Canon S200/230 a brick compared to the Pentax Optio S 3.2MP now on PRE-Order at Amazon $379.99. Worlds smallest Digicam.

[0roo0roo]

interesting, but sunk by its inability to use compact flash. the s200/230 use compact flash.

canon packs a full featured camera into a tiny space. the pentax makes too many concessions.

 

[sholhy]

I would still prefer to get a S230 over the Pentax for various reasons discussed.

 

[clearsolutions]

I agree with many other posters here: No CF kills this camera.

But then again, a CF card is almost half the size of the camera, so there really was no way they could have implemented that.

 

[pekcle]

the camera came earlier this week. i am not disappointed at all...

 

[NICKel]

Originally posted by: pekcle
the camera came earlier this week. i am not disappointed at all...

Have you printed out any prints yet? How do the images look and how are NIGHT shots?

 

[RossMAN]

Nice post as always

 

[NVS]

I just got the camera today, and its amazing. I got it from oncall.com and they shipped a box of altoids along with it. I though it was very clever, and amusing. I dumped the altoids and am currently using the tin as a case for the camera.

It powers on and off in less than 1 second, which is amazing considering it has a sliding lens design. I took a couple of pictures indoors, and they look very good, nice colors and little noise.

 

[thomas997]

post some pics please!

lense looks weird...

 

[GnatGoSplat]

I want one so bad!
I have had an Opto 330 for almost 2-years (I would choose it over the S230 any day for the 3x optical zoom), but this Optio S is just amazing!

 

[Leland]

Is it just me or is the camera actually $399 on pre-order?

There's some discussion over at dpreview of image quality, but not much. Be nice to see a full review of one of these.

 

[cerebusPu]

ah..great. i just bought a S230 from dell.com a few days ago. i was thinking of this Optio S for the longest time but since it wasnt available until like Apirl or May i didnt consider it.

$400 is too much. I paid $315 for the S230.

i have alot of trouble with indoors and night pics with the canon s230. i dont want to bring a tripod every time i go out. does anyone have hints?

john

 

[oddjob303]

havent been keeping up on digi cams, but i was wondering the s230 still had lag issues from the time you hit the button till it takes the shot. My s200 requires me to so damn good w/ timing during action shots that i never get what i want.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

Originally posted by: cerebusPu
ah..great. i just bought a S230 from dell.com a few days ago. i was thinking of this Optio S for the longest time but since it wasnt available until like Apirl or May i didnt consider it.

$400 is too much. I paid $315 for the S230.

That's just an $85 difference. To me, 3x optical zoom vs. 2x and much MUCH smaller size is worth $85. I have 3x zoom already, and I STILL can't get enough zoom.
Now if it were $500, that'd be different.

I'm still going to wait till it's closer to the $350-range.

 

[Slogun]

I own a Canon S30, but drool over the S230.
Yay Canon!

 

[cerebusPu]

$85 for 3x zoom and smaller form factor is good. believe me, Im feeling envy over the Optio S.

speaking of having an altoids can for a camera case, Ive been looking really really hard for this case. but still havent found it available for sale.

take a look guys...its probly the most beautiful accessory you can get for the canon S230

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JADL/

I actually had both the S30 and S230 last week, and decided to take the S230 cause it fit in my pants pocket better. I lose alot of manual controls and get a much smaller lens and less zoom. but i gain the ability to carry camera everywhre in my pocket.

 

[Csium]

I'm anxiously waiting an unbiased review for this camera. It looks promising, but then again, it trades off a lot for the size.

For this price range, it seems like the new Canon Digital Elph S400 is also a good matchup on the Canon line, rather than just the S230 people here seem to compare it with.

S230 (3MP, 2x Zoom)
Optio (3MP, 3x Zoom)
S400 (4MP, 3x Zoom)

Like I said, I hope one of the big online digital camera reviewers takes a look into this camera pretty soon.

 

[abc]

that's right, i initially liked the OptioS, and still am intrigued by its size and innovation on the sliding lens, and since I like Altoids and all.

but as I noticed, i felt the ISO max of 200 could limit the quality of night shots... also I really wanted a 4megapixel camera... and I wondered but lag time in snapping pics.

since the recent news and deals from dell for the canon s400, I ordered that... and it won't be shipped to me for another week or so.


If i receive the s400 and then see nice reviews for the OptioS while not liking the Canon s400, well I'll unload it.

 

[UltraWide]

Originally posted by: oddjob303
havent been keeping up on digi cams, but i was wondering the s230 still had lag issues from the time you hit the button till it takes the shot. My s200 requires me to so damn good w/ timing during action shots that i never get what i want.

I ended up getting the S230 and it does NOT have the lag anymore. It seems like they finally fixed it. Takes 1-2 seconds to take the pic at most. Writes to the CF fast too, takes 1-2 seconds. Pretty snappy and the damn battery just won't run out after 150+ pics @ largest size and no compression. Got it @ Dell.com for $315
I likes S230!

 

[stingygrrl]

there's a firmware update to the s230.
firmware update

 

[pekcle]

if someone has a site i can upload a pic to, i can do that. also, i just took a picture in the dark, pitch black, and the result was weird. it was as if i had normal sunlight brightness in the room.

 

[ShinSa]

Uhh.. Isnt the DSC U20 smaller than this??

Anyways, labeling this as the "Worlds smallest Digicam" is misleading. In Japan, there are many digital cameras small enough to fit on keychains. Compared to them, this Pentax is a fridge.

 

[TooChill]

Currently have the S30 and love it. Has the CF and all the manual controls
you could want. While I do wish it were a little smaller, it takes such wonderful
photos that all is forgiven. I get leary of these super small units like the OptioS
and Exilim. The U20 takes good pics but has no zoom, so you lose out there as
well. I would definitely go with the Canon digital elph family. CF, manual controls,
and GREAT pictures are hard to argue with.

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: cerebusPu
ah..great. i just bought a S230 from dell.com a few days ago. i was thinking of this Optio S for the longest time but since it wasnt available until like Apirl or May i didnt consider it.

$400 is too much. I paid $315 for the S230.

i have alot of trouble with indoors and night pics with the canon s230. i dont want to bring a tripod every time i go out. does anyone have hints?

john

Longer exposure/slower shutter speeds while at ISO 100, and steady hands or tripod - and no flash if subject is far away.
A higher ISO may be a bit brighter, but will result in more noise.

I will be trading my Canon S330 for the S400.
Will probably get the Pentax Optio S for my gf, who wants the smallest 3MP digicam possible, once some positive reviews come out

 

[ShinSa]

Originally posted by: TooChill
Currently have the S30 and love it. Has the CF and all the manual controls
you could want. While I do wish it were a little smaller, it takes such wonderful
photos that all is forgiven. I get leary of these super small units like the OptioS
and Exilim. The U20 takes good pics but has no zoom, so you lose out there as
well. I would definitely go with the Canon digital elph family. CF, manual controls,
and GREAT pictures are hard to argue with.

I was merely suggesting that the title is misleading, not comparing the two side by side.

The Pentax is NOT the world's smallest digicam.

My friend had the U10 for a week, but the picture quality was not very good for a $200 camera. It had some artifacts on the picture where other cameras dont.

I'm not sure how U20 is though.

 

[wjones]

Originally posted by: psteng19
Longer exposure/slower shutter speeds while at ISO 100, and steady hands or tripod - and no flash if subject is far away.

I don't think steady hands can't handle it. If you know a way to get clear picture with human hands, please let us know. I like my S100 (the first generation of Canon small camera) but it is hard to get a good picture at night without tripod.