I wanted a good quality camera with a zoom lens I could keep in my back pocket. The depth and clarity of the photos are truely unbelievable for such a small camera. I found that natural light is always better than the light from the flash. Also, don't expect a super-high powered zoom lens, this lens is perfect for cropping subjects a little closer. I use the movie feature often, it is perfect for making internet ready movie clips. I just plug into my powerbook laptop and without clicking anything the files mount onto my desktop.

June 2004: I bought this camera literally on the way to the airport for my summer trip in Europe. In four days time, I took hundreds of photos. But then the camera inexplicably locked up on me & would not let me close the lens - I tried replacing the batteries - nothing worked - the lens was frozen in the open position. Whatever made the lens lock-up - also corrupted the SD disk & none of the digital photos on the disk were retrievable. I lost all my photos! The next day, I overnighted the camera back to my parents so they could return it to the store within the 10-day return policy. Thinking it was some defect in that individual S-40 camera, they bought me another S40 (b/c I loved the small camera size) & they shipped the new S40 to me. So 3 days after I get my SECOND "new" S-40, it does the same exact lock-up & won't let me close the lens. This second lock-up involved: a different "new" S-40, a different SD card & different rechargable batteries - all the factors were different from the 1st lockup w/ the 1st S-40 camera. Again, the lockup of the lens corrupted the SD card and I could not retrieve my photos & lost them all. Frustrated & with no way to get any tech support, I simply packed the useless $300 camera in my suitcase & still haven't touched it since. I never dropped either S-40 - both of which were actively working only for about 3-4 days each. For 2 different S-40 cameras to have the same exact defect in two completely different situations - it has to be a manufacturing defect. I certainly never mistreated either of the cameras. I'm appalled to read other people's reviews that have had the exact same trouble that I just described & Pentax is not fixing their cameras under the under the warranty policy. I have yet to act on the warranty, and it sounds like it's going to be a royal hassle. Do not buy a Pentax Optio S40 digital camera - I will avoid buying any Pentax camera in the future.

I ordered the Pentax Optio S40 the other day online and well today i got it. I opend the box and put the batteries in and started shooting. Its pretty easy to use and the quality is pretty good. Transfering the photos to my PC was easy. I havn't read the manual completely yet so ill probably do that later. I love the compact size because it makes carrying the camera easier. My first camera was a Fujifilm Finepix camera and it was bulky and heavy. I'm happy with this little cam and its nice aluminum body. The only problem i had with the camera was when i was playing around with it in Happy face mode and it somehow froze up. None of the buttons were working and the lcd was on. The lcd didnt freeze because when i moved the camera you could see the movement on the lcd. When i pressed the power button to turn it off nothing happened, so i opened the battery slot and it shut off and when i closed it and turned it back on it said depleted batteries and turned off. So i opened the battery slot and took the batteries out then waited for like 10 seconds and put them back in and turned the camera on and now it works fine. Dont know why it happend and i hope its the last time it happens. But overall this is a pretty good point and shoot camera for those casual photographers who dont need to spend a gazillion dollars on a camera.

I also bought my Optio because of the out-dated reputation of Pentax. And, like numerous others, was met with lies and cover-ups for a flimsy camera. I had my camera for four months. I was taking a picture of my sleeping husband and baby and when I went to turn it off, the lens did not retract. The camera was very lightly used, always in its case when not being used, and never out of my sight. Having the extended warranty (although it was still under the original warranty), I sent it back to Pentax. They told me it would cost $180 because "Excessive force" was used on it. Totally untrue, as I'm sure all the other reviewers with problems had. Pentax customer service is horrible. They told me they'd call back and didn't, would not let me talk to a technician, and tried to tell me that maybe I didn't know I dropped it. "You know, like when you see a bruise on your knee and you don't know where you got it from." They need some serious help. I also emailed and snail mailed a letter to Pentax stating my disappointment. Never heard back from them. Not even a courtesy email. I, like many others, will never buy a Pentax again. And if you decide to buy, don't bother with the warranty because they are great at lies and excuses.

I bought this camera last week and was so disappointed by the poor picture quality. It NEVER produces a good and clear picture. I have owned a Canon 4MP camera, the picture quality is so much better than this Pentax camera. Also, the LCD screen is of low-resolution and very noisy in low-light level. Go buy a Canon camera!

I already have a Nikon D70, and I just wanted something I could carry around in my pocket. I got it through Amazon.com at a refurbished price, and for that price I have to give it four stars. If I had to pay list I'd only give it 3 stars.

I've been having a lot of fun with it, and it's a great little camera that didn't cost me much.

Good points: Very small and easy to use for beginners. Lots of settings that should please anyone. 4 megapixels for adequate 8x10 prints. Good closeup and super closeup macro modes. Lots of data for each picture, including a histogram. Uses easy to find AA batteries.

Bad points: Small LCD screen. Very noisy (grainy) expecially at low light levels. No way to manually set shutter speed or aperture. Very slow starting up and writing to memory. Relatively short battery life (get rechargeables). Flash seems to want to go off for any shot in low light, even outdoor's shade.

Otherwise, the camera seems to be fairly rugged. Again, perfect for someone who wants a go anywhere camera for taking snapshots. If you want great quality images I suggest you pay more and get a better camera, but this one was hard to beat at the refurbished price.

I cannot tell you how I hate this camera. It takes 7-9 seconds after snapping a picture to shoot the next one. By that time, the subject has left the building.
The LCD screen is tiny and hard to see almost always...as is the viewfinder
The pictures are of marginal quality.
Pentax should be ashamed. I bought this in a hurry from Ritz Cameras (I have the same feelings about that place).
So, I'll just toss it sometime and buy something else with a new lesson learned:
Avoid Pentax like the plague.

