Pre-PMA: New Pentax Point-and-Shoots

In the pre-PMA buildup, Pentax announced three new Optio cameras, as well as setting a ship date for its previously announced Optio A40 digital camera.

The 12-megapixel Optio A40 ($300) was originally announced last fall and is slated for availability in February. It boasts three different flavors of shake reduction: a mechanical system that shifts its CCD when shaken, a digital system that adjusts the ISO sensitivity, and another digital movie-only system that kicks in when the user is shooting video. The A40 is equipped with a DivX-format video recorder, a 3x optical zoom, face detection, and 21MB on on-board memory.

The brand-new announcements are the ultracompact 12-megapixel Optio S12, the 8.1-megapixel Optio E50, and the 8-megapixel Option M50.

The Optio S12 is billed as a superslim, style-conscious 12-megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom and a bright, 2.5-inch LCD screen.

The S12's face-detection feature can detect up to 15 faces per shot, so it looks like Pentax is the early leader in this year's "facial-detection headcount" contest. The S12 is slated to ship in April for $280.

The Optio M50, due in March, bumps the optical zoom up to 5x and has a Panorama Mode that lets the shooter join three photos side-to-side to create a widescreen shot.

It also boasts a 15-face-per-shot facial detection feature, as well as a Smile Capture setting that automatically takes a picture when a selected person in the frame is smiling. The M50 has 51.1 MB of on-board memory and a suggested price tag of $230.

Pentax's other new Optio, the 3x optical zoom E50, can be powered by AA batteries. The entry-level camera has a "Green Mode" setting that automatically adjusts the settings dependent on light levels and the shooting conditions.

There's also an Auto Picture mode, which chooses the best pre-set setting for each shot. The Optio E50 has a facial detection feature, which unlike the S10 and M50, maxes out at 10 faces. Still, that's plenty of faces. Priced at $150, the E50 is slated for availability this March.

Comments

Post a comment Post a comment

0 / 1000 max characters