Announced in August 2004, the Pentax Optio S5i is an upgrade of the popular S4i with an extra million pixels, some minor styling changes and a couple of new features. The S5i is almost unfeasibly small — thanks in part to the innovative sliding lens first seen at the start of 2003 in the Optio S (and since in several Pentax and Casio models) — yet is more feature-packed than most other ultra-compacts. In an ever-growing market, and with a handful of outstanding competing models (see recent reviews of the Canon PowerShot SD300 and Panasonic DMC-FX7 for example), does the Optio S5i have what it takes to become the pocket camera of choice? Let's find out. Here's a few of the S5i's headline features to get us started:
- 5.0 million effective pixels
- 35-105mm equiv. sliding zoom lens
- 1.8-inch LCD monitor
- 21 shooting modes, including new Sports mode
- New Pan Focus mode
- 0.01-second shutter lag time
- SD card-compatible and 10MB internal memory
- Live histogram
- 6cm Super Macro mode
- Battery charger stand can charge two batteries at once
Pentax Optio S5i Key specifications
| Street price |
• US: $360
• UK: £250 |
| Body Material |
Metal |
| Sensor |
• 1/2.5" CCD, 5.25 million total pixels
• 5.0 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes |
• 2560 x 1920
• 2048 x 1536
• 1600 x 1200
• 1024 x 768
• 640 x 480
|
| Movie clips |
• 320 x 240 (15 fps)
• With audio
• AVI Motion JPEG
|
| Lens |
• 35.6 - 107 mm equiv. (3x zoom)
• F2.6 - F4.8 |
| Focus |
• TTL autofocus
• 7-point mutli/spot AF
• 49 selectable AF points
• Pan focus, manual focus and infinity focus options
• Normal: 0.4 m - Infinity
• Macro: 18 cm - 50cm
• Super macro: 6cm - 20cm
|
| Shooting mode |
• Portrait
• Flower
• Self-portrait
• Sports
• Surf and Snow
• Autumn colors
• Landscape
• Sunset
• Museum
• Text
• Food
• Sport
• Green (auto everything)
• Program
• Soft focus
• Night scene
• Movie
• Panorama assist
• 3D
• Digital filter
• User
• Marine
• Marine movie
• AE Compensation +/- 2.0 EV in 0.3 EV steps
|
| Sensitivity |
• Auto
• ISO 80
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400 |
| White Balance |
• Auto
• Cloudy, daylight, incandescent, shade, tungsten light, fluorescent light (neutral white and white), fluorescent light (daylight) and manual (custom) |
| Image parameters |
• Sharpness (5 settings)
• Saturation (5 settings)
• Contrast (5 settings) |
| Continuous |
0.3 fps
|
| Flash |
• Built-in flash
• Auto, on/off, auto + red-eye reduction, on with red eye reduction
• Range (ISO 200): Wide 0.2m - 3.5 m (0.65 - 11.5 ft) /
Tele 0.2m - 2.0m (0.65 - 6.6 ft) |
| Storage |
• SD/MMC
• Approx 10MB internal memory
|
| Viewfinder |
Optical |
| LCD monitor |
• 1.8 " TFT LCD
• 85,000 pixels |
| Connectivity |
• USB 1.1
• A/V out
• DC-IN |
| Power |
• D-L18 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
• Battery Charging Stand D-BC25 included |
| In the box* |
• Optio S5i camera
• Battery Charger
• Battery Pack
• AV Cable
• USB Connection Cable,
• Hand Strap,
• CD-ROM |
| Other features |
• PictBridge
• Multi-segment, center-weighted and spot metering
• Record and playback histogram
• Optional remote control
• 2/10 second self-timer
• Panorama assist and 3D assist modes
|
| Weight (inc batt) |
120 g (4.2 oz) |
| Dimensions |
88 x 52 x 20.5 mm (3.4 x 2.0 x 0.8 in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 20, 2004
|
Aug 24, 2004
|
Dec 19, 2007
|
Dec 14, 2007
|
The Fujifilm X-T4 brings image stabilization, faster shooting and a bigger battery to the X-T series. It's not without its shortcomings but we found it to be an excellent stills and video shooter.
With its unusual form factor can the Tourbox aid the editing process? Will its price and variety of tactile controls appeal to photo and video editors who would like to streamline their workflow?
The Panasonic FZ1000 II is a worthy successor to the company's first large-sensor, long-zoom bridge camera, and a value-conscious rival to the popular Sony RX10-series. It's just as fast as its predecessor but produces nicer JPEGs, has significantly improved controls and interface, and more.
The DJI Mavic Air 2 is a Goldilocks drone. It's not the biggest or the smallest model out there, but it delivers just the right balance of size and features.
Exposure Software's latest Exposure X5 app is a surprisingly fast, feature-packed and affordable alternative to Adobe's Lightroom – with no subscription required.
What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? Fast continuous shooting, reliable autofocus and great battery life are just three of the most important factors. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting sports and action, and recommended the best.
Believe it or not, there are still people that like to print out their photos and create photo books to send gifts to family members. We looked at five popular photo printing services and have chosen the best.
Video features have become an important factor to many photographers when choosing a new camera. Read on to find out which cameras we think are best for the videophile.
What’s the best camera for less than $1000? The best cameras for under $1000 should have good ergonomics and controls, great image quality and be capture high-quality video. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing under $1000 and recommended the best.
If you want a camera that you can pick up and use without having to page through the manual first, then this guide is for you. We've selected seven cameras ranging from compacts to full-frame, all of which are easy to operate.
Comments