This is the first digital camera I've purchased, and so far I think it's pretty awesome. I'm a little technophobic, and have always loved taking pictures with my old Pentax 35mm manual, but this camera is great for what I'm using it for, and has allowed me to learn how to take better pictures.
As a student I wanted a lightweight camera with a nice lens that could easily be taken on a study abroad trip, as well as on backpacking trips and hikes. This camera has a Leica lense, which is of great quality glass and this company makes very decent microscope lenses so I figured it'd be a solid quality-over-quantity purchase.
This camera has performed exceptionally well on the snowy and overexposed summit of a 14,000 ft peak, and the quality of the pictures are more than I had hoped for. It's very easy to understand, especially for someone who isn't great with modern gadgets. The zoom can get very detailed close ups of animals, and there are many options for different scene modes, including candlelight and starry sky scenes, but if you're into not thinking about it the intelligent auto mode is very efficient and consistently takes nice shots. Manual adjustments can be made to compensate on different exposures, one can edit the picture from the camera before downloading it onto a PC, and it often finds and focuses on faces automatically.
Another nice addition is trip planning and the calendar, where if you're going out of country or far away you can set the time of your journey and pre-set the time ahead or behind, which I think is great because I like to know when I took pictures and in what order.The manual is easy to understand, too.
Overall, excellent camera for someone not wanting to spend a lot, like students and most people :)I think it's a good introduction especially for people who are used to old point and shoot cameras, but it has enough to offer to teach people to be better picture takers.
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UPDATE:This review was updated on 9/1/08 to reflect the announcement of the Olympus 1050SW.
I am a self confessed camera freak. I have owned the Pentax WPi, W10, W30, and now, the W60. My other primary cameras are the Canon SD 870 (with waterproof housing for diving) and a Canon SLR system with L series lenses, etc. I live in Hawaii and I travel for a living and I can say that without a doubt, the Pentax W series of cameras have been my "go to" cameras for any activities that involve water, snow, sand, or dirt. They take A LOT of abuse even if they don't advertise that fact like Olympus. For optical quality in a "friendly" environment when I don't want to lug my SLR, I prefer my Canon SD 870 which has noticeably better optics.
Like many people who somehow trashed their previous W series camera, I have been waiting over a year for the W30 upgrade and I can report that all in all, the W60 is a worthy upgrade to the W30 if only for the 28mm lens. In addition, it's lighter, the screen is brighter, and it's got a couple of useful software upgrades. I've been using the camera for a month now.
Make no mistake, this is a "fun" outdoors camera. If you're not going to take your camera in the water, to the beach, or mountain biking stop reading now and find a camera with better optics. The W60 is just o.k. and certainly no worse than the W30. As for the barrel distortion at 28mm, it's probably just slightly worse than my Canon SD 870 which means that the distortion is there and is noticeable, but for a group shot at the beach or trying to get the full length of a kayak AND an isle in the background, I'll live with the ever so slight distortion. You can always just click the lens down to 37mm and eliminate the distortion just like any other compact.
I'll also confess that I'm a Mac user and therefore don't know how to read manuals. Because of this, I find the "smile detect" and "blink detect' features amazingly annoying although they seem to work as long as your subjects are not wearing sunglasses. Fortunately, for illiterate and/or lazy idiots such as myself, you can ignore most features and easily find the important ones like underwater white balance.
Here's what I like and dislike about this particular model.
LIKES
1) Nothing beats not worrying about sand, water, dirt, or mud. I had the Olympus 1030SW for two days before sand screwed up the retractable lens cover (great idea, poor execution which has been addressed on the recently announced 1050SW). Also, if you let your kids take photos like I do, you can worry less about camera damage when one of them inevitably throws your camera at the other one or tries to hit them over the head with it in the pool.
2) 28mm lens. Wide angle (vs. the typical 38mm) is an option I'd rather have than not.Also, there is a crazy "wide" feature that's a bit different than panoramic stitch that actually works pretty well. In a nutshell, two portrait shots are stitched in camera into a 5MP 21mm image. It's by no means "publishable" quality, but I've actually been having quite a bit of fun with it.
