Pentax's tin-sized 2003 ultra-compact — 3.2MP CCD, sliding 35-115mm equiv zoom, SD storage, 20mm thick.
The Pentax Optio S was the ultra-compact digital camera that launched Pentax's credit-card-sized Optio S family at CES 2003. Its party trick was a sliding-lens mechanism in which part of the optical path shifts sideways as the lens retracts, letting the whole camera collapse to 20mm thick — thin enough, as period marketing showed, to fit inside an Altoids tin.
It packs a 3.2-effective-megapixel 1/2.5-inch CCD with a 3x optical zoom covering a 35-115mm equivalent range, a 1.6-inch LCD, about 11MB of internal memory plus an SD card slot, and a movie mode with sound alongside a voice-memo function. Power comes from a small rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and the aluminium-bodied camera weighs about 115g loaded, at 83x52x20mm.
Today it appeals to Y2K digicam enthusiasts and anyone wanting a genuinely pocketable CCD compact with early-2000s colour rendering. The tiny body handles like a bar of soap and low-light performance is limited, but as an always-carried snapshot camera it still does the job it was designed for.
Check the proprietary battery holds charge and a charger is included — third-party cells exist but vary in quality. Confirm the sliding lens extends and retracts without grinding, the LCD is free of bright spots and bleed, and the SD slot reads cards; it predates SDHC, so large modern cards may not be recognised — small-capacity SD is the safe bet.