WHAT'S HOT: Weighing only 4.1 ounces, the Optio S is the lightest and smallest digital camera we've tested to date. It's so small, in fact, that it fits inside an Altoids mints tin. The eye-catching camera sports a ridged aluminum-alloy body and a curved-in area on the back panel where you can firmly place your right thumb for one-handed shooting.

The Optio S starts up swiftly (in about 4 seconds) and has intuitive menus for adjusting settings such as resolution and white balance. Other easy-to-use features include a round, directional thumbwheel on the back panel that can be pressed left, right, up, or down to quickly navigate on-screen menus.

The camera comes with a 3.2-megapixel CCD, allowing it to capture a maximum resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels. Given its size, the camera's 3X optical zoom lens (or 35mm to 105mm in 35mm film equivalent) is impressive. Pentax designed a lens that smoothly retracts into the camera's thin body. However, we noticed that the optical zoom sometimes had a hard time focusing--especially on close-up subjects.

WHAT'S NOT: Because of the camera's lilliputian controls, users with big hands or stubby fingers may find the Optio S cumbersome to operate. The optical viewfinder is also relatively tiny; people who wear eyeglasses especially may find it difficult to use. Another design quirk: The rubber hinge that holds the battery and memory card cover on the bottom panel feels flimsy, though it seems flexible enough to stay clasped.

WHAT ELSE: The camera captured some nice images, but colors appeared flat in a few shots. It produced a rosy cast in the background of our no-flash photo of a mannequin, and our still-life and outdoor shots appeared blurry with some jaggy edges.

In addition to taking still photos, the Optio S captures up to 30 seconds of video with sound in 320 by 240 resolution. The camera features various shooting modes (such as night scene and panorama assist) and picture modes (such as landscape, portrait, and surf and snow).

The Optio S comes with 11MB of internal memory, but no memory card (though it does have a slot for Secure Digital media). Pentax provides a rechargeable lithium ion battery, which lasted for 260 shots in our tests-below average, but better than we expected given its small size and zoom lens. The camera is also bundled with a small charger and ACD Systems' ACDSee photo organizing software.

UPSHOT: The incredibly small Optio S is a good choice for style-conscious shoppers who want a straightforward point-and-shoot camera and don't need manual controls.