Howard_Creech's Full Review: Pentax Optio S60 Digital Camera
Despite more than half a century as a major player in the photo-optics world, Pentax is a relative unknown in the digital imaging arena. The company is probably best known for the K1000, one of the most popular and longest running 35mm camera models ever marketed and for inventing the instant return mirror, a major advance in the SLR- Rangefinder wars of the fifties. The company is highly respected by professional photographers for the durability of its products and for building excellent image making tools like the work horse medium format Pentax 67.
Pentax’s new Optio S is the smallest three megapixel digital camera in the world, about the size of a credit card (3.3 x 2.0 inches) and less than an inch thick. The Optio S weighs just over four ounces (with battery and memory storage media loaded) and it’s small enough to easily slip into a shirt pocket. This isn’t Pentax’s first venture into ultra miniaturization; about twenty-five years ago the company introduced the Pentax 110, the smallest SLR (single lens reflex) camera ever made. When my wife and I lived in Germany, a friend of ours had a Pentax 110 SLR system (camera, 3 interchangeable lenses, a motor drive, a flash, filters, and a Leitz table top tripod) and he amazed everyone by carrying it all around in a jogger’s leather waist pack.
What’s really amazing about the Optio S is all the stuff that Pentax didn’t leave out. The Optio S is fully loaded: 3 megapixels, 3X zoom lens, lots of auto exposure modes, and a selection of manual/creative photography options.
NUTS & BOLTS
Viewfinder/LCD
The Pentax Optio S features a bright, fluid, and slightly larger than average 1.6" TFT color LCD screen that covers almost 100% of the frame. The LCD has an anti-reflective coating (which reduces glare outdoors) but the brightness can’t be adjusted. The LCD screen provides somewhat limited information including shooting mode, focus mode, date and time, and battery power level. The live histogram display provides a graph for checking exposure and provides information on resolution/quality settings, white balance and ISO settings, and metering mode. If you use the LCD as your primary viewfinder you’ll need to buy at least one extra battery.
The Optio S also features a fairly bright tunnel style zooming optical viewfinder. The optical viewfinder covers a slightly smaller than average 75 per cent of the frame. There are no parallax correction marks for macro shooting and there’s no diopter adjustment for eyeglasses wearers. If you use the optical viewfinder, rather than the LCD screen, for framing your shots battery power should be sufficient for a moderate half day shooting session.
Lens
Pentax’s optical engineers were presented with a truly daunting challenge in developing the world’s smallest 3 megapixel digital camera; come up with an optical zoom lens that could be shoehorned into a space less than an inch deep. Minolta’s engineers had to deal with the same problem when they designed the tiny Dimage X & Xi (formerly the world’s smallest 3 megapixel digicams). They ended up using a system of prisms and mirrors to shorten the length of the 3X zoom lens. Pentax’s design team shortened the length of the Optio S’ 3X zoom by making the central elements swing up out of the light path when the camera was powered down, allowing the lens to be retracted fully into the body.
The Pentax Optio S’ lens is a reasonably fast all glass Pentax SMC (Super Multi Coated) f2.6-f4.8/35-105mm (35mm equivalent)zoom. The complex lens design results in some loss of sharpness at closer shooting distances and corner resolution is a bit soft throughout the zoom’s range. A built-in lens cover slides out of the way when the camera is powered up allowing the lens to telescope out of the body (in just over a second). The process is reversed when the camera is powered down; the lens retracts fully into the camera body and the built in cover slides into place automatically to protect the front element.
Auto Focus
The Optio S features a seven AF point autofocus system. More advanced photographers can enable the Spot AF option or manual AF point selection. At the default setting the camera examines seven fixed focus points to determine which one is closest to the subject and automatically concentrates focus on that AF point. Photographers who insist on absolute control can enable the spot focus option, which locks focus on the center of the frame. Users can also opt to manually place an active AF point anywhere in the frame, using the four-way controller. The Optio S’ autofocus is consistently accurate and relatively fast in good light.
Manual Focus
The Optio S’ Manual focus mode allows users to set the focus distance manually using the up/down arrows (an approximate distance scale is displayed on the left side of the frame). In manual focus mode the center of the LCD image is digitally enlarged to help ensure more accurate focusing.
