Pentax Optio S5z review

What you need to know

Reviewed by: Mary Lojkine

Reviewed on: 18 August 2005

Tags: Pentax, Pentax Optio S5z, LCD screen, ultracompact, landscape

We like:

Tidy and compact design; big, bright, contrasty LCD; impressive movie mode; reasonably powerful flash (for an ultracompact)

We don't like:

Small, cramped controls; can be difficult to grip; comes with battery charger rather than docking station; slight tendency to overexposure

You might also need:

SD memory card with a capacity of at least 128Mb; case

CNET UK judgement:

The Optio S5z takes almost all the things we've liked about previous models -- compact design, contrasty LCD, acceptable image quality -- and adds 13mm to the size to the screen. On balance we'd trade the bigger screen for the previous model's docking station, but it's still a good option if you're looking for a very small camera

Full review:

Pentax continues its journey through the alphabet with the Optio S5z, which replaces the popular Optio S5n, in turn a replacement for the S5i. Once again, the principle change is an increase in the size of the LCD, which has grown from 46mm (1.8 inch) on the S5i to 51mm (2.0 inch) on the S5n to a camera-dominating 64mm (2.5 inch) on the S5z. This is surely the end of the line, though: not only does the 'z' appellation leave little room for further upgrades, but also it's hard to see how it would be physically possible to put an even larger screen on this small camera. Continue Reading...