Optio 555 versus Optio 550?

[MAS]

What improvements does the Optio 555 offer over the Optio 550? Has Pentax improved picture quality / image distrotion that many complained about with the Optio 550? Does Pentax offer a under water case option?

[mddavid]

Pentax told me that they did improve picture quality and that the chip is faster, so startup time is faster. I bought the 555 a couple of weeks ago. So far, I am quite pleased. Picture quality seems excellent so far and I love the small size.
The price is not that much different than the Optio 550. I paid $470 (no tax, free shipping).

[Katia]

mddavid, what about noise level in night and low light photos?

[MAS]

mddavid,

Thank you for your reply. By chance did Pentax elaborate on the improvements made in the Optio 555?

My main concern is: many discussion group members on Digitial Camera Resource complained of excessive image distortion during low light shots @ ISO levels of 100 or above. Hopefully Pentax has been able to address this area.