Reviews for Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: ultra compact yet uses AA batteries

Weakness: Fails to focus in low light levels where other cameras succeed, including common situations like restaurants or parties.

This camera has a serious weakness due to its failure to focus in lower light situations that other cameras easily handle. Pentax is simply way behind in auto focus technology that I expect will be corrected soon in newer models but be warned of the S40. In restaurants that have subdued lighting forget it plus you must turn all room lights on full to take a picture. I compared the S40 to my Kodak 6340 as I turned the dimmer switch down in my living room. On flat paint the Kodak was only slightly better. On glossy surfaces, noticeably better, on textured surfaces, the Kodak was amazingly superior (textured is comparable to taking pictures of people). Not only that, but the Pentax has non-existant feedback to you as you wait for the focus light to lock on. It continues to blink even though the electronics has given up trying so you hold on anticipating a focus lock when the camera has given up. They could have at least used a different blinking pattern to let you know the camera has decided it can't focus and has given up. This would allow you to focus on something else or try to increase the light. This camera is a dog that won't hunt. I returned it after 18 frustrating days.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Price! Good Deal! Size is awesome! Really enjoyed!

Weakness: No case, charger or memory card. Have to buy!

Pictures doesn't take as much longer as some people said (I was scared too). It is fine. I bought a 256 SD card and works fine. I was looking for a small camera that could fit on my jeans' pocket and was over 3.2mp. That is the camera. The casio exilim is smaller (I have one that is why I know) but it is as good as. Recommend. I would buy again! I was between this pentax s40 and canon sd110.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Positives:
1) Ergonomics - look and feel is very nice.
2) Picture quality - the picture quality is also very nice.
3) Batteries - one of the reasons I bought this was the fact it takes AA batteries, unlike most other small compacts I considered.
4) Manual controls - the camera has plenty of manual controls, more than I'll ever use.
5) Movie mode - shoots at 30fps which makes for smooth movies albeit at 320x240 (quite acceptable for a camera).
6) Menu system - quite easy to learn and navigate.

Negatives:
1) Performance - slow (and I mean SLOW).
a) Shot-to-shot - in 4MP/Fine mode is over 8 seconds with flash, and almost 6 seconds without flash. These times are so slow I actually called Pentax because I thought the camera might be defective. The customer service rep pulled out his sample camera and verified these times.

Note, this is with post-review off, which usually helps to some degree. This performance improves slightly as resolution/quality is decreased, down to about 4 seconds for 2MP/Fine). But, this is still very slow in my opinion. This performance is a serious downgrade from the older S4 model, according to various review sites.
b) Continuous mode - the camera can shoot 2 pix while in continuous mode in about 2 seconds. Then, a noticeable delay for the 3rd and subsequent pictures. This is for 4Mp/Fine, and does also improve for lower res/quality. This is probably acceptable. I'm hoping this improves with one of the newer, faster SD memory cards that is available now.
c) Start-up speed - no better than 4-5 seconds.

Overall, I would love this camera, except for its completely sub-par performance. Who wants to wait over 8 seconds between shots. Other compacts (Nikon/Canon) have been reviewed with 2-3 second shot-to-shot times. I would probably recommend potential buyers look elsewhere for this reason.



Overall, I would love this camera, except for its completely sub-par performance. I would probably recommend potential buyers look elsewhere for this reason. Trust me, you won't be happy with shot-to-shot times of over 8 seconds.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: A lot of features that other comparable models don't have. Compact size is great to work with. Excellent quality picture. Movies with sound - great for this type of camera. Easy to learn and use.

Weakness: A difficult-to-notice minor lag in recovery time.

Sometimes people, me included, buy things and expect more out of them than the items was designed to deliver. If I needed more, I should be prepared to spend a couple of hundred dollars more ( and still would not have the perfect camera). For the price, this is one heck of a deal, one heck of a camera. I would recommend.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Compact & sleek design, built in 11 MB memory card, 4 MP stills for an affordable price. Decent photos. Great for newbies and those who do not want to carry a bulky camera.

Weakness: Slow response during start up and after taking photos, picture quality could have been little better.

Fits easily in pocket, greatest plus is its size. The newer model S4i is even smaller but a bit more expensive. Easy to use, fewer controls to mess around with. Great value for money. Overall, it is a good buy especially for starters.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: SIZE - I got it to take pictures of our new baby and didn't want to haul something big around. FEATURES - lots of options I haven't had time to play with. BATTERIES - I like the AA feature.

Weakness: Due to it's size the flash is not very powerful Preview doesn't have a "tiled" view - you have to look at 1 picture at a time. (can be a pain when you get a large card that can hold 500+ pictures)

For the little I paid for it I feel I got a great deal. I'm acutally on my second one because the other one kept giving me a battery error but Costco gladly took it back and I havne't had a problem with this one.

When I get the time to check all of the features out I'm sure that I will be able to know what mode to use in the right lighting and size situation.

Yes, there's a noticable delay between pictures but it's not that bad of an issue. I would definitely recommend this to someone who was looking for a great camera for a GREAT PRICE!

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Compact,great price for 4.0MP camera

Weakness: As other users mention, performance - slow for high quality photos

Compact camera, easy to use and carry around.
The quality of pictures are good. Actually, some casio models are using the same lens from pentax, which is good.
For it's price the time delay for each shot is nothing.
Very pleased so far.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: The S40 has 17 different shooting modes which I have found to be very helpful when shooting photos. It is also very small and compact. It can fit in my pocket without any problem.

Weakness: The only weakness is that when you take a photo with the LCD, the picture seems to be a little grainy.

The camera is really great. It is very easy to use, and it is a huge upgrade from my old 2.1MP camera. I would recommend this camera to anyone who is buying one.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: 4 MP, 11 MB internal memory, size just right, good price for all its features

Weakness: lag time - slow, would have been OK if memory card were included with the purchase

A good, cheap, first digital camera for a newbie. I compared a lot of cameras and found its price to be OK considering its features. Would recommend this for others who are having a hard time figuring out and making a decision comparing the multitudes of models in the market. This is a good unit for first time digital cameral owners.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: The quality of pictures aver very good. The camera itself is a nice size. Also, it is very inexpensive for a 4 MP camera. But best of all, it uses AA size batteries.

Weakness: A little lag time for each shot.

The strengths far outway the weaknesses. This camera suits my needs and I would definitely buy it again. I didn't want to shell out another 100 bucks for the canon s400.

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Compact, solid and great image resolution.

Weakness: none

This digital camera has some amazing features that are normally found in much more expensive models. Great picture quality. Read the manual in order to fully utilize its capabilities. No complaint so far. Highly recommended. Unbeleivable low price for this much camera!

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: very good

Weakness: hardly damaged

I used this model for 1 month. Actually that is my friend's.
But It's so nice enough to order my new s40 camera. Mine is coming in a few days.

This is awesome camera. I recommend you ^^

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Pentax Optio S40 4 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Functions are easy to use.

Weakness: very slow when taking a photo.

I bought it for my boyfriend's birthday. It's a good price for this qualification. The camera's feature is not too small ,or too big. I like it so much.

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Best Ultra-Compact Pentax Digital Camera

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Pentax Optio S40

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Pentax Optio S40

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