Good affordable camera (Pentax Optio E40)

Member Name: ollie19

Product:	Pentax Optio E40
Date:	06/07/08 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compact and easy to use

Disadvantages: Poor flash and slow autofocus

I received this camera last Christmas and have given it pretty extensive use. Overall I have been pretty impressed with it.

Some Details:
8.1 megapixels - image 3264x2448 at full resolution
-Can fit about 120 images on a 512MB memory card
Images are stored in JPEG
This camera accepts SD and SDHC memory cards

3x Optical Zoom - standard quality lens which retracts when switched off and is protected by a built in lens cover

2.4 inch LCD - the screen has a pretty good refresh rate although slightly low resolution
No optical viewfinder
Focus:
The camera provides many different focus modes: auto, infinity, macro, pan focus and manual focus. The camera is also capable of face detection.

Flash:
The built in flash has a range of 0.15m to 4.3m
There is a choice between several flash modes: auto, disabled, always on, auto with red eye and always on with red eye.

Exposure:
The camera has an auto-exposure, a program auto and a set of scene modes.

Movie Mode:
I've found the movie mode to be of a pretty good standard for a digital camera. This camera allows for movie resolutions of either 640x480 or 320x240 in full colour, black & white, or sepia.

Power:
The camera requires 2 AA batteries. I used Energizer Ni-MH batteries and found the battery life pretty good.

Connectivity:
The camera has a USB/AV connector and a dock connector

Design:
The Optio E40 is a very compact and reasonable good looking camera. It is small enough to be pocket sized but big enough to be grip able.

Overall Performance:
Overall the camera has performed pretty well for its price. It is simple to use and able to capture good shots with reasonable quality focus. The flash however does seem slightly weak. Another noticeable weakness to this camera is the time it takes to auto focus. Auto focusing can take upwards of 2 seconds. Overall the camera is good for its price but does have some small weaknesses.

Summary: Good camera for its price

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