Pentax Optio S6 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

by Pentax

Product Details

Product Manual [4.02mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 6.4 x 3.9 inches ; 3.5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000ARG4IK
• Item model number: OPTIO S6
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,311 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 18, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Pentax OptioS6 brings new meaning to style and ultra-compact, lightweight design. Combining an easy-to-view 2.5-inch LCD monitor with 3x optical zoom and the power of 6.0 effective megapixels.

Stylish, ultra-compact body with an aluminum alloy exterior measures just 3.3 x 2.2 x 0.8 inches (W x H x D).

Outstanding image quality thanks to a 1/2.5-inch primary color 6 megapixel CCD, 3x optical smc Pentax lens and high-performance ASIC.

Large 2.5-inch LCD monitor offers a 100% field of view and the clarity of 110,000 pixels.

High-quality extended movie captures MPEG-4 (640 x 480) at 30 frames per second with a range of built-in editing features.

Quick response with approximately 0.01-second shutter release lag time.

Personalization is a snap with the Fn (Function) button by creating a shortcut to four functions from a choice.

Product Description

MD) CL) AA) PENTAX OPTIO S6 DIG CAM

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How can something this small take such great pictures?!!, November 1, 2005

By 

Dylan Capener (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pentax Optio S6 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

Why I got this camera:

I have a 1 year old, and the shutter lag of my previous digital camera made it near impossible to capture those fleeting moments. The 1/2000 of a second shutter speed of the Optio S6 ensures that I get the shot, the tracking AF feature (continually detects both horizontal and vertical movement of the main subject and maintains focus) ensures it is in focus and the extremely small size ensures I actually bring it with me.

Pro's:
-Extremely small 6 megapixel with 3x optical zoom
-Decent button layout on such a small camera
-LCD screen with great clarity and color, viewable even in bright sunlight
-Produced perfect photos in the following environments:
**indoor
****stationary object
****moving object
****Natural lighting
****Tungsten/Fluorescent lighting
**nighttime
**outdoor sun
**sand and water w/sun
-Spot focus, area focus and tracking focus all produce expected results and function well in a variety of lighting (even has a focus assist light for shooting in darker areas).
-Panorama assist function is a great idea and produced a
beautifully lined up panoramic shot.
-Really good quality true 30fps movie mode with effective
anti-shake
-In camera movie editing features work well
-Voice memo function is a "nice-to-have" and works well
-In camera slide show function is a nice way to share/review your photos when you're on the road.

Cons:
-You definitely need more than one battery as the included one will only last about 160 photos w/flash (which is only ~3/4 the capacity of a 512MB SD card).
-Doesn't come with A/C adapter (battery charger only)
-MPEG-4 DivX movie output isn't compatible with Quicktime/Mac's without searching for 3rd party codecs or alternate players (movies import into iMovie HD without sound)
-Due to the small size, buttons and camera may not be a good fit for people whose hands are referred to as "catchers mitts", or "sausage fingers" or other such hurtful (but perhaps accurate) adjectives.

Take home message:
My wife and I love this camera. It is small and light, takes GREAT pictures and has all of the features you could want in a digital camera (without any of the bulk). This is my first foray into the Pentax digital shooters (I've own(ed) Fuji and Canon digital and film camera's prior), and if this is any indication, they've got some great products. I'm so impressed with this one that I am considering getting an Optio WPi to take out in the water with me.

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pentax Optio S6 Comparatively, November 4, 2005

By 

C. Harper - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pentax Optio S6 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The Pentax Optio S6 is a great camera for its size. I own the original Optio S and the little "nub" that controls most of the functions finally frustrated me into looking for a new camera.

I went into a local retailer thinking I would upgrade to another ultracompact, but not really expecting to buy the latest Pentax. I compared the Canon PowerShot SD400, Sony CyberShot DSC-T5, Nikon CoolPix S3, Pentax Optio S6, and Casio Exilim EX-Z500.

The contrast that struck me the most was screen resolution on the camera displays. Both the Sony and Pentax had over 230,000 pixels on the 2.5" screens and they were far superior to the Canon, Nikon, and Casio (with approx. 120,000 pixels each).

I tend to leave my pictures on a 1GB card for a long time and show them off from the camera, so screen resolution was important. From reading numerous reviews, it seems the Canon and Nikon offer the highest quality pictures overall, but the low screen resolution was very noticeable on these large displays.

Otherwise, all the cameras started up very quickly and were easy to use as a point-and-shoot camera should be. I chose the Pentax over the Sony because it was easier to hold and my finger kept getting in the picture with the Sony. Also, the Pentax still fits in the altoids tin!

I've used the Pentax for a week now and I'm very happy with the picture quality, incredibly small size, and ease of use. The battery life is average for an ultracompact and the picture modes actually work well.

I give it four stars instead of five because it only has 6 stops on the optical zoom. I definitely recommend the Pentax Optio S6 if you're considering an ultracompact camera.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice form factor, but flawed, December 3, 2005

By 

King Of All Gadgets (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pentax Optio S6 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I bought the S6 to replace the original Optio S, which I accidentally dropped. I also considered buying the Casio EX-S500, which is said to have faster shutter response, good quality photos and better battery life, but requires a dock for all its connections and has a smaller screen.

Since I already had an extra set of accessories (battery, charger, etc), I took the plunge on an S6. My take so far:

Pros:
- great form factor
- intuitive menus
- full screen, unlimited movie mode (can't zoom during it, but only a few photo cameras permit this)
- Large screen - 2.5 in
- lots of scene options and manual controls

Cons:
- Poor battery life - not close to the 130 photos promised
- Absolutely dumb shutter button design - it's actually hard to take a photo without pressing really hard. Most presses just result in the auto focus activating, but no photo.
- Shutter Lag - assuming you do press the dumb button properly and it does take a picture, there is definitely a lag. This is similar to my old Optio - they should really have perfected this by now - how embarrasing.
- Viewing photos takes forever!! Apparently, the camera has a very slow processor, so when you want to view your photos, it first shows a semi-blurry image then....finally...the full resolution image. I wouldn't mind it as much, if you could advance to the next image during all this. You can't. You have to wait and wait for the full resolution photo to finally appear.
- Only average photo quality.
- Autofocus slow in standard mode (wider area). The instruction manual won't tell you this, but if you reduce the focus area, performance and shutter lag decreases significantly. Not intuitive. Also has a quick, but grainy Pan-Focus mode.

Conclusion:
I can (and plan to) live with the flaws of this neat looking camera; however, I can only imagine the headache when I ask someone else to take a picture with it and I have to explain the dumb shutter button 10 times. I would strongly recommend checking out all of the cameras you're considering in person before ordering to ensure you can live with the lags, screen delays, etc. Generally, I would recommend Canons, which take consistently great pictures and don't suffer from these kinds of design flaws - except for one. Canons have only uncompressed movie modes, which means the memory will fill up within a few minutes. Once their cameras get MPEG-4 movie compression, I am there.