Pentax Optio S6 6 Megapixel Compact Camera

divx, small

Strengths: divx, small form factor

Weakness: 1gb sd limitation

So I bought this as an X-mas present for myself. I've own an Canon SD100, 450, 600 and Casio EX-Z60 so I'm totally not a newbie to the digital world. I'm not going to repeat with others have stated in this review. I'm really impress by the Optio S6 form factor; it really is compact. The response is quite quick turning on/off, zooming, viewing captured pict/video. After playing with the camera for...
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So I bought this as an X-mas present for myself. I've own an Canon SD100, 450, 600 and Casio EX-Z60 so I'm totally not a newbie to the digital world. I'm not going to repeat with others have stated in this review.


I'm really impress by the Optio S6 form factor; it really is compact. The response is quite quick turning on/off, zooming, viewing captured pict/video.

After playing with the camera for several hours, I was really disappointed in the following areas:
- temperature; the camera get warm/very warm (cool, warm, very warm, hot) after 1.5 hrs of continuous use
- continuous rapid shooting was slow; I was getting 1 pix every ~1.8sec
- can NOT read 4gb SD; I tried two different 4gb SD card I had laying around (PQI & Ridata) and received an "memory card error." All of my other cameras (even my 3 yr old Canon SD100) was able to use it just fine.
- the usb cable is propriety; why can't Pentax use a normal mini usb?

In sum, I like the camera size and its ability to record video in Divx format. The Divx function was the main impetus for purchasing this camera, but the SD limitation negate all the benefits the Optio S6 has to offer. I received confirmation from Pentax Tech Support affirming my initial conclusion of the sd limitation. Indeed the maximum sd the Optio S6 can only read/write is a 1gb memory.

By jonz510 - Dec 30, 2006

Great camera but missing my fave feature

Strengths: Size and picture clarity -- my photos come out great!

Weakness: Can't shoot in B&W. It was something I loved about my previous camera the Optio s4i. Also cannot zoom while filming a movie, also a feature that was in the s4i.

Overall, it is a fantastic little camera. Gets a lot of attention coming out of the Altoids tin. I would purchase an extra battery, but otherwise, you're golden with this one :)

By lightstarangel - Aug 30, 2006

Wow, great camera

Strengths: 6 megs in a small package, great 2.5"LCD, the easiest/fastest learning curve for point and shoot, great descriptions of on-screen icons, extremely easy to use, very,very small (smaller then my wallet)

Weakness: maybe a (little) less then normal battery life, but to be expected in a camera of this size, buy a spare battery and problem solved

This camera has a great WOW factor when you pull it out!! and takes excellent pictures. I would highly recommend getting a screen protector for the large LCD, to help with fingerprints, I put one on and it makes a big difference

By dly2k1 - Dec 6, 2005

Still fits in a mint tin, but looses some nice features from earlier Optio S cameras

Strengths: Super-compact (all but fits in an Altoids mint tin), 3x lens retracts & protect optics, sharp pics, fast power-on, big&sharp LCD, easy-to-use controls with a great set of scene modes, good auto focus.

Weakness: No viewfinder! Manual controls hard to access. "Trash can" button resets exposure controls to default in shooting mode, but you can't set your own "defaults." Barrel & chromatic edge distortion.

My last camera was a 4 megapixel Optio S4, which has just about everything you could want out of a pocket-sized camera. I loved the fact that I could use an Altoids mint tin as a camera case (I lined my mint tin with felt so I could toss it and my S4 in my pocket and not worry about it getting banged up), and it took darned good pictures for such a small camera. A really great point-n-shoot that...
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My last camera was a 4 megapixel Optio S4, which has just about everything you could want out of a pocket-sized camera. I loved the fact that I could use an Altoids mint tin as a camera case (I lined my mint tin with felt so I could toss it and my S4 in my pocket and not worry about it getting banged up), and it took darned good pictures for such a small camera. A really great point-n-shoot that does a truly outstanding job for such a compact camera. The S4's biggest downside was small & hard to read LCD.

Alas, my wonderful S4's LCD display got cracked, so I had to replace it. I liked the S4 so much I just automatically replaced it with the newer 6-megapixel S6.

The Optio S6 maintains almost all of the earlier Optio S line's charm. The daylight pictures are clear with great detail, though there's some barrel distortion and darkening at the corners of the S6's wide-angle pictures (a price I think pay with any of the super-compact cameras; there's only so much you can do with a lens that's crammed and folded into such a small package when it closes down). The auto-focus light, a new feature, is a great ad and allows for well-focused flash pictures, though I thought the S6s low-light pictures without the flash were a little grainy.

The thing I do miss from my old S4 is the viewfinder. The S6's LCD may be big and clear, but that doesn't help me when I have to either put my glasses on or hold the camera a arm's length to properly see how my picture is being framed.

A minor complaint is that the finger-ridge on the front of the camera under the shutter button, which makes the camera easier to hold, also makes it just slightly thicker in that spot than an Altoids tin. I fixed the problem by embossing a ridge in my Altoid-tin case using a nut-pick as an embossing stylus to create a ridge in the altoids tin finger ridge on the camera is. Problem solved.

My recommendation If you're looking for a camera that fits in your pocket and don't mind a camera that doesn't have a viewfinder, it's hard to do better than the S6.

By pjharrison - May 19, 2006

Great Little Camera

Strengths: Fantastic LCD Display, still fits in Mint Box.

I had the Optio S4 and liked it very much. This version is improved in many features, particularly the display. I love it. I take it every where with me. I bought a leather case which attaches to the belt, but I still like the mint box best for ease of carrying. (It gets attention as well.)

By AlecDawson - Dec 6, 2005