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(More customer reviews)So the deal is, I shoot photography in a professional capacity. I recently moved to all digital in my SLRs, which has resulted in some pretty satisfying results. I get awesome picture quality, superb tools for post processing, and no longer really have to hassle with developing film. But one thing was missing... convenience and portability.
My pro kit bag weighs in at about 17 pounds fully loaded. My camera and lens of choice weighs in at over four pounds just on its own, and it's hardly what I'd call pocketable. So I started searching for an ultra small, ultraslim camera to do the trick.
My search took me to a variety of "influencer" sites including dpreview and others. I read like a madman. I looked at picture quality. I read comments by current users. And I weighed positives against negatives. My choice was narrowed down to the Pentax Optio s4 and I was about to buy, when I found out the new s4i was coming out. It made my choice a lot easier. I'll outline more below.
I placed a preorder on Amazon, and took delivery of one of the first shipping models. I guess that's extreme early adopter for you - the camera wasn't even supposed to be available till April 1, but I had mine in my hands by April 2. I've used it for five days now, and while that's a short time to evaluate something, it's long enough for me to give it a thumbs up. Here's what I like:
Extreme Small Size: This is one of the smallest digicams on the market, but it's ruggedly built with lots of aluminum and metal surfaces.
Large (relative) LCD: a big step up from the s4 is the 1.8" LCD on the s4i. May not seem large, but considering the small size of this camera, it's massive.
Streaming Video: very important feature for me. My previous digicam (before I went dSLR) was an Olympus C-5050, and I loved the fact I could fill a memory card with one long video. This one lets me do it too.
Image quality's okay: at ISO 50 and 100, images are good, colour tone is decent. At 200 it's losing me, and at 400, it's terrible, but at least it goes to 400 ISO. The lens quality's okay too - nothing's changed from the s4 model, and the sample images you can find online show it's a decent snapshot capture device.
"Stupid" Modes: Normally I'm not a fan of what I call "stupid" modes - you know, put the camera into a mode where the camera makes decisions for you (ie Museum mode, Night shot mode, Portrait mode), but I like the versatility in some of the modes on this camera. My faves so far: 3D mode, food mode (works well!), text mode and digital filter mode (I like taking a picture of myself as someone skinny!).
"Lifestyle" Features: on top of being a digicam, this camera has additional lifestyle perks. It has a capable audio recorder mode (which I plan to use while conducting interviews for articles I write). It has a world clock function (though accessing it is a bit of a pain, unless you map it to the quick button). It has not one, not two, but three alarms, which can be set for once or daily (hey nice feature - a $350 travel alarm clock!).
There are some negatives:
Shot to shot performance: in a word, it blows. This thing can take a first shot quick (lag time is very short). But in "high speed" frame mode, you're lucky if you can get one shot every two seconds or more. Maybe if you have it set to manual focus or something.
CCD is tiny = Grain, Chromatic distortions: because the CCD inside is so small, you end up with pictures with grain in continuous colour areas, and you see a lot of purple fringing in photos with high contrast.
It may be too small: I've got big mitts. This thing feels like it's so small, it may fall out of my hands at times. The textured alum on the front helps though.
Overall.
I wasn't expecting a camera that could rival a Nikon D70 or a Canon Eos Digital Rebel in image quality, and you shouldn't either. But if you want a good quality camera for taking snapshots, movies, recording audio (sounds good too), and something you can wear around your neck or make disappear in your pocket, this is the model to beat. I'm very happy with the purchase.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Pentax Optio S4i 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
With a hefty 1.8 inch LCD monitor, the tiny Pentax Optio S4i 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom gives you a bigger, brighter view of the world. Now you can enjoy larger LCD viewing, simplified compositions, and easier focusing. And despite its small size, the Optio S4i is packed with impressive features. For starters, the power of 4.0 megapixels is revealed in the astonishing image detail of your shots. The Optio S4i also features a primary color filter and advanced imaging technologies, which highlight brighter, more natural colors and significantly enhance general image quality.A 3x optical zoom, with all five groups of six elements crafted entirely from glass, with two lenses crafted to be aspherical on each side, come from the world famous Pentax series of lenses --a lineup renowned throughout the world for sheer imaging excellence. The optical zoom can also be augmented with the 4x digital zoom, which takes the camera's total zoom capability to an impressive 12x. And with a 1.8 inch LCD monitor that offers a 100 percent field of view, you can compose the exact shot that you want. It's also exceptionally useful for viewing recorded shots on the spot. And with21 shooting modes to choose from, you'll never have to worry about the details of correct exposure, shutter speed, or other settings. Whether your shooting a wedding inside a 200 year old cathedral, or a Caribbean sunrise, the Optio S4i will do all the thinking for you.With a light, but sturdy, aluminum alloy casing, and measuring a mere 3.3 x 2.0 x 0.8 inches (W x H x D), the Optio S4i can be taken wherever your travels demand. Included with the camera is a compact, lightweight recharge unit that will get your lithium-ion batteries up and running again in no time. Also included is 10 MB of built-in memory to give you plenty of room to store your photos. But if that's not enough, you can increase the memory withan SD memory card. Compact and easy to use, the Optio S4i is perfect for the beginning photographer, or for anyone who simply wants the ease of point-and-shoot convenience without sacrificing quality.
Click here for more information about Pentax Optio S4i 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
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