Macro Focus
The Pentax Optio S is probably not the optimum choice if close-up photography is an important consideration. Minimum focusing distance in Super Macro Mode is 2.4 inches (exceptional performance for an ultra-compact digital camera) but the complex lens design results in loss of sharpness at closer shooting distances. Parallax error prevents using the optical viewfinder for composition in the Super Macro mode but the LCD will work fine for framing close-up shots. Colors are very good, but flash coverage in the close up range is uneven. In regular macro mode the Optio S’ minimum focusing distance is just over seven inches and while flash coverage is somewhat better, image softness is still a problem.
Flash
The Pentax Optio S’ multi mode built in flash is just half the size of a standard postage stamp, but it does a fairly good job overall. Flash modes include: Auto, Off, On, Auto with Red-Eye Reduction, or On with Red-Eye Reduction. To paraphrase Hank Williams Jr, “Are you ready for some red-eye?” The red eye reduction mode doesn’t work very well (the lens and flash are too close together).
A camera this tiny is an absolute natural as a bar/party camera, however Optio S images shot at standard bar/party distances (6-8 feet) fall prey not only to the close range softness of the 3X zoom, but to the weakness of the on board flash. Pentax claims a maximum flash range of eleven and a half feet (at the ISO 200 sensitivity setting), but anything further than 6-8 feet from the camera is going to receive only limited flash coverage. There’s no AF illumination beam to ensure accurate AF in low light.
Voice Recorder
British Secret Service gadget master “Q” (from the James Bond films) would have loved this camera, not only is it tiny enough to surreptitiously sneak shots almost anywhere, but the Optio S can be used as a spy sized voice recorder (hold the power button down for two seconds to activate this feature) although range is very limited. The LCD displays elapsed/remaining recording time. The Optio S also allows users to add voice notes to still images.
Image Storage Media
The Optio S features 11 megabytes of internal memory. Pentax doesn’t include a memory card in the box, so users will have to purchase their own SD / MMC memory cards for additional image storage. SD/MMC cards are now available in sizes up to 256MB and 512 MB cards should be available in the near future.
Connectivity
USB 1.1 for uploading images to your computer and A/V out for viewing saved images on a TV.
Power/Battery life
The Optio S uses a very small proprietary rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. Pentax says the tiny D-LI8 battery pack is good for 160 images with full time LCD and moderate flash use. Based on my experience 120-130 exposures is a more accurate estimate. Heavy shooters will need at least one additional battery (about forty bucks) and the optional Pentax AC adapter (or a card reader) is probably a good idea for uploading images if you shoot a lot. Pentax says using the optical viewfinder fulltime (with limited flash use) will extend shooting time to around 300 exposures. The charger is included and requires about 90 minutes to fully recharge the DL18 battery pack.
FEATURES/PERFORMANCE
Exposure
The Optio S is an automatic exposure point and shoot camera, but it does provide more advanced shooters with some manual/creative photography options. Use the Optio S’ virtual mode dial to select from Program AE, Picture (this is the Optio S’ scene mode and includes Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Self-Portrait, Surf and Snow, Autumn Colors, and Sunset), Night Scene, Movie, Panorama Assist, 3D Image, Digital Filter, and User modes. Program AE is the default exposure mode and provides instant access to all of the camera's exposure options (Exposure Compensation, White Balance, metering, ISO Sensitivity, etc.). The User Mode allows shooters to select a group of personal exposure settings, which the Optio S remembers---Kudos to Pentax for this useful addition.
Metering
The Optio S’ default light measurement system is a fairly conservative Multi-Segment meter that evaluates the entire frame to determine exposure. More advanced photographers can elect to use Center-Weighted or Spot metering.
In Camera Image Adjustment
The Pentax Optio S’ Exposure Compensation mode allows photographers to bias exposure (+2/-2 EV) in 1/3 EV increments to compensate for difficult lighting or to convey mood or enhance important elements of the composition.
Like most ultra compact digicams the Optio S doesn’t provide a filter thread on the lens barrel making it impossible to use add on filters and auxiliary lenses. Pentax added the Digital Filter mode which allows users to select B&W or Sepia tone, red, pink, violet, blue, green, and yellow digital filter effects.fects.
The Optio S also provides an amazingly wide range of incremental adjustments ( 2, hard, normal, soft, and î) for contrast, saturation, and sharpness.
