The new Pentax Optio S5: Catching some zzzzs

By Guy Cocker on 16 June 2005, 9:31am

The fast-moving camera world waits for no one, and despite the fact that the Pentax Optio S5n has been available for all of three months, Pentax has deemed it time for an upgrade in the form of the S5z. What the heck happened to the S5o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x and y? Maybe they're locked away in some Pentax lab somewhere, or perhaps the S5z is so good that only the last letter of the alphabet will show just how ultimate it is.

Either way, we had to go out and buy one of these puppies before we could take it home and stroke it lovingly. The big improvement, quite literally, is the huge 64mm (2.5-inch) screen on the back, a display which is both smooth and clear in practice. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with the same 5-megapixel CCD, 3x optical zoom and 640x480-pixel movie mode from the S5n.

Rather annoyingly, the package doesn't come with a camera dock, so you have to remove the battery and put it in its own little charger. However, the camera features a nice little ridge across the top and the same brushed aluminium front, both of which make it very comfortable to hold. The iconic Pentax jingle from the S5n has also been carried over, putting our camera expert Mary in that snap-happy mood once again.

We'll have a review of the Pentax Optio S5z soon, but in the meantime, you should be able to find a bargain on the S5n, which apart from the smaller screen isn't that different from the updated model. -GC

Update: this review is now live here.