Buy it, you'll love it!


worst camera I've ever bought   January 23, 2003
I purchased this camera just before leaving for Peru and the Galapagos Islands. 25% to 30% of my photos turned out. So I've spent nearly $... for developing bad photos. The rest are blurry. I've been taking photos for years, and I wanted a zoom lens on a reliable camera rather than taking my heavy SLR. WHat a mistake. I'm returning it for a refund. I've already contacted Pentax.


Okay Camera but has some notable flaws   October 28, 2002
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Camera takes great shots with the zoom, clear and sharp, but here are things you will encounter in using this camera. I own several pentax cameras, this one was a little disappointing but still use it constantly. Would of rated it higher if not for the following. One, the viewfinder is a bit dark/dim, you will have to get use to it after you use it for a while. It looks abit grayish especially if you are taking indoor shots. Outdoor shots, the viewfinder is okay. Two, when you turn the camera on, the popout flash unit will push against your fingers. This gets a little annoying especially when you turn on the camera via a turn dial on top of the camera. Three, the camera jams or fails to take a pictures sometimes, when you retrack the zoom all the way back to wide angle. What happens is when you retract all the way back to wide angle, the pop out flash unit also retracts and pops out again, but the problem is that it sometimes doesn't fully pop-out and for some reason this is tied into the shutter release button, thus if the popout flash is not all the way out, it will not take the picture. Quick solution until you can decide to send it back to Pentax for repair, manually push in and release the popout flash unit. Fourth, The quartz date function is gives several choices of date format, somewhat faint on pictures, sometimes difficult to distingush the mm or dd from one another. Fifth, this is definitely a two handed camera, due to its size due to the zoom lens capability, so you have to get use to a somewhat uncomfortable hand position when using this camera, the hand placement areas are a bit arkward and needs getting use to.


Powerful Camera   February 3, 2002
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

This seems to be a powerful camera with many options; probably more than I need, but I can see that there is a great deal to explore, as this camera appears to have much to offer. I am a novice, and purchased this camera for it's apparent excellent zoom capability.
I have been amazed at the clarity and definition I've acheived without really knowing what I'm doing! With just a normal 200 film, I've gotten some beautifully crisp, detailed pictures. I would say that this camera is wonderful for someone with some experience, or someone willing to take time to learn. I think that with myself, it has taken some great everyday pictures despite my lack of expertise. It also appears that this camera has the ability to provide much more than I've tapped into yet. It's definately a cut above the regular point and shoot camera; an excellent camera for sharp portrait pictures. It's a user friendly, solid camera. I'm glad that I bought it. I've got alot to learn, but feel that I've purchased an excellent product that will afford me some quality pictures in the years to come.


Disappointed in quality of results   January 29, 2002
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

I have an SLR camera and was looking for P&S for my parents. Not a happy user after spending $320, going to return this camera.

Got average results, tried various indoor and outdoor lighting conditions as well as landscapes and portraits. As many folks have pointed out here, viewfinder is very small and awkward.

I first thought that I was used to (better) SLR results and hence P&S results might not have met my expectations but upon closer inspection, it was very obvious that while 200mm zoom is handy, quality of the pictures is really average. One can get similar results with much cheaper camereas.

Also note that lowest setting on this is 48mm so it was very difficult to get a group picture with in an indoor setting with limited space.

Would not recommend anyone to get this camera if you are looking for quality results.