DISLIKES
1) HD movie clips. I was very disappointed that the 720p movie clips are only 15 fps. My old Canon S80 had the same specs and I find the jerkiness at 15 fps too distracting. The initial press release (specs since updated) didn't disclose this. Oh well. I'd still buy it. 640 movie clips at 30 fps are as clean as expected and the shake reduction works fairly well (but reduces the frame to something less than 28mm). Also, a note on reviewers who complain about sound recorded from the focusing drive, switch to infinity focus which works fine in 90% of all situations and that annoying sound will be eliminated).
2) Noticeable barrel distortion at 28mm. Like I said earlier, better to have the option available and zoom in when able. Even at 28mm, your shot won't be ruined. Also, if you have a mother-in-law you can cleverly position her at the end of the frame and the distortion will make her look slightly thinner (in case she accuses your SLR of making her look fat).
3) Still no travel charger included or officially available (which I find inexcusable) although inelegant third party solutions exist online (and the multi battery use ones still work even though they've changed the battery model).
4) No external user replaceable lens protecter. Come on Pentax engineers. How hard would it be to design an exterior casing that allowed for a user replaceable transparent protective "filter" like an SLR. There's a reason I've bought four models. I trash them.
Now for the important feature: Underwater Imaging


If you want a camera for scuba diving stop reading now and go buy yourself a Canon with any of their factory built cases. This is not a diving camera.
If you want a camera for snorkeling, kayaking, surfing, or kiteboarding; or if you plan to take your camera to the beach; or if you like hiking in the rain or mountain biking, you will be stoked with this camera. (Previous W series models I owned worked fine in the snow and cold whereas my compact Canons sometimes freeze) The Olympus 1030SW is a close second for me for the following reasons. 1) I like the rectangle form factor of the Pentax a tad more; 2) I find SD cards more convenient than XD cards (plus I own a bunch and my computer has a slot for them); 3) a personal bad experience with the 1030SW retractable lens cover; 4) movies on the Olympus models are capped at 10 seconds (vs. the size of your memory card on the Pentax - 30 minutes on my 4GB card); and 5) the Pentax is noticeably lighter (but does not feel cheap). I think there's also some merit to the fact that this is Pentax's sixth generation of W series cameras. They've learned a lot. Also, I should mention that I used to use a Sony compact with a waterproof "Sport" case and besides making the whole camera "fat", the picture quality suffered greatly.
UPDATE regarding the new Olympus 1050SW:While i have not used this camera (to be released on 10/31/08) from the specs and photos I can see that they have addressed the retractable lens cover issue with a Sony style system however they have increased the focal length to 38mm (equivalent).I'd still prefer a 28mm.Also, 640 movies are still inexplicably capped at 10 seconds vs. the size of you memory card for the Pentax models.
Underwater videos of kids in the pool rock (set focus to infinity in the Settings menu to avoid mechanical noise). Videos of them surfing are priceless (buy yourself a neckstrap). Being able to wash your camera off at the end of the day is amazing. It's also kind of fun to drop it in a mug of beer at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich and freak your friends out.
I highly recommend the Pentax W60 for anyone that has an outdoor lifestyle and likes to record memories. It's a great secondary camera when paired with something a bit more serious like an SLR. It is not the best camera for going out for a night on the town and it's not the best camera if you're going on the vacation of a lifetime that doesn't involve a lot of water or dirt. Have fun!
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I love this camera. It's compact and very easy to use. The pictures are of great quality and won't miss any details. For many weeks, I was shopping for a more than a good camera, comparing all different brands and prices and I'm glad I was able to find this Samsung for such a great price $137.43... This camera takes great quality pictures compared to the best brands (sony, kodak, etc.) Samsung products are really good and have become my favorite brand, specially because I don't need to spend a lot of money to get great quality products.

I have purchase several electronics of this brand and I'm very satisfied with this purchase too. Another great Samsun item to add to my collection...
