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Editor's note: This article was published in Digital Photography Review, an online opinion site. You can find it at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinion_text.asp?prodkey=pentax_optio555&opinion=18837.

I bought the Pentax Optio 555 on 2 November 2003 in Hong Kong. My number one reason for choosing the 555 was the longer battery life. My second reason was the 5x zoom, followed by stronger flash and additional features to learn how to use. Saying that, there will be times I wish I had the smaller, lighter, faster Minolta G500. So it was a serious compromise that was not an easy choice they are BOTH excellent options for a small light "everyday" camera!

I have never owned a digital camera before, but I owned, most recently, a Nikon F100 and do
know a little about film cameras. I bought the Optio 555, and charged the battery, which took
exactly three hours. The specification battery life is excellent, but I still bought a spare.

While I waited for the battery to charge, I read the manual.

Oh and the first thing I did was to stop all the annoying sounds by turning them all off in the
user menu.

The second thing I did was turn the digital zoom off.

I also turned the startup picture off.

I do not have a stopwatch but here are some approximate times. NOT ACCURATE TIMES;
NO STOP WATCH!

Sunlight/brightly lit room - I found the shot to shot time to be incredibly good even with the
flash and the pictures again were in focus with excellent lighting.

Dimly lit room wide angle — 1-3 seconds
Dimly lit room full Optical zoom — 1.5-3 seconds
Totally DARK room wide angle — 3-5 seconds
Totally DARK room full Optical zoom — 3-6 seconds

I mean TOTALLY DARK! But saying that, the photos look great, are well lit by the flash and in
focus.

With the zoom, it takes a bit longer to focus, BUT once it gets it, it is perfect (how, I do not
know).

I am using the P mode, and I quickly set up the User Mode as Gordon (see Pentax Forum)
suggested:

ISO 200
AWB
Low Contrast
Spot Focus

I have a 256 Panasonic SD card (10Mb/Second)
MAX Resolution of 2592 x 1944
At 1 * it is 243 pictures
At 3 *** it is 75 pictures

I am switching between * and *** depending on the subject.

I am looking forward to Panasonic coming out with a 2 Gig card!!!

The user mode, with these settings, is faster than the P mode by about one second in the dimly lit
and dark rooms.

Continuous mode with no flash that was really fast too I did not time this.

PIC Night Scene Mode I went out at night on the streets of HK and took three pictures of
the same things P. Mode, User Mode, Night Scene Mode. What the Night Scene Mode does is
really light up the whole area I don't know how it does this, but the same photo in P mode was
bright lights from the signs, and everything else a bit dark. With Night Scene, the whole photo
lights up as if with a flood light really amazing. At different times I would opt for P, User or
Night Mode, depending on my desired outcome.

Physical the case seems sturdy, the buttons are well placed, it is easy to hold and shoot. I like
the way it is easy to change what the LCD displays and to turn it off. It is not as sexy as the
G500, but it is a nice functional, sturdy camera!

OK so this is the quick first impression but so far I am really enjoying it!

CHECK OUT DPREVIEW.com PENTAX FORUM FOR LOTS OF OTHER USER OPINIONS!
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1028

Problems

Wish List

I spent a long time deciding between the Optio 555 (faster low light focus) and the G500
(smaller, faster camera). And I feel confident that I made the right choice for me. Of course, I
will always wish it was faster, and smaller but these are not problems.

It is quite intuitive for me, and I have never had a digital camera before so that says something.
But I did read the brochures and manual, although I have not memorized them!!

The one simple thing I wish for is a laminated "cheat sheet" with the modes, and little pictures
and other tips on using the more advanced features, so I could tie it to the camera!! All cameras
should come with this!

And I wish Panasonic had a 2 Gig SD card at 10Mb/Sec!!!

The Optio 555 is a camera I can use as a point-and-shoot now, and then learn the full features
later.

In a few months, I might be more critical, but for now I am thrilled much better than I
expected!

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