This camera was purchased because of its low price, low weight and small size. It was going to be installed in a radio controled airplane. While this camera has many interesting bells and whistles, its ability to control contrast and to capture colors is poor, compared to Nikon and Canon of similar megapixel ratings. I could see little difference in contrast when the in-camera contrast was adjusted, and reducing the ASA/sensitivity did not help. The shadows and blacks always had a strong blue cast, even when cloudy/sunny settings were manipulated. The quality of the images were even beyond the help of Photoshop CS. I recommend it only for beginners.

I bought this last year and liked the look and the size, as well as the aa batteries, but discovered to work well you had to buy special aa batteries, and even with these the camera was very slow. Not just slow btwn pics, but slow in capturing images after you press the trigger. So, it took nice pictures if my subject was a mountain or something that stood still, but many pics turned out blurry from the fact that the flash went off a number of times and people moved before the camera captured the photo. Additionally, I dropped the camera from a few feet and the lens stuck open, so i felt it wasn't very durable.

This camera's nice size is irrelevant, because the pictures you take won't be worth keeping. Even still objects came out blurry with the autofocus. It takes about 3.5 seconds to take the picture, and about 15 seconds in between pictures to get ready. The screen is tiny, you can't see through the viewfinder, and it tells you the batteries are dead even when they're not. Also, when I put brand new lithium batteries in, it even still would say they're dead and automatically shut off.

This was the biggest disappointment. I went on a once-in-a-lifetime trip and almost none of the pictures turned out, and it wouldn't stay on more than about 2 minutes at a time anyhow without killing the lithium batteries. DON'T BUY IT!

We have owned this camera for almost two years now. While it was a great little camera for the first 15 months, it now runs through batteries faster than I can take a picture - literally. Customer service recommends using rechargeable batteries (which I have been using), but otherwise repair was their only solution. Friends with the same camera are also having the same problem. While other manufacturers might charge a little bit more, I think a different brand (i.e. Nikon) is well worth the investment.

Could not have been happier with the camera. It was easy to use, easy to learn how to use it, and was a all we could want for our daughter's first digital camera.

The Pentax Optio S40 was designed to operate with the 3 volt crv3 battery even tho Pentax says you can use rechargeable NiMh batteries which are rated at 1.2 volts each. A AA size NiMh battery in good condition will deliver about 1.42 volts which in my experience operated my S40 for about 18 months with regular recharges. Now they do not work even when fully charged.

Interestingly the S40 works fine with plain old Duracell AA batteries, but keep in mind they deliver 1.5 volts each (actually more when new). The problem seems to be there is a capacitor in the camera that seems to require a charge even for simple non flash operation and it appears the capacitor can be degraded with long term low voltage battery use.

My NiMh batteries began to work once again after a short period of S40 use with the Duracells. My theory is the Duracells at 3+ volts total, had the power necessary to charge up the capacitor to the point where the camera will now operate with the lower voltage MiMh batteries (about 2.8 volts total when fully charged).

My latest approach is using a Lith ion rechageable crv3 from Radio Shack which delivers 3+ volts. I suspect this will permanently solve the problem.

OF COURSE the eye piece is there for a reason....using it rather than the LCD will greatly extend battery life.

My parents surprised me with this digital camera as a present and it has been a great camera after I put the manual down and started taking pictures. I wound up teaching myself how to use it (the delete function has been a primary learning tool!). I figured out what works best with the multiple settings and options via trial and error...kinda a challenge for a beginner but~I love it now. The only issue I've had is how sensitive it is with movement. If it's not still for particular shots a slight shake or vibration and the picture turns out blurry or distorted. I have been Using a tripod which reduces this and have discovered which settings are less "touchy." I am having fun and getting great shots as well. In addition I enjoy being able to record audio and videos. I can record approx. 1 hour of video with my 1 gig memory card. I like the filters and extra settings for shooting different environments. Overall it has been a good camera for me. I am hard on my equiptment and this camera has endured. I would recommend this camera to anyone who already has experience using digital cameras and wants a fun compact camera loaded with interesting extras. Good luck.

This is a nice camera and it takes great pictures! I have had it for over a year. I don't know what these other people are talking about. The pictures are beautiful! i just wish the batteries would last longer.
This was my first digital camera.I think I am going to get a 10 MP so i can get a better zoom. I also would have liked a bigger LCD screen.

I was given this camera as a gift and it has been a really reliable camera. It takes very good pictures and has functions that are helpful. It takes pretty good movies as well. The fact that it uses SD memory cards is good being that SD memory is cheap. I bought a Kingston 1GB SecureDigital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package) and that has worked very well. It is actually a very versatile camera too. I've had it in Iraq with me for 10 months, taken hundreds of pictures with it, dropped it, sat on it, let it ride all over the place in a duffle bag, and spill soda on it, and it still works as good as the day I got it. It is fairly small, so it fits in a pocket or in a cupholder great. It takes AA batteries which I was kind of skeptical about at first, but I bought some Energizer AA Lithium Photo Battery - 4-pk. and they have worked very well. The first set of those batteries lasted me 4 months before they needed replacing. The zoom works well except if you are trying to zoom in on something really far away (100 ft or more). The only complaint that I have with this camera is that it is slow booting up and lags in between taking pictures. It's a little slow, but dependable with good quality overall.

We bought this camera 1-1/2 years ago. It was being discontinued and we got it for what we thought was a good deal. We very quickly learned that the pictures come out very dark, sometime almost black. Not just indoors either, pictures taken outside are very dark too. Videos are quite difficult to see when playing back. About a week ago, the camera died completely. We've always been very careful with our camera and have never dropped it or anything. The screen doesn't work and we can't take pictures now. I suppose it's a good thing because now we can actually get a good camera.