Movie Mode
The Pentax Optio S can record video clips of up to 30 seconds duration (320 x 240 @ 12fps) with audio.
DESIGN, CONTROLS, & ERGONOMICS
The Optio S “retro” brushed aluminum finish and tiny size remind me of the classic Rollei 35 (a small precision P&S 35mm camera that also featured a retractable lens). It’s stylish, small enough to be easily dropped into a shirt pocket, and tough enough to go just about anywhere.
The camera’s top deck is uncluttered (shutter button and power button) but many purchasers have complained that the shutter and power buttons are too close together making it easy to turn the camera off at the decisive “photographic moment” rather than snapping the picture. Most of the Optio S’ functions can be accessed using the multi controller switch. Shooting modes are selected via a virtual Mode Dial.
The Optio S is really tiny and that makes it more difficult to use, however once you get the hang of where everything is and how everything works, it’s fairly easy to manage.
The small size and smooth surface make it a little difficult for folks with large hands to hold the Optio S securely (the indented thumb rest helps) so it's a good idea to use the included wrist strap at all times.
Nifty Features or Gimmicks?
The Optio S features a World Time (64 cities in 28 time zones) clock with Alarm mode and a Stereo shooting mode that allows users to shoot two separate images (from slightly different perspectives) and later view the superimposed pictures as a single 3D image (with the included 3D viewer).
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 3 megapixels (2048x1536)
Viewfinders: 1.6” TFT color LCD and Real-image optical zoom VF
Exposure Modes: Program AE, Picture (Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Self-Portrait, Surf and Snow, Autumn Colors, and Sunset), Night Scene, Movie, Panorama Assist, 3D Image, Digital Filter, and User modes.
Metering: Multi-Segment, Center Weighted, and Spot
Shutter Speeds: 1/2000th of a second to 1 second
White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Manual (custom)
In-Camera Image Adjustment: Yes five steps---Contrast, Saturation, and Sharpness
Exposure Compensation: Yes 2/-2 EV in 1/3 EV increments
Lens: Pentax SMC f2.6-f4.8/35-105mm (35mm equivalent) zoom
Focus Modes: 7 point AF, Spot AF, Infinity (landscape), & Manual
Flash: Built-in Multi Mode (Auto, Off, On, Auto with Red-Eye Reduction, or On with Red-Eye Reduction)
Sensitivity: Auto, 50, 100, & 200 (ISO equivalent)
Image Storage Media: 11 MB internal storage---or SD/MMC cards
Power: one D-LI28 rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack
MSRP $499.00 Street Price $399.00--$349.00
Included
(There’s no SD or MMC card included) D-LI28 rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, D-BC8 battery charger, Wrist strap, USB & A/V Cables, 3D Image Viewer, CD-ROM (software), and printed User’s Manual
Optional
Pentax AC adapter, wireless remote control, leather soft case
In the Field/Handling & Operation
Both my friend (who sells digital and analog cameras and photographic equipment) and I have been very curious about the new Pentax Optio S. As long term photographers (almost thirty years for me and over twenty years for my friend) checking out the world’s smallest 3 megapixel digital camera was a must. We had an absolutely beautiful Saturday with blue skies, puffy white clouds, and temps in the seventies for our photographic outing.
Our first test was a check for color accuracy. Over the past couple of years the two of us have developed a test that works very well and allows us to compare our results from camera to camera. We use a homemade macro stage (a large cardboard box with the front panel cut away) lined with white photographic background paper. We first auto white balance the camera and then shoot a selection of brightly colored (red, blue, green, yellow, and purple) plastic children’s beach toys with the tripod mounted camera and a very simple slaved studio lighting set-up. This test allows us to check not only color saturation and accuracy but also the accuracy of the camera’s white balance system. The Pentax Optio S did a good job, colors were bright, well saturated, and accurate. The white balance system also worked well.
We decided to do our outdoor tests at Iroquois Park. We picked up our friend Ivan and headed for Louisville’s south end. Iroquois Park was designed by noted American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (who also designed New York City’s Central Park and New Orleans’ Audubon Park) and covers a large heavily forested hill that rises more than 800 feet above the surrounding suburbs. There is a small wildflower prairie at the top of the hill that is home to a varied community of native Kentucky plants, wildflowers, and prairie grasses. There are several small wetlands areas spread around the prairie and old hardwood trees surround the meadow area.
