Pentax Set to Release Optio V20 Point & Shoot Digital Camera [Successor to (revision of) the Optio V10]

Following on from the release of their Optio V10 some six months ago, Pentax have announced that their new Optio V20 point and shoot digital camera, which comes with both smile and blink detection and an 8 megapixel CMOS sensor – the same as the Optio V10 – is set for release in Japan next month.

In the main, the Optio V20 is very much unchanged from Pentax’s Optio V10 model though the V10 does sport a 5x optical zoom as opposed to the V10’s 3x optical zoom, and Digital SR mode has been increased to encompass ISO 3200 and ISO 6400 settings which, whilst welcomed, is hardly a revelation (the V20 seems, on the face of it, to merely be a somewhat revamped version of the V10).

Highlights, as far as they go for a doubtless capable though somewhat less then inspiring point and shoot camera, include a large 3” LCD display with 170º viewing angle, face recognition – as well as the aforementioned smile detection and blink detection – a focal length of 36~180mm equivalent, as well as a series of (all the usual) scene modes allowing for simple, care free shooting of landscapes, portraits, et al.

Pentax’s Optio V20 is due to go on sale in Japan next month (June) with a purported price tag equivalent to £288.

[via]