Pentax Optio S7

Front
The front of the svelte Optio S7 shares the clean design as the rest of the camera (a minimum of fuss). From the top-left clockwise, we glimpse the shutter button, the flash and the IR illuminator, then the remote control receiver and the lens itself. When the camera is turned off or in playback mode, the lens completely retracts within the camera body using what Pentax describes as a “unique sliding rail system”. It looks like any other telescoping lens to us, but it works. There is also a large sticker than reminds you of the capabilities of the camera, including the zoom and movie capabilities.

Back
At the back we have the large, bright 2.5-inch LCD screen as the main attraction. Next to that is the large zoom thumb control, the playback button (which switches the camera to playback mode) and the multipurpose directional control. When you are shooting, this doubles as a control for the self-timer, the focus mode, the shooting mode and the flash. Below that is the menu button and the green button, which switches the camera to what is called “Green mode”. This has nothing to do with trees or environmentally safe construction; it is a basic mode where most of the controls are automatically set.

Left Side
The left side of the camera is a bit like the space between Paris Hilton’s ears; it has no real purpose other than to fill the space with something that has no particular function (there are also a couple of screws).

Right Side
On the right side of the camera is the cover for the battery and SD card slot, push this down and it slides off. The cover feels pretty robust and should keep out dust and grunge, but it isn’t waterproof. Above this cover is the lanyard loop. That ugly metal thing isn’t the standard wrist strap, we photographed the camera at the Photokina show, and the metal strap is to protect  the camera from being stolen. The real wrist strap is a standard plastic type.

Top
On the top of the camera we have (from the left) the speaker, the power switch and the shutter button. When the camera is on, the shutter glows green; a nice touch if you’re trying to take pictures of the interesting things that happen in the dark.

Bottom
The only interesting thing on the bottom of the camera is the tripod socket, located centrally. You can’t see it in our photo as the Pentax people started shouting at me when I tried to peel off the dummy sticker, and I’m a sensitive soul. But it is there.