Check out the latest firmware and software updates from PENTAX to enhance the performance of your digital camera. Firmware Update (Digital SL Cameras). MediaImpression 3.6.1 LE for PENTAX: Optio S1 / Optio RS1500 / Optio WG-1 / Optio WG-1 GPS / Optio RZ18 / Optio VS20 / Optio LS465. OptioS6 / S7 / S10 / S12 Optio A10 / A20 / A30 / A40.
In November last year I took a look at the 10-megapixel, at the time the newest incarnation of the original ultra-compact digital camera, the Pentax Optio S. I was impressed by its simple classic design, solid build quality, brisk performance and excellent value for money. Naturally however technology marches onward, so today I’m taking a look at the S10’s successor, the new 12-megapixel Optio S12. There’s a time-honoured saying, the polite version of which is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and that’s exactly what Pentax has done with the design of the S12. Apart from a few detail changes to the appearance of the front panel, and of course the new 1/1.7-inch 12-megapixel CCD sensor, it is virtually identical to the S10. It has exactly the same durable all-aluminium body with the same pocket-sized 87 x 54 x 21mm dimensions and the same ultra-light 130g shooting weight. It has the same f/2.8 – f /5.4 3x zoom folding lens, and the same 2.5-inch 232k LCD monitor.
![Pentax optio m20 manual Pentax optio m20 manual](http://ksassets.timeincuk.net/wp/uploads/sites/54/2008/06/7869-PentaxS123quart-1.jpg)
Even the price is the same. You can buy an S12 in the high street for £149.99, which was the street price of the S10 when I reviewed it, although the older model is now a bargain-priced £99. There are quite a few 12-megapixel compact cameras on the market at the moment. Recent examples include the (£171), the (£177), the (£202), the (£236) and even Pentax’s own (£200). Looking at those prices the S12 looks like a total bargain, but all of those models feature some form of mechanical image stabilisation technology.
The S12 lacks this feature, so a more valid comparison would be with the (£126) or the (£155).