Customer Reviews

Pentax Optio 33L 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pros:
- Great user interface
- Includes panorama mode and supporting software. Panorama mode provides a ghosted image of the previous image to help you overlap edges. Also lets you choose panorama direction- left-right, right-left, up-down, down-up
- Stereoscopic photography mode. Nice to see this come back. There hasn't been many 3D cameras since the 50s.
- Small, compact size
- 3.2Mp for the price is excellent
- Flip around LCD display lets you take your own photo easily.
- Compact flash
- AA batteries or lithium cell

Cons:
- No view finder
- Since there is no view finder you depend on the LCD display for everything. In bright sunlight the LCD is washed out.
- Battery life on NIMH is short. Battery life on Lithium is excellent.

Summary:
Extremely feature packed 3.2Megapixel camera in a small package at an excellent price. Lack of a viewfinder is the only significant disadvantage- for outdoor daylight shooting.

This camera is great. Lots of features, super-cool LCD monitor...and a GREAT price.

However, beware of one thing. Do not try to power the camera with the "Power 2000" brand rechargeable AA batteries. I bought these batteries along with the charger from a website that suggested these batteries as an accessory for this camera. When I tried to use 2 fully charged Power 2000s, the camera would make 4 quick beep sounds and wouldn't turn on. After calling Pentax and telling them about my problem, they said I had to send it in for repair, and that it could take over a month. When I got the camera back I found out there was no problem with the camera. I was just using an "off brand" of AA battery that is not intended to power this specific camera.

I was angry at the retailer for suggesting a brand of battery that isn't even capable of powering this camera, but I was even more upset that the Pentax service rep didn't ask me over the phone which type of battery I was using. That whole problem and time spent without my camera could've been avoided if he had asked me that one simple question.

In summary, I would only use the Lithium Ion CR-V3 type battery with this camera. It lasts the longest, and now that Pentax themselves told me that it's the type of battery that is intended for use with this model, I won't try any other. It's too bad because I find it very wasteful and expensive to constantly purchase and throw away non-rechargeable batteries.

And one other thing - the reviewer that said he's had his camera "for 2 years" is either lying or accidentally reviewed the wrong camera. The Pentax Optio 33L was introduced in March 2003. It's less than a year old.

Don't let the negativity of my review deter you, though, because I love the camera. I'm just bothered by the service I got.

I bought this camera half a year ago because of all the great reviews. Well it's true! I've been using this camera all the time, and it hasn't failed me yet!

necessary accessories: Rechargable batteries & larger compactflash memory card (I have a 128mb one which is fine)..

WHAT I LIKE:
- easy & automatic. This was my first digicam, and I had no problems figuring it out. It works like a point and shoot, so you can start using it right away & get great results. You can explore the rest of the features later; you don't have to be confused & stress about learning to use it right off the bat, like my friends did over cannon a95 or whatever that took blurry pictures unless you set it on proper settings etc. Pentax optio takes great pictures on default settings, no worries!
- intuitive menu. When you do have the time to explore the camera a bit more, it's easy! You don't even need to look at the manual that much.
- clear sharp good quality pictures. it seems like cameras nowadays are just competing to have higher and higher megapixels. But for the everyday standard casual user, I can vouch that pentax's 3.2 megapixels is more than satisfactory. When I upload the pictures onto my computer, they are HUGE and have great resolution; not blurry or fuzzy at all! Much more than enough megapixels to produce your standard 4x6 print, and a few sizes larger.
- swivel LCD! It's so convenient! Countless times I've seen people without swivel LCD cameras try to take pictures of themselves with others by aiming randomly and hoping for the best. But with this swivel LCD, you can easily easily take self-portraits and pictures of you and other people without haphazard guess-and-check. Also, since the LCD swivels, You don't have to worry about scratching it or getting a special protective bag or anything; the LCD folds face-down neatly so that it's automatically protected when you close it.
- timer. much fun, very useful for group pictures that you want to be in. It has a 3 second and 10 second timer, for whatevers more convenient for your situation
- fun color filters. You can take sepia, black & white pictures, or pictures with red, blue, & green color filters. This is a neat feature; for example, it's fun to take black/white/red filter pictures if you're photographing a bright red flower or something, because it comes out cool...the only color in the picture would be the red flower that stands out a lot! I've gotten a lot of positive comments from people about pictures that I take with the filters. a nice little extra.
- i like that it has a video, another nice little extra.
- easy to use software. I just loaded in the CD, hooked up the camera to the computer, and it's all done.
- overall, decent battery life with rechargable AAs. Good flash that you can set to on or off or automatic. A number of different picture settings. Great & versatile.
- GREAT PRICE! I got mine for $168 off ebay after much research. Well worth it, great value.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER:
- no viewfinder. others have mentioned this already, and have said it wasn't really a problem because youve got your LCD that you use all the time anyway. I agree. Never in my months of using it, have i ever thought "aw, I wish i had a viewfinder!" It's really not needed, so this isn't really a con.
- video quality. The picture quality of the videos isn't that great, and there is no sound. Better quality & sound would be nice, but I see having a video at all as being an extra already, so Im not really complaining.
- slow load. Sometimes, especially if the batteries are low, it takes a while for the LCD to light up when you turn on the camera or switch between picture-taking and picture-viewing modes, which is only a slight annoyance. Maybe a faster shutter speed would be nice too, because sometimes it takes a second to take the picture so people start moving again and its blurry. But generally, it's fine.

So overall, I highly recommend this camera for the typical non-professional user on a budget. Easy to use, takes great pictures, has fun extra little features, and is relatively inexpensive! You can't ask for more than that!

I think this should be one of the best buy 3 MP camera. I have another digital camera with 5 MP (Kyocera S5R) but I like this one much more. The most striking thing about this camera (33L) is the beautiful color high resolution swivelling LCD monitor. The swivel monitor is very useful. The images taken by this camera are also real good. The balance of flash is extremely good eventhough it seems to be a bit of reddish saturation. 3D , filters , and panorama are fun to use. I used the rechargeable NIMH (AA , 2000 mAh) with no problem.
All in all , I love this one and carry it with me whenever possible. The only complaint I may have is that it lacks of date imprint mode. ( I use camera to record my work so date imprint is important for me.)

I have wanted a digital camera for a while now, and I have been looking for the perfect one. I have an SLR camera, but sometimes I just dont feel like carrying around the extra bulk. I am the type of person that travels a lot, and I love to take pictures. The Pentax 33L Optio Camera is a GREAT digital camera. The quality of the pictures is amazing. The zoom is unbelievable, and the features are awesome! I love the camera, and I do not regret buying it. I would HIGHLY Reccomend this product!

this is really a great camera, i love how you, could open and close the lcd screen. you've got program mode for taking still pictures. picture mode for taking pictures of people. movie mode where there is over 20 seconds to do a video and more. the pictures comes out great with only 3.2 mega. the only comlpaint i have is that it takes terrible night photos on night vision mode. and when i email pentax about the problem i got no reply. anyway this is really a great camera, for outdoors the quality of pictures is outstanding. definaitely worth buying.

Once I got this camera, I was in love. I love how the LCD swivels. I takes picture-taking to a whole other level. If your just going to use this camera for everyday use, you can stop right here. This is the camera to buy. The software for editing that comes with it is GREAT too. It's a whole lotta fun.

I was a pleasantly surprised with this camera. It has so many features and the zoom is really clear. You can even hook it up to your TV! This is a very good camera.

I have had ALOT of didgital camera and they broke alot but this one I have has for 2 years and it works perfect!!! This is obviously the BEST digital camera. If you need one for a extra low price, this is the one for you!!