On August 22nd, Pentax introduced its new compact digital camera, the Optio A20, which is equipped with additional and improved features compared to its predecessor, the Optio A10.
It has 10.0 effective mega pixels; 2.0 more than the A10, which combined with the high-quality smc zoom lens, makes it capable of producing crystal clear images, even at an A3 image size.
The main addition to this model has been the incorporation of three types of Anti-Shake mechanisms. The first mechanism uses two specialized gyro sensors to detect the level of shaking and combined with a third image sensor that automatically corrects the shacking both horizontally and vertically. Furthermore by using the Blur-Reduction, one can reduce to the minimum any blurring effects caused by moving objects. Last but not least is the instantaneous correction of shaking in video recordings.
Another important feature is the facial recognition, which has the capability of eliminating any unwanted shadows on the face caused by the background and the clothing that enhances the results, especially in cases were it is necessary to focus on a particular face, no matter where that face is located on the picture.
The A20 also enjoys an array of other exciting features including very high quality, divX format movies (30 fps and size up to 640 X 480 pixels) and accepts both the widely used SD and the new SDHC memory cards; an automatic mode which is capable of recognizing the scene type which is being shot and make the necessary adjustments to enhance the picture quality; a mode to automatically determine the appropriate shutter speed; and a red-eye correction, that is done after the picture is taken, in order for the user to apply in each case the appropriate type of correction.
The selling price is around $350.00.
For additional specifications, visit the Pentax website.
Read more about the Optio A20 at DPReview.com and CameraTown.com.