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Great little camera, easy to thrown in a pocket and take with you. The wide angle lens really comes in handy; the main reason that I choose this camera. The colors really seem to pop in the pictures that I have taken so far, very easy to learn and use camera.
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I've owned each new version of this camera since the Powershot S2IS.For me this is a worthwhile upgrade over the prior version, the S5IS.
I'll start by saying that I am not a digital camera "power user". I just want good quality photos without a lot of hassle. This camera provides that, yet also provides a lot of room for growth with plenty of custom settings that I can use if I want to learn how to use them in the future (for example, aperture priority).
Pros:
-In initial testing, the face detection technology seems to work well.I can take a self portrait now and the lighting comes out very good.I think the technology has gone from buzzword marketing to true usefulness.
-One side benefit of the face detection technology is that it enables the camera to intelligently take red-eye out of pictures without using the red-eye reduction lamp.
-The flip-out and rotating viewfinder has always and continues to set this camera apart from its peers from other companies.It allows for less intrusive candid photos and has many other advantages.
-Thankfully, the SD card door is separate from the battery door as it was with the S3IS.Thank you Canon!There are times that I just want to take a few pictures, and now I don't have to open the battery door to take the SD card out and put in my PC's card reader.
-Low battery warning.I think this is the first version to have that and it's very welcome.
-28mm -- I will never get another camera without wide angle built in.I have the Canon Elph 880IS too, which is a very powerful "pocketable" camera that complements this one well.
-Sharp 20x zoom.Pictures turn out very good even at high zooms.In an indoor-lit apartment, I can read fairly small print from a photo taken all the way across a room -- it truly is amazing.
-The picture quality is better at higher ISO's than previous models.Each model improves on this and this one definitely continues that.I haven't tried out the "I-Contrast" setting (on vs. off) but I can say that in some outdoor pictures that I have taken detail is good in shadow areas.
-Finally, a standard lens-cap.It doesn't have a tether, but you can buy a cap attachment from a camera store that sticks on the front of the cap.The one that I got has an elastic band that goes around the base of the lens.I also got a better lens cap which can now be done since it's standard.
-Controls ...I like the new placement of the controls such as dedicated on-off button and display button.I don't think I will like the scroll wheel but time will tell.For those not familiar with this camera, there is a dedicated video button so that you can take video quickly without having to mess with the controls.
-Weight and shape.I liked the shape of the S5IS a little better.This one seems too "boxy" and the grip seems too abrupt.It's bigger and heavier but not in a way that matters.It's expected with the new lens.
The only thing I would have liked to see improved is the size of the rotating display.It's usable, but the 3" one on my pocket SD880IS is much better, and competing cameras offer a larger display.In order to get a larger display though the electronic viewfinder would probably have to be eliminated which is something that many wouldn't like.I'd rather have a larger display.
I don't know if the compressed movie mode results in less quality because I didn't take movies with prior versions of this camera because the file size was larger.I like that videos take up less space now and I will use the video feature of this version.
Canon released a camera similar to this with HD video capabilities but it's not available, as far as I know, in the U.S.Check the Canon website for more info. if you want to research that.
There is not a way to screw filters on this camera as there was with the optional lens adapters available for the S5IS.It seems that Canon could have easily done this by threading the end of the lens but maybe I am missing something.I anticipate that Canon or some other company will come out with an adapter that will allow filters. My main use of filters was simply to protect the lens.
I don't know if the software is improved because I don't use it.If you want date / time stamps on your photos, you need to do it via software.
If you like this camera and are interested in a great pocket-sized camera to complement this one, check out the SD880IS.It has many of the same features such as the Digic 4 chip, face detection, wide angle, I-contrast, and in addition it has a beautiful 3" display.
Update 10-26-08
-I previously commented that I thought the shape was too boxy" and the grip "too abrupt".After using the camera for a while I have grown to like the shape because it helps keep the camera more steady and helps prevent dropping it. There is a ridge below where the index finger is, and above the other 3 fingers holding the camera. That helps keep a good grip on the camera which makes it steadier while shooting and helps prevent dropping it while carrying it around.
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