Compare Prices : Pentax Optio 450 - Expert Reviews

Verdict: The Optio 550 sports a 5x, 7.8-39mm SMC Pentax lens, the equivalent of a 37.5-187.5mm lens on a 35mm camera. (The "SMC" in the lens name stands for Super Multi Coating, Pentax' name for their advanced lens coating process. From past experience in the ...

Review summary: Crafted from aluminum alloy with design accents on the lens bases, the Optio 550 and Optio 450 are comfortable to hold and simple to operate. An ultra-compact zoom system allows the lens to fully retract in two stages and helps reduce the size of both ...

Review summary: A compact 5megapixel camera with plenty of power.

Pros: Compact ; well featured. Cons:Quite heavy. Overall:A high-end camera squeezed into a compact box, the 550 is impressive, but may not suit everyone's needs

Cons: Quite heavy. Overall:A high-end camera squeezed into a compact box, the 550 is impressive, but may not suit everyone's needs

Verdict: A high-end camera squeezed into a compact box, the 550 is impressive, but may not suit everyone's needs.

Review summary: I'll cover most of the above later in the review. But first, a few notes about some of those.

Pros: 5X zoom in an attractive, compact body ; Impressive battery life for a compact camera ; Full manual controls ; Movies can be 10 min long ; Passive AF sensor helps with focusing ; Live histogram in record mode ; Super macro mode allows you to get as ...

Cons: Some purple fringing and noise in photos ; Metal body scratches easily ; Redeye may be a problem ; Plastic tripod mount ; Skimpy 16MB SD card included

Verdict: The Optio 550 includes a skimpy 16MB Secure Digital (SD) card in the box. That's barely enough to get started with, so I recommend picking up a larger card (256MB is a good place to start) right away

Review summary: The Optio 550 is a great choice for anyone who wants a highly portable digital camera that doesn't sacrifice shooting flexibility or picture quality.