Well, after having my arm twisted by my Pentax rep (what a guy), I decided to spend a little money and order the Optio S. My local store had not ordered any and since all the ones alloted to him were already doled out and spoken for by other dealers this was the only way to get one - other than mail-order [:-(].
It arrived from one of his stores the night before last. Yes, we know it was displayed in an Altoids tin. Yes we know it does not weigh much. Still I was amazed at its size. Wow! I think the packing material in the shipping box weighed as much as the camera! And the finish on the metal case is fantastic. I really like the grip on the back (indentation for the thumb). The only part that is flimsy is the Battery/Card Cover on the bottom. Though the lack of a cover would not prevent the use of the camera. It does not hold either in place. A good thing is that it has 11MB of internal memory. I don't have a card yet and I can still take shots. The Shutter Release Button takes a little getting used to, definitely different than the other p&s cameras I have tried. The only quibble I have so far is the OK button in the middle of the Four-way Controller. I have not gotten consistent in selecting it and saving changes. I have only taken about 35 shots with it so far. I like the idea of having a p&s with an SMC lens on it ;-) The manual states that it should be possible to take 160 shots with the LCD monitor on and the flash fired for half the shots. Now I need to get a laptop. I have the company's but it runs Windows NT that does not support USB. I am hoping to get one by this weekend so I can really go out and play with the camera. I have not played with the manual focus much. And I do miss the Tv and Av modes, but I have the CoolPix for that. I have had three people here at work already comment favorably on its size. They are considering getting one. Hmmmm, maybe I should get a commission? Being a 3.2 MPixel camera, it fits the bill nicely for a p&s digital. With its size there is no reason not to have it on my person at all times. Nothing new to report, just more idle chatter, C�sar Panama City, Florida
