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144 of 146 found the following review helpful:
 It's almost all I expected it to be!Apr 07, 2004
By M. Prince
"The CoffeeGeek"
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.
97 of 98 found the following review helpful:
 Reasons to consider the Pentax S4iJul 06, 2004
Here are reasons why the Pentax S4i should be considered:
1) SMALL AND LIGHT- Smallest not only by linear dimensions (also is the smallest by cubic inch 'bulk' as well ) and weights only 4.2 oz WITH battery and memory card. All with a large 1.8" screen.
2) AVAILABILITY - It is so easy to carry around that I don't leave it behind in the hotel room (how many times have you left your camera in the hotel room while out dining because it isn't acceptable to carry a full sized camera to dinner or other events...and lost the opportunity to capture pictures?)
3) SHUTTER LAG and SHOT-TO-SHOT SPEED - Unlike other digital cameras...captures the picture as intended. Hardly any shutter lag (0.1 sec). Also important to me is that the time between shots is minimal with the internal buffer.
4) LITHIUM RECHARGABLE BATTERY - Some prefer standard "AA". I do not as the "AA" will allow less than 50 shots compared to the 200 shots I can get on a single charge. Why is that important? I hate to carry multiple spare batteries...and "AAs" are heavier (just as an example...holding four "AAs" alone feels as heavy as the Pentax S4i fully loaded with battery).
5) SECURED DIGITAL MEMORY CARDS - The cards are cheaper in price than Xd or Memory Sticks. My recommendation ... Panasonic brand high speed SD cards...which are known to be quicker than other brands (Panasonic data transfer write speeds of 10mbps ...which is quicker than the high end SanDisk Ultra II speed of 9mbps). [Another thought... 4-megapixel is plenty to obtain beautiful 11x14 prints. Choosing a higher megapixel camera is not necessary as most prints will be made below poster size and all the higher megapixel does is fill up your memory card faster].
6) TELEPHONE SUPPORT - Call Pentax customer support at 800-877-0155 and you will see. Not only for customer support...but technical knowledge and product selection.
Suggested accessories:
** Spare battery
** Fitted authentic Pentax leather case with storage pockets for accessories. Model PTX-L40. Bought mine at Walmart.com for $19.34. Also sold at Ritzcamera.com and Amazon.
** Memory cards (I view it as a positive that Pentax is not including a memory card other than the included 10 mb internal memory. This compares to many manufacturers that are providing a 16mb memory card...which will fit 16 shots at 4mp and are basically unusable). (Suggestion....Pansonic brand secured digital cards are known to be quicker and higher performance than other brands. Buy several 256mb cards.)
** And yes...an Altoid tin for storage (Fits in the tin and it does close tight for storage. Just have to shape the box by 1/16" with your thumb on the initial use to make room for the wrist strap eyelet. No big deal).
My best suggestion is to study this camera in person. You will not be disappointed.
I highly suggest the Pentax S4i for any traveler...as well as any parent...who wishes to have a very well engineered camera available...which will last for years to come.
37 of 37 found the following review helpful:
Super-Ultra-Sub-Compact!!!Jun 09, 2004
By JMC
"RockStone"
Fantastic camera. This camera is probably the smallest one in the market today (I consider it smaller than the new slim Sony T1, which is only thinner (just a bit) but much wider). Pentax loaded this small machine with more functionalities that you can even imagine: B&W, sepia, green photos without the need to use a photo editor. Shoot in museums, snow, portrait, landscapes, sun, night, etc, by just selecting the appropriate occasion on the display and the camera will automatically adjust the exposure and speed. Good battery, won't die on you in the middle of the day. The only cons until now is that it may be too small! Watch out not to leave it on a restaurant table! Suggestion: Buy the pentax case PTX-L40. You'll pay a little premium on this case but it fits the camera well so that you do not buy a small camera and put it on a huge case (buy a huge camera then!). If you are looking for portability, without lacking functionalities (optical zoom, 4 megapixels, good battery life) this is the way to go. Buy with confidence, Pentax has been specializing in the camera market for decades! Hope this helps, JC
55 of 59 found the following review helpful:
Perfect Little CameraApr 19, 2004
By anthony
Everyone has different Camera needs..... We started with a Nikon 995 (that we have had since it came out).
** My wife wanted a purseable camera. She wanted a Large screen and for it to be easy to use for good photos. I wanted it to take good pictures, have a real Macro mode (around 2 inches), remote (a $30 option) + video out (for family portraits), Manual focus, good low light focusing, and to be a fast shooter, Tripod Mount and a good battety life. This Pentax Optio S4i does all this and more and it is incrediably easy to operate. Not just the basics, even the more advanced features. I considered its almost twin the Casio Exilim EX-Z40 (same lens)but worse menus, (Casio has No remote option or video out), but it has a 2 inch sreen instead of 1.8 (both screens are same Resolution though) the casio does have an almost double life battery that so far is not available separtely for eihter camera (the two take the same batteries). Basically the Batteries last about 300 shots, the old around 150 (710ms vs. 1230mA [the battery model #s are D-LI8 and NP-40] Addiitonal and OEM and third party ones are $18 to $40). If it matters pentax is actually also smaller then casio about 2/3 the size. Also considered Sony T1, and all Minolta's Dimage X/t/i/g and of course Canon's Elph series. For me they were all lacking a feature or two or three+ (Be it Macro, Tripod mounts, remotes or more). You can go to reads reviews on dcviews.com (a meta site for news and other review and news sites). As I write this the Casio is reviewed the Pentax has not been. What could they have added still: 1) (a tiff/raw image mode) 2) An AF Lamp always helps even though this camera focuses 10 times better in low light then my Nikon.
29 of 29 found the following review helpful:
This one's a keeperAug 17, 2004
By David Woolley
I bought the Optio S4i because it's well reviewed and I like the idea of a camera so small I can take it anywhere without thinking about it. I began to have some second thoughts after I started using it, though.
Pros:
* Ultra-small and lightweight. Goes anywhere!
* Easy to use
* Fairly intuitive menus
* Fast, very little shutter lag
* Pretty good picture quality, overall
* Sturdily built
* LCD screen is big and bright
Cons:
* It's almost TOO small -- a little hard to get your hands on.
* Some barrel distortion is noticeable
* Flimsy little rubber cover over PC/AV port
* In very low-light conditions, both viewfinder and LCD become unusable
After a week of playing with the Optio, I decided to buy a Kodak DX7440 for comparison, and spent a week trying them side by side. The Kodak is considerably better ergonomically because it's bigger and fits in my hand better, has a more powerful flash, shows less barrel distortion, offers many more scene selections and manual override controls, and its menus are (amazingly) even easier to use than the Optio. The Kodak cameras are often praised in reviews for their picture quality. But I actually found the Optio's pictures better than the Kodak's in most cases. The Kodak produced rather garish, unnatural-looking colors, whereas the Optio seemed to render colors more naturally and realistically. And although I like the feel of the Kodak in my hand, in the end I decided that its relative bulk would make it a lot less likely that I would actually carry it around and use it.
Bottom line: I'm returning the Kodak and keeping the Optio S4i.
For a go-anywhere, easy-to-use, point-and-shoot camera, it's great!
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