Pentax Optio 555 Review

Click to take a QuickTime tour of the Optio 555

The Optio 555 is the successor to the popular Optio 550, a compact and light weight 5- megapixel camera with a powerful 5x optical zoom lens. PENTAX maximized the responsiveness of the Optio 555 including reduced lag time so the camera is instantly ready when the power is turned on. In addition, a single touch of the playback button brings up recorded images and just a touch of the shutter button is all that is required to return to shooting. With enhanced operation capability and maximized responsiveness, the Optio 555 allows satisfying shots to be taken with extreme ease. The Optio 555 also features PictBridge™ compatibility that eliminates the need for PC connectivity during printing by allowing the camera to be connected directly to a compatible printer. This feature allows direct control over printing and a full range of other functions.

The Optio 555's body is crafted from aluminum alloy which makes it both light in weight and highly durable. The ultra-compact zoom system allows the lens to fully retract in two stages and helps reduce the depth of the camera. A single dial offers shooting mode selections with minimal effort, including Metered Manual, Shutter-priority AE, Aperture- priority AE, Program, Picture, Movie, Panorama Assist, 3D image, Digital Filter, User and Voice Recording modes with minimal effort. The Optio 555 also features standalone buttons for easy access to frequently used shooting and playback functions and handy image deletion and enlargement.

The Optio 555 excels at image recording quality with 5.0 effective megapixels and produces high quality, artistic images. Despite its compact size, the Optio 555 feature a high performance 5X optical zoom lens with 4X digital for an impressive 20X combined zoom. In addition to still images the Optio 555 is also capable of recording up to 10 minutes of video with sound at 15 frames per second with 320 x 240 recorded pixels. The audio recording capability allows you to attach up to 30 second voice memos to still images and can be also used as a standalone voice recorder.

A high-resolution 1.5-inch low-temperature polysilicon TFT color LCD monitor offers 100% view of the frame, which helps ensure easier, more accurate image composition and allows you to double-check recent shots. The Optio 555 is equipped with a diopter adjustment viewfinder offering actual image zoom to help conserve power when the LCD monitor is off.

Interval shooting lets you set the start time, the duration of the interval between shots, and the number of frames, and capture events that take place over an extended period of time such as a flower blooming. Multiple exposure function allows surreal creativity such as double images in the same shot. Macro shooting modes allows shots from as close as 5.9 inches (.15m) and super macro mode as close as .79 inches (.02m).

The digital filter mode gives you the freedom to influence the overall tone of your shot. With choices of black & white, sepia and other tones (red, pink, yellow, green, blue and purple), the digital filter mode lets you add mood to a sunset or tone down subjects that are too bright. The soft filter provides for a soft focus effect. For even greater control over the image, the sharpness, saturation and contrast can be set manually with a choice of three settings for each.

Optio 555 Features:

• Compact aluminum alloy body, weighs only 7.2 oz.
• 5-megapixel CCD, still images up to 2592 x 1944 pixels
• 5x optical zoom (37.5 - 187.5mm equivalent) with 4x digital zoom
• Super Macro mode focuses as close as 0.79 in.
• 1.5-inch color LCD monitor, histogram and 8x playback
• Shooting modes: Program AE, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, Metered Manual, Picture, Digital Filter, Movie, 3D, Panorama Assist, Auto Bracket
• Picture modes: Landscape, Night scene, Flower, Portrait, Surf & Snow, Autumn color, Sunset, Fireworks, Text
• Interval (time-lapse) mode and Multiple Exposure mode
• Multi-segment, Center-weighted or Spot-metering
• Exposure, White Balance, Saturation, Sharpness and Contrast Bracketing
• Variable Sharpness, Saturation and Contrast in three different levels
• Movie mode: 320x240 @ 15fps, up to 10 mins w/audio
• Up to 30 sec audio memos can be attached to still images
• Functions as a voice recorder, length limited to available memory
• Built-in flash with Auto, Fill and Red-eye Reduction modes
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent and Manual
• Secure Digital or MultiMedia Card memory cards
• World Time function displays the time in 62 countries
• USB Mass Storage compatible for PC and Mac OS
• PictBridge, Exif Print and PRINT Image Matching II compatible

The Optio 555 includes the following: 16MB SD card, USB cable, audio-video cable, ACDSee™ software, Stereo Viewer, neck strap, rechargeable lithium battery and AC charger.

Physical Views

Pentax Optio 555 and the Olympus C-5000 Zoom

Pentax Optio 555 and a standard CD for size comparison

Pentax Optio 555 Specifications