Pentax Optio S5z Review



Features & Controls
![]() The Optio S5z features a Pentax 5.8-17.4mm 3x optical zoom with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 36.5 - 107mm, the maximum aperture is f2.6 - f4.8. The lens is all glass and consists of 6 elements in 5 groups with 2 dual-sided aspherical elements. When the camera is powered down the lens is retracted inside of the body and a built in shutter closes to protect the lens.
It has a 7-point AF system with user-selectable AF point location, Spot AF, infinity
landscape and manual focus. The focusing range in Normal
mode is 1.31 ft (0.4m) to Infinity; Macro mode: 7.1 inches (0.18 m) to 1.64 ft (0.5m);
Super Macro mode: 2.4 inches (0.06m) to 7.9 inches (0.2m) at 10.2mm focal length.
Manual Focus from 2.4 inches (0.06m) to Infinity at 10.2mm
You frame your pictures with the 2.5" color LCD, there is no optical finder.
The LCD has approx. 100%
coverage. Over to the top-right are two LEDs
that indicate the flash and focus status.
![]()
The built in flash offers Auto, On, Off, Auto + Red-Eye Reduction, On + Red-Eye
Reduction. Flash range is
approx. 0.65ft -11.5ft (0.2m - 3.5m) (5.8mm at ISO 200 )
Approx. 0.65ft -6.6ft (0.2m - 2m) (17.4mm at ISO 200)
![]() On the top is the On/Off power button and the shutter release. ![]()
Pressing the MENU button calls up and dismisses the onscreen menu
system.
The Mode button calls up the virtual mode dial which we'll detail on the next page.
The I/O ports:
![]()
The Optio S5z is equipped with 10MB of internal memory and has a Secure
Digital (SD) card slot in the battery compartment for optional memory cards.
It's compatible with any capacity SD memory card. Data recorded on the
internal memory can be copied to SD card.
Approximate Storage with 64MB SD Card![]() ![]() The Optio S5z is powered by a proprietary D-LI8 3.7V 710mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. Pentax claims the battery life is good for approx. 160 shots (LCD turned on and using the flash 50% of the time), continuous playback time is approx. 130 minutes. Charging time is a maximum of 100 minutes. |
Continue on to
Record Features
Return To Our
Reviews Menu
Visitors of Steves can visit the stores below for real-time pricing and availability. You can also find hot, soon to expire online offers on a variety of cameras and accessories at our very own Camera Deals page.