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"Picky Details" for the Pentax Optio S digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing
I measure both cycle times and shutter delay times, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 01 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Pentax Optio S:

NOTE: My qualitative characterizations of camera performance below (that is, "reasonably fast," "about average," etc.) are meant to be relative to other cameras of similar price and general capabilities. Thus, the same shutter lag that's "very fast" for a low-end consumer camera might be characterized as "quite slow" if I encountered it on a professional model. The comments are also intended as only a quick reference: If performance specs are critical for you, rely on the absolute numbers to compare cameras, rather than my purely qualitative comments.

Pentax Optio S Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	3.72	Pentax startup screen appears and lens extends forward. About average.
Shutdown	1.71	Lens retracts. Fairly fast.
Play to Record, first shot	1.31	Time until first shot is captured. About average.
Record to play	0.67	Time to display a large/fine file after capture. Fairly fast.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.57/0.68	First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. Both numbers are a good bit faster than average. (Average is in the range of 0.8-1.0 seconds.)
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.037	Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Extremely fast. (!)
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	8.3 / 1.44	First numbers are for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic images. Times are averages. The camera displays an auto review of each shot, which cannot be canceled, and there doesn't appear to be any buffer memory. Very slow by current standards.
Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution	5.97 / 1.24	First number is for large/fine, second set for small/basic files. Quite slow by current standards.

Power
The Optio S uses one Li-ion rechargeable battery for power.

The table below shows the Optio S's power consumption in various modes, and approximate run times for each, based a single Li-ion battery with a (true, not advertised)710 mAh capacity:

 

Operating Mode	Power (@4.5 volts on the external power terminal)	Est. Minutes (one 710 mAh Li-ion cell)
Capture Mode, w/LCD	375 mA	93
Capture Mode, no LCD	265 mA	132
Half-pressed shutter w/LCD	378 mA	93
Half-pressed w/o LCD	276 mA	127
Memory Write (transient)	369 mA	n/a
Flash Recharge (transient)	448 mA	n/a
Image Playback	267 mA	131
Capture mode, but "sleeping"	89 mA	6.6 Hours

Storage Capacity
The Optio S stores its photos on SD memory cards, or in its 11 MB of internal memory. No card is included with the camera, but I strongly recommend buying at least a 64MB card, preferably a 128MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the 11 MB internal memory at each size/quality setting.

 

Image Capacity vs Resolution/Quality 11MB Internal Memory		Fine	Normal	Economy
2,048 x 1,536	Images (Avg size)	5 2,065KB	9 1,143KB	14 771KB
	Approx. Compression	5:1	8:1	12:1
1,600 x 1,200	Images (Avg size)	8 1,231KB	15 719KB	21 516KB
	Approx. Compression	5:1	8:1	11:1
1,024 x 768	Images (Avg size)	19 566KB	35 308KB	46 236KB
	Approx. Compression	4:1	8:1	10:1
640 x 480	Images (Avg size)	42 257KB	67 164KB	89 123KB
	Approx. Compression	4:1	6:1	8:1

 

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