Smile Please
By Aditya Kuber
Pentax’s Optio 550 bears a strong resemblance to its predecessors in control layout and overall design. With the lens put away, the Optio 550 measures 3.9x2.3x1.6 inches, which is just a bit too large for most average shirt pockets. Still, it should fit easily into larger pockets. The camera’s metal body weighs 250 grams with the battery and memory card in place.
A shutter-like, retractable lens cover protects the lens whenever the camera is powered off, sliding quickly out of the way when the camera is turned on. The front is flat without any ridges, making the grip a little weaker than expected. The Optio 550’s top panel features the speaker, mode dial, shutter button, and power button. A handful of external controls dot the camera’s back panel, along with the optical viewfinder eyepiece and 1.5-inch colour LCD monitor. To the left of the viewfinder eyepiece on the back are three multi-function buttons, which access different settings in playback and record modes. In the top right corner is the optical zoom control, which also controls playback zoom.
For standard point-and-shoot operation, the most basic features such as flash, focus mode and zoom are all adjusted via external controls. The mode dial lets you quickly set the camera’s main operating mode, with just a turn of the dial. When it is necessary to enter the LCD menu system, you’ll find it simple to navigate. Three menus are available, delineated by subject tabs at the top of the screen. The arrow keys of the four-way arrow pad scroll through each selection, and the OK button in the centre of the pad confirms any changes. You can also program the arrow keys of the four-way arrow pad to control specific exposure functions. The battery life is better than average for a compact digicam, with a worst-case run time of a bit over two hours. Colour was generally good. All of the white balance settings typically produced good results, with only very slight (read negligible) colour casts. While it performed well outdoors, it tended to produce dim exposures indoors, especially in studio shots. With a 5 megapixel sensor and 5x optical zoom lens, it delivers high-resolution images.
The Optio 550 is competing with cameras such as Nikon’s Coolpix 5400 or Canon’s PowerShot G5 in the 5mp range At Rs 44,460, it is considerably cheaper than the competition.
(c) The Economic Times, 2003. Article as published in 'ET-Personal'.
Posted by Scribbler at 9:36 PM
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