Pentax Optio RZ-18 16 MP Digital Camera with 18x Optical Zoom - Black

Easy to use compact camera perfect for holiday use. The extra wide optical & zoom function deliver more than expected.

its a little bigger than i expected it would be, but i'm very impressed with the Macro functions..for years i was using my kodak zd8612IS and the macro was...eh...at best...this..is out standing..i've taken pictures of rain drops on the windshield, my lizards eyeball in awesome detail and managed to get a cute shot of the freckle my daughter has in the corner of her eye, the flash is in a little bit of an awkward place i'm used to putting my finger in the top right corner ...where the flash sits, but i love the speaker/mic design and placement unlike my kodak i can be a foot from the speaker and give a chirp of a yell and it doesn't pick up so loudly it hurts the ears, ( i film alot of horses and riders so some times while i'm filming i have to ask them to try some thing new with this camera it doesn't sound like i'm YELLING..but that my voice is raised a little) i like the feel of the anti-shake module.it gives it a feel of almost being a super expensive camera, it fits in the side pocket of most of my cargo jeans which is convenient for me, my only quarrel is the shutter...its so flimsy i have already managed to reach into a pocket and unknowingly pushed the shutter open with my fingers and pulled it out with a finger on the lens, so i bought a carrying bag..i love playing with the picture editing software IN the camera (THE SOFTWARE FOR IT ON THE PC SUCKS..you're better off using windows live photo) the factory battery is great i get between 6hours of idle camera time (turn it on and let it sit untouched) not sure how many pictures as i haven't really tested it to its full capability yet, but i'm an intermediate level photographer along side my 2011 pentax k-r dslr camera, i love this little point and shoot just as much as my k-r if not slightly more for its small but efficient size...the panorama is decent, but its not the best at what my dslr succeeds in which is any thing to bright, sunsets and moon pictures dont fare well with this little guy unless you can jimmyrig a filter to the lens for moon pictures, but i found there's a horrible glare even with the iso at lowest OR highest, my bf knows a good bit about camera's also an intermediate level and he was baffled why the sunset mode isn't as great as he too hoped it was. the action setting is GREAT as stated before, i shoot lots of horse video's and pictures with the setting to take 10 pictures quickly (forgive my lack of knowledge of camera terms i just go by what i know) i can get the perfect picture set of a horses gait at ANY pace which is hard some times, while bored 1 night watching tv i decided to play with that function and shot the tv image i caught every 1/2 a second image for a good 2 minutes which led me to have i believe..30 images..flipping back through them it was like i was watching tv again. this is a GREAT camera to take on hikes, its quick to start up and is ready to go in a second or 2 so you dont miss out on that "shot to make the season" which for me yesterday was catching the flight of a bald eagle from perched position to mid-air flight...AMAZING quality of pictures.in short...this camera is GREAT for an entry to intermediate level for a hiker, biker, traveler, or just the stay at home mom wanting to catch those special moments to remember i DO suggest buying a much larger GB mem card though (you can get a 32GB on amazon for 30$s shipped, as i just ordered one) on a 4GB the movies total length is 12 minutes i believe in full 16MP. i dont think i'll ever get rid of this camera..and also grab a swiss gear medium size camera pouch with the hip loop from your local best buy for 16$s i think, and have a screen protector handy or a smudge free cloth b/c the screen (as with all lcd cameras attracts finger prints) this is THE BEST of 5 camera's i've ever owned and puts my dslr to its paces to be my fave. WELL worth the $$$$$$

Really liked the camera, and it took good pictures with lots of settings, but only after 7 months of casual use, we started having problems with the worst being, it always shuts down after trying to use the zoom option. Very disappointed and will be not buying another Pentax product for some time

I never found this camera satisfactory during its brief life. Pictures taken outdoors with the zoom, utilizing various preset settings, were seldom sharp or crisp. In bright light they were very washed out, almost gauzy. Pictures that came out great would have come out great using almost any up to date digital camera. The form factor was also rather clunky.Then I took it to the beach. Some sand got somewhere near the zoom lens, into the works, and that was it. Trashed.

"Back in the days" I learned 35mm photography with a Pentax K1000, and still remember their classic ME Super camera and superb line of lenses. So, while looking to upgrade my old 5 MP digital camera, this Pentax model caught my eye - and mind.I "made the leap of faith" and purchased the Optio RZ-18, and wish I had done so sooner!Some experts have determined that 16 MP digital cameras take pictures that may be printed at 5" x 7" as good as 35mm film pictures at that size. I have plenty of 35mm nature photos on hand in 5" x 7", and took the Optio back to the same places and began shooting....I'm still a die-hard fan of 35mm photography, so please keep that in mind when I state that the Optio did BETTER on all the photos I took in my comparison test! I printed my pictures on a plain old HP all-in-one Deskjet, using common matte finish photo paper. Color, contrast, and resolution on EVERY picture were better than my 35mm equivalents, although that may reflect on the film lab I have been using.I doubt if the Optio would beat 35mm in a 8" x 10" or larger comparison, but still would have been acceptable for general use pictures at those sizes. But since 5" x 7" is my most common print size, the Optio has effectively replaced film for most of my shooting.What I miss with the Optio: number one would be a real viewfinder, coupled to the lens. The LCD screen on the Optio is a weak point, completely washing out when strong light is behind the photographer (where it should be, right?). Number two, the display on that screen doesn't do justice to the lens. I was happy to discover that my pictures showed more color and contrast on my computer screen when I was preparing them for printing, and they also printed better than the camera's screen would seem to indicate!Battery life on the Optio is so much better than any other digital I have owned (at least 8 or 10), that I still don't understand how Pentax accomplished it. I put the Optio away for the past few months, and looked at it to help me write this review; the batteries are still at 3/4 charge, right where they were when I put it away. Thinking the battery life would be like other digital cameras I have owned, I purchased a car charger and spare battery, but now don't think I will be needing them.My Optio has a quality feel to it, and user controls are intuitive; I barely glanced through the instructions. A beginner would appreciate the user-friendliness of this camera, and the more experienced photographer would appreciate the more advanced features the Optio offers.No, the Optio is not going to replace any good DSLR cameras for serious digital photography, but its' compactness and light weight make it the better choice for general picture taking. Now, if someone at Pentax could just create a viewfinder for the Optio, I might be able to revise my rating to a full five stars for this still excellent camera!UPDATE, 1/2/13: This date I installed a FlipBac accessory viewfinder on my Optio, and initial indoor testing of that device is favorable; images in the FlipBac were better in at least several cases than those on the camera screen. Please see my review of the FlipBac for more information. After using the camera outdoors in strong lighting, I'll update this review, but it being early winter that may be some time later!