I got this camera about 5 months ago and just recently the battery won't hold the charge, anyone else have this problem? Prior to that it's been a great camera, besides not having a cradle to charge the whole camera (you have to take the battery out and place in battery charger).

I have loved photography for many years. So when digital cameras came out. . .I just had to have one. I wanted something that could fit in my purse, be handy, easy to operate, and take fantastic pictures. . . of ALL kinds. .. including videos. . . and not cost a lot, oh yeah. I was checking out Amazon one evening and came across the Pentax Optio M30 7.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom. Everything you need to capture memories quickly and beautifully. I have taken my pets' pictures, great shots of my grandsons playing soccer, and gorgeous closeups of my garden in bloom from all angles. I then can go to my computer and photo printer. . and print out and frame what I consider works of art. . . with memories attached. The price was fantastic. . under $200 for all you could ever want in a camera. I've created large poster sized pictures of most of my shots. Pentax has a great reputation and I want to thank Amazon.

Pro:

1. easy of use, no need for the manual. all functions logically laid out in the menu system. easy to navigate. very user friendly!

2. shake reduction function. very helpful.

3. good looking and small size, at a very attractive price.

Neutral:

nothing really stand out in its performance.

Con:

1. horrible IQ after ISO 400+ due to excessive, similar to Panasoic slim cams. Be careful doing low light shooting.

2. AF is relatively reliable. So is AE. Better than my experience with Kodak, but not as good as Canon.

3. I'd say overall the lens is not as sharp as those I found on Canon/Kodak of similar class.

Bottom line: a very attractive and affordable ultra slim point-n-shoot good for outdoor normal light shooting. Use caution for indoor shots. Again, I have yet to find a slim cam that can do indoor shots well.

I just bought this camera as a gift for someone but I got a chance to play with it a bit. I really like recent Pentax products, I find them to be much less generic in their design and features than the competition. I own a K10D which is great and the M30 definitely lived up my expectations from Pentax.

The indoor performance was amazing, all the pictures were prefectly exposed -- indoors is where I have generally found P&S cams to perform poorly. I analyzed the histograms in Picasa and they were perfect, nice peaks in the middle...

Also, there are a ton of features on this camera for those inclined to explore and want to play... Definitely a great beginner camera or a light weight alternative camera.

I used to have a Canon, lost it, and got this Optio. Part of the reason I chose a Pentax is because I have a Pentax 35mm from 1982 and it's indestructible! I use my camera for shooting my art to make jpegs, shooting reference, as well as the usual snapshots. I also use it to shoot stuff for Ebay. So far this camera is excellent. Very easy to use which is what I wanted, I didnt need all the bells and whistles. The big viewscreen is great and all the options like flash selection and especially the selections for what type of shot you;re doing are clear and easy. It's also very light. I havent used it in crowd shots yet so I can't attest to the face/focus features they promote. I've had a little bit of shake when shooting some stills for Ebay, but not nearly as much as I did with the Canon. I've had the Optio for a few weeks, and I would defintitely recommend it for the novice as well as the experienced user.

This is my 3rd digital camera and I am very pleased with this one. I previously had a Olympus FE-190 and had to replace it because I dropped it while it was on and the lense would not go back in. It was the best mistake I ever made. I hated the Olympus camera because of the poor quality of the pictures.

I wanted a small camera that we could take on vacations that would take great pics. The Pentax camera accomplished this and more. The only draw back I have is that it really doesn't take great pics in dim lighting but think this is common with any camera at this price range.

All in all this is a great product that I found on Amazon at a great price.

My 55-year-old husband, who for 40 years has taken only slides rather than print photos, purchased this camera in March 2007. He loves it so much that we purcahsed the identical camera for our son's 30th birthday this September. Our son has been using the camera for more than a month now, and he is as enthusiastic as my husband. The camera takes terrific low light shots and it organizes photographs with an easy-to-use calendar. We'd recommend it to anyone considering a digital camera. Pentax Optio M30 7.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Ever since I ordered this camera last year I've had more joy than I could imagine. Anything and everything can be done with this from video, audio, and of course, pictures. I always have it handy in my pocket and I've captured so many aspects with it. I truly love it.

With just a ONE GB SD memory card, you can take up to 5,000 pictures, 30 minutes of video, and 24 hours of audio. WOW! There are different simple settings--most with a brief description of what effects it gives. This camera is so simple. SO VERY SIMPLE.

I have ONE dislike about this great camera:

It uploads the videos in QuickTime and I have a Windows based computer and I cannot upload it to my Windows Movie Maker.

Otherwise, I'm getting a bigger memory card so I can have MORE fun with it!

I really loved this camera when I bought it earlier this year until it totally lost all my pictures by doing something to the SD card. Be carefull with this one because it did ths to me repeatedly with different SD card sizes and brands. Its too bad but I lost some spectactular shts on a once in a lifetime trip because of this.

Recently purchased camera for my daughter, simple to use without
reading instructions, picture quality good, large screen, probably
as good as kodak z710 recently purchased for twice as much, and has
more features. Very small also.

This camera recently broke due to a fall down some stairs and I felt relieved that I could justify buying something else. It took good pictures, but the lag time between pressing the button and the shutter firing was horrible. Getting any kind of action shot was impossible.

Funny story... My daughter had this camera summer 2007, I got used to using it (stills, video, audio tags, etc) I just had to get one for myself! After taking the time to learn all the functions I use it all the time. Compact enough to put in my pocket, durable enough to handle sitting on it if it was my back pocket! Took it to Rio Brazil and it did awesome!! Negative comments on using it in low light or dark... they were just not doing it right or not patient with the operation. I took night shots of Rio from The Sugarloaf that were beautiful.
Transferring pictures is easy, use the supplied cable or remove the SD card and use your card reader (if you have one!)
Get this camera, get an SD card (2GB or more) and enjoy! You will not be disapointed in your purchase and now the price is even lower!!

I'VE HAD THIS FOR OVER A YEAR NOW AND LOVE IT. I GOT MY WIFE A CANON SD1000 AND FOUND THE MENU ON THE PENTAX EASIER TO NAVIGATE. TAKES GREAT PICTURES. ALOT OF PICTURE OPTIONS. BE SURE TO GET THE CORRECT SD CARD FOR RAPID SHOOTING. LOW LIGHT IS ALWAYS A PROMLEM WITH ANY DIGITAL CAMERA OR AT LEAST IN THIS PRICE RANGE MAYBE. NICE LOOKING CAMERA. RECOMMEND FOR EASE OF USE, PICTURE QUALITY, FEATURES AND PRICE.