Pentax Announces 2 New Compact Digicams

Pentax Imaging Company has announced two compact digital cameras in advance of the Photo Marketing Association International Trade Show (PMA 2007).

The Pentax Optio A30 features 10.0 effective megapixels, a 1/1.8 inch CCD with a wide dynamic range for superior tones, an smc Pentax zoom lens and an image processing engine.

The Pentax original Shake Reduction (SR) technology in the A30 has been improved by adding both Digital and Movie SR for improved image capture in low-light settings and telephoto capture. A unique Face Recognition AF & AE function offers better results in photographs by automatically detecting faces, and then adjusting exposure and focus to properly capture portraits.

The Optio A30 is the sixth DivX Certified digital camera manufactured by Pentax in the past 18 months.

Pentax also announced the Pentax Optio W30, the fifth model in the manufacturer’s waterproof digital camera line. With an enhanced waterproof design, the Optio W30 performance capacity has more than doubled and now allows photographers to capture images underwater up to 10 feet for 2 hours.

The generous 2.5-inch LCD monitor offers an LCD Bright Mode that can adjust the brightness of the screen as necessary for improved viewing in the sunlight. The Optio W30 also features both Digital and Movie SR modes to reduce blur in both image and video capture.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

The Optio W30 features the Face Recognition function and Macro Photography mode to allow image capture at under half an inch for close-ups of photography subjects such as flowers, insects, jewelry and much more.

Priced at US $349.95, the Optio A30 will ship in late March 2007, while the Optio W30 will ship the same month for US $299.95.