digital cameras need these anyway). The 11mb internal memory is not enough so additional memory cards will be needed.

Overall this is a good camera for the price and I would recommend it to a digital camera novice/beginner.

The images are enormous and the quality is really good.

It has a loada modes to do all kinds of stuff, and the macro makes really close objects really clear.

The screen is good, and really clear, and the options on the menus are easy to navigate.

As other people have said there is a lag but this is only when using the flash really and basically all cameras have this anyway, it doesn't make a noticebale difference.

Obviously as with all digital cameras with screens the batterys given aren't going to last long so good photo rechargeables are a must, and again with all digital cameras the built in memory only lasts around 10 shots so buy a memory card. 1Gb ones are only around £50, so pretty damn cheap for how big it is.

The size is good, it will easily fit in your pocket, because whats the point of having a big camera, because you'll miss those spur of the moment shots because it's in your bag and you won't want to carry it around everywhere.

The camera is made of aluminium and looks really expensive if this is an issue for you. The weight is good, it's not really heavy but not so light that it seems cheap and tacky.

Overall I would highly reccomend this camera, as it is amazing value for the price and takes good shots. Also Pentax are a good make to go for as they are renowned for good cameras and their lenses are quality unlike other cameras which might be 5Mp but may have a bad lens so will take worse pictures.

If in doubt get it, as I looked through loads of cameras before choosing this one and don't regret it for a minute.