megapixels

I have to start off saying how much I love this camera. I've had a few digital sub-compacts over the last few years, with the last being the Casio Exilim series. This camera totally beats all of the Exilim's hands down! I am VERY impressed with how good the camera's pictures are! This is probably the most noticeable thing right off the bat. On my old Exilim, the pictures were kind of dark and fuzzy around the corners, but not so with the Optio S4i! This camera is wonderfully easy to use and packed full of features. Even though I read the manual from cover to cover, the menu's are so simple and intuitive, I could have used it without any manual reading. To my surprise, this camera even records sound in Movie mode, something most of the Exilim's don't. The movie mode even appears "smoother" than the Exilim's, despite the fact that they both take pictures at 15 frames/second. Overall here is what I liked and didn't like:

Pro's:

-Outstanding pictures and quality (most important)
-Extremely easy to use
-Packed full of nearly every feature you can think of
-Movie mode comes with sound
-Ability to look at pictures on T.V. (can't with Exilims)
-Very large LCD screen on back of camera
-Small size makes easy carrying and encourages more pictures
-Macro mode is just unbelievable - 3" - WOW!

Con's
-LCD screen is "washed out" in bright sunlight, but then again, I haven't found a camera LCD that didn't do this, just some are better than others.

-Battery life could be a bit better! About comparable to the Exilim series.
-If one takes pictures to battery depletion (which I always do), you must recharge the battery first in order to download the files to your computer. The battery charger which comes with it only charges the battery, you cannot download the files while the camera is attached to the charger. This is a cheap shot from Pentax in making the customer shell out another $50 for the optional AC adapter to avoid this quirk.
- If you use a "normal" non-high performance SD card, (which I use), there is considerable lag in continuous picture taking since the file has to be read to the card prior to taking the next picture. Shell out more money for a high performance card, and this will be greatly minimized. In all fairness, though, the average user probably will not be using this camera for fast-paced "action" shots, so this is only a minor inconvenience!

Overall, though the Pro's far outweigh the Con's, and I have to say that this is the best camera I have ever bought! I highly recommend it! I'll probably keep it until they get 6MP cameras this size. Given the current trend, (seems about 1MP per year), it should be in about 2 years! RECOMMEND HIGHLY!

I was first attracted to this camera because of its size and light weight; the Pentax marketing materials will tell you that it fits in an Altoids tin. Not only can you easily carry this camera anywhere, but the number of functions it has is just amazing. I like the option of composing my photo using a viewfinder or the screen. Instant review, various flash options, and a number of other color and light adjustments that can be made assure that you never take a bad picture. The video and sound recording options are also fun. As an added bonus, the super lightweight battery is rechargeable. I like that I can easily fill the memory card with one battery charge and then quickly recharge the battery for more use. At the end of the day when you go to download your pictures onto a computer, the software and USB cable connection could not be easier to use. After initial installation, it's simply a plug-and-play operation.

I have the camera now a few weeks and I can say it is great!!! is small fits in every pocket !!! very good pictures i mean for digi cam ! if U want the best and the perfect pictures then U have to buy the pentax SLR ZX-7!!! nobody has to forgett this is a digital camera and a friend has the new sony with 5 mega pixel and these camera make not better pictures!!! i can say I'm very happy with the s4i !!! I would buy again!!!