We spent a couple of hours shooting Eliot Porter style “intimate landscapes” and wildflower close-ups. The quiet little hilltop refuge is a photographer’s paradise, especially in the spring, summer, and fall when the area sports an ever changing selection of seasonal wildflowers. It's the perfect place to check out a new camera and we had a good time shooting spring wildflowers with the tiny digicam. The Optio S is not an easy camera to use; its diminutive size and somewhat cumbersome control interface require a little time for familiarization.
Once we finished shooting we headed for Wagner’s Pharmacy so my friends could get some ice cream. Wagner’s has been a Louisville Landmark since 1922; the restaurant of choice for jockeys, exercisers, farriers, veterinarians, and trainers from Churchill Downs. When I was in my early teens we lived about three blocks from the track and Wagner’s was one of my favorite places to hang out. I loved sitting at the counter and listening to the trainers, horse walkers, and jockeys talk about all the places they’d been and all the great horses they’d known. The original building at Fourth Street and Central Avenue was torn down when Central Avenue was widened, but Wagner’s moved to a new building right across the street from Churchill Downs gate Three.
The menu at Wagner's is heavy on soda fountain specialties, Southern comfort food, and traditional home cooking. The place has oodles of old time charm and draws a fascinating mix of south end locals, racetrack characters, and tourists. While my friends enjoyed their ice cream I used the diminutive Optio S to sneak environmental portraits of some of the horse walkers and old jockey’s who congregate at Wagner’s to shoot the breeze over strong coffee, home made pie, and ice cream sodas. If you’ve ever fantasized about being James Bond and acting like a spy, then you are going to love the Optio S.
This little camera can be held in the curved palm of your hand (with the lens poking through your fingers) and used to shoot candid images of subjects who are unaware that they are being photographed. It took a little practice, but I was able to support the camera with my little finger and the tips of my first two fingers and push the shutter button with my thumb. In no time at all I was able to lift my hand toward my forehead (as if I were adjusting the ball cap I was wearing) quickly frame a couple of old jockeys sipping coffee and sharing memories or a pair of shady looking race track touts in deep conversation over the racing form in the LCD and trip the shutter. The lighting in Wagner’s was a little dim so I crossed my fingers and hoped that the images (shot at the ISO 200 setting) would come out OK. I was having so much fun that my friends had to literally drag me out of the atmospheric old diner.
We got together Sunday morning and headed for the Mid-City Mall on Bardstown Road and Ehrmann’s (Louisville’s oldest bakery). Step inside and the first thing you’ll notice is the early 20th century Walnut, Stained Glass, and Onyx soda fountain (nothing has changed since the bakery moved to Mid City Mall in 1962). My friend ordered a cup of coffee for each of us and got himself a couple donuts (I often tease him that he must have been a cop in an earlier incarnation) while I took advantage of the opportunity to shoot the old soda fountain. It was easy to sneak a few “candids” in the brightly lit bakery of the folks sitting at the old soda fountain counter. Ehrmann’s lighting is all from overhead fluorescents so we were able to check the cameras white balance presets at the same time.
After my friend finished his breakfast we got to work and reviewed the images we’d shot with the Pentax Optio S. We printed two 5X7’s and one 8X10 (two wildflower shots and the racetrack touts from Wagner’s) with an Epson Stylus Color 785 EPX (on Kodak photo paper) so we could see what the Optio S’ images looked like when printed.
Image Quality
Overall, the Pentax Optio S delivers fairly good image quality. Many of our images were a bit darker than we’d expected and there was consistent corner softness in every image. Our wildflower close-ups were pretty good, but all of them were a bit soft. Flash coverage in all our super macro shots was insufficient and the overall softness distracted from the impact of the images. Colors are generally accurate, but the Optio S’ basic image interpolation program tends to punch up saturation a bit resulting in unrealistically blue skies and occasional glowing reds. We got our best results at ISO 50. Shooting at ISO 100 and the 1 (hard) sharpness setting slightly improved color accuracy and sharpness, but at the cost of increased image noise.
We printed two 5x7 wildflower shots (one ISO 50 and one ISO 100)and the ISO 50 image was pretty good, but the ISO 100 image was noticeably flatter with less detail. The images I shot at Wagner’s (ISO 200) were grainy and image noise was a real problem. We printed one 8x10 from Wagner’s and it was grainy and soft with washed out color.
