New review of S4i

[mrmegadeth]

So Steve reviewed the S4i just as I did and I agree with assessment but cannot tell if he likes the camera or not. He say he is dissapointed with the high resolution mode but doesn't really say why. Also, it would have been nice if he compared it to the S4/S and mentioned if he thought it was an improvement or not - oh well I am still happy with it.



Brandon

[aquastealth]

First of all thx Steve for your always very detailed reviews

Secondly by judging the sample pics, the S4i it's really a disappointment.

The pics have "awfully" bad quality,very soft and "grainy"

Its a shame since the camera except for the image quality is all that I (and many other folks) have ever wanted

Now I have to wait 6-12 months more and hope that a new super compact camera (with good image quality) will enter the market since all the alternatives has their own flaws:

Casio Exilim Z40much similarities with Pentax S4iandbigger

Canon SD10 (Ixus i) gives great pics but lack's the Optical zoom

Sony T1 and T11 good cameras but is a little bit "clumsier"to hold and a much to expensive

[groebuck]

I wish I would have waited for Steve's review! I have the Optio S and just assumed the S4i would be just as good if not betterwith the higher resolution. My picutres constantly seem to be out of focus to the point of being slightly blurry. I've tried everything, finally having to do a shot for shot comparison between the S and the S4i. Sadly the S takes much better pictures!

Somethings I have observed - the 1.8 inch LCD is virtually useless in outdoor light. The LCD has a highly reflective surface which only adds to it's uselessness outdoors. On the S it was recessed into the camera and had an antiglare coating - not so with the S4i. It is flush with the camera and glass so it gets fingerprints constantly.

The docking cradle - well it just looks and feels cheap. Nothing like the doc for the Kodak easy share line. In additon to that the power plug for the doc in on the bottom/back part. The cord has to be parallel to the cradle or it will weigh down the light plastic dock (so when there is no camera in it is does not sit flush on the table).

I've only owned it for two weeks and I'm learning to hate it. I have fallen back to my Optio S and pretty much learned my lesson. Hopefully the place I bought it from will allow me to exchange it for something else.

[mrmegadeth]

I agree with the LCD comments - I never liked it but was willing to live with it if the pics were nice. But after going back and looking throuh hundreds of photos, 1 Gb so far, I decided the pics aren't good enough. Besides it washing out the resoultion is so low that you cannot tell if you have focuses correctly - even at 4x magnification.

[groebuck]

I am returning mine to get the Canon s410 - a little more money and a little bigger but all the reviews on it say it's one of the best