Is Pentax Optio 555 a good camera??

[joechu]

Hi, I am considering to pay about US$500-$600 to buy this camera. Have you heard of anything good or bad about this camera?

I will be visiting China and Hong Kong soon. Does anyone know if I can get the same camera at a cheaper price there?

Any thoughts or comments are very much appreciated!!!

Joe

[bobtrips]

Hi Joe,

Try http://www.dpreveiew.com. Click on Cameras in the upper left and follow the clues to get you to the 555. I don't believe that Phil has done a complete review but you should find some users comments.

Also try the "Other Digital Cameras" forum (maybe there's a Pentax forum - I don't remember). Do a '555' search.

[bluemars]

I've had a 550, which probably isn't hugely different from the 555, for about six months. It's got a max ISO equivalent of only 400, which is a big problem for me. And the shutter lag, at least at the hi-quality jpeg setting, can be a problem for anything in motion. And, perhaps because it's a cheap zoom lens there's barrel or pincushion distortion in a substantial part of the edge area of the frame. Maybe all zoom lenses have that problem -- don't know. The automatic diaphragm-type lens cover bothers me a bit, but it's been a problem only once, when it snagged on something.

That said, it's a *very* compact little machine, *very* easy to use, and though I imagine there are much better lens-CCD combinations out there, the results aren't half bad.

How has the 555 changed from the 550?

[solapur29601]

I have had Optio 555 for little over two months now. It takes brilliant pics in Auto mode in good lighting conditions. The indoor photography with flash use is a bit of a disappoitment though. You have to fiddle around with manual settings of aperature and shutter speed to get a good shot. I had Olympus Camedia C2020 before and when I compare the pic quality, Olympus was defintely superior, especially in low light conditions, even in Auto mode. Optio has excellent battery life, it is very compact and the best advanatage is its 5X optical zoom. I tried its digital zoom on for some sunset pics, the quality was very good..All in all, a good camera if you have the patience to play with manual settings. I do not take the pics in Auto mode anymore with this camera.