In the final analysis, image quality is job one, and the TINY Optio S falls a bit short of the mark. Prints are fairly good overall up to 5X7, but there is noticeable softness and colors are flat at 8X10. In low lighting situations these problems are exacerbated by the Optio S’ weak flash. For some consumers the Optio S’ tiny size is going to be more important than sharp images. If you plan to stick pretty much with 4X6 prints and not shoot too often in dim/low light then you may be completely happy with the little Optio S, but if you will need an occasional 8X10 enlargement then the compact size/image quality tradeoffs may be more onerous than you are willing to accept.
Timing/Shutter Lag
Overall the Pentax Optio S is reasonably responsive. Auto Focus speed is a bit quicker than average, especially if you pre focus (press the shutter button down halfway). Start up time (boot-up cycle) is between four and five seconds. Shutter lag is surprisingly short, especially for an ultra compact digital camera.
Shot to shot times are very slow (6 to 8 seconds @ maximum resolution and image quality between shots). The primary reason for the Optio S’ shot to shot slowness is the lack of a buffer (the camera must completely write an exposure to internal memory or SD/MMC card before another shot can be taken). Consumers would have been better served if Pentax had dedicated the 11 MB of internal image storage as the Optio S’ memory buffer and included an SD/MMC card in the package.
A Few Concerns
The Pentax Optio S has an above average number of shortcomings, however the camera also has an above average number of features. What this means is that more advanced photographers will be able to maximize the Optio S’ capabilities and minimize its faults. The Pentax Optio S is definitely not for neophyte photographers or first time digital camera buyers.
Let’s start with Pentax’s nifty little swing away 3X zoom lens. The lens exhibits significantly above average barrel distortion at the wide-angle end of the zoom range, however pincushion distortion is well controlled and virtually invisible at the telephoto end of the range. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is well controlled and shouldn’t be a much of a problem. The Optio S’ lens is soft, especially at distances of less than ten feet (SNAPSHOT AND PORTRAIT RANGE), but resolution improves as you focus closer to infinity. Corners are consistently soft and there is minor vignetting evident at the wide-angle end of the 3X zoom.
Switching between the internal memory and an SD/MMC card is difficult and you can’t review images stored in the internal memory unless you remove the SD/MMC card. I don’t know why Pentax didn’t include a buffer. The camera must completely write an exposure to memory before it can take another shot. Consumers would have been much better served if Pentax had dedicated the 11 MB of internal image storage as the Optio S’ memory buffer.
The Pentax Optio S’ control layout is neither logical nor intuitive and the tiny four-way controller rocker switch (used to make menu selections) is a real challenge to use, especially if you have big fingers. The power switch and shutter button are too close together and easily confused.
Conclusion
The problem with my German friend’s Pentax 110 SLR was that the camera was at the zenith of what could be achieved given the limitations of the tiny 110 film format, and the images were still mediocre. Unlike the Pentax 110 SLR, today’s tiny ultra compact digital cameras are at the beginning of their evolution, so what’s important is not the Pentax Optio S’ failures, but its successes. The first digital camera I ever used (in 1994) cost $20,000 and the image quality was equivalent to digital cameras that cost less than a hundred bucks today. The dizzying pace of digital camera development makes it clear that even though the diminutive Optio S falls below the image quality average for 3 megapixel digital cameras, more capable units are just down the road.
Obviously, tiny digital cameras can’t currently be expected to compete with full sized units in terms of image quality, features, battery life, or cost---- so consumers who place a high value on ultra compact size must be prepared to accept certain logical limitations. The Pentax design team built a camera that does a better job for consumers than its closest competitor (the Minolta Dimage Xi) and the second generation Optio S will almost certainly improve on that performance.
The Pentax Optio S is an amazing piece of cutting edge miniaturization and precision engineering and I really enjoyed using it, but I can’t recommend it without reservation. If you plan on using the Optio S for generating email JPEGS or 4X6 inch prints and shooting your friends “goofing around” then you’ll probably be happy with its performance. If you want to use the camera to preserve memories of your travels, document the growth of your children, shoot stunning macro images, or make 8x10 enlargements the Optio S is likely to be a disappointment.
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