Pentax X70 24x Ultra Zoom Available to Pre-Order [X70 goes Head to Head with Nikon P90 & Olympus SP-590UZ]

Being that we’re in the market ourselves for a new ultra zoom compact (bridge) digital camera we note with interest that the Pentax X70 ultra zoom compact is now available to pre-order directly from Pentax’s web store.

Personally, at the time of writing, and by way of a side note, we’re torn between three particular possibilities, the Pentax X70, the Nikon CoolPix P90 and the Olympus SP-590UZ, all of which are up and coming ultra zoom compacts offering either 24x (Pentax X70 and Nikon CoolPix P90) or 26x optical zoom in the case of the Olympus SP-590UZ but, in truth, right now it’s the Pentax X70 that has the edge, certainly as far as we’re concerned.

So, what does the Pentax X70 have to offer?

The Pentax X70, like the Nikon P90 and the Olympus SP-590UZ, comes with 12 megapixel CMOS sensor (actually, the P90 sports a 12.1 sensor, but let’s not quibble), and 2.7″ LCD screen supplemented by electronic viewfinder. As you’d expect, the X70 also offers video capture capabilities at either a not unreasonable 720p HD resolution (at 15fps) or 848 x 480, VGA or QVGA resolutions. By way of contrast, the SP-590UZ appears to only offer a VGA video capture at 30fps whilst the P90, again, tops out at a note especially impressive 640 x 480 (so, in terms of video capture, the Pentax X70 is undoubtedly way out in front if you’re looking for a UZ compact camera capable of reasonable video capture).

Other highlights concerning the Pentax X70 include Triple Shake Reduction technology (inclusive of Movie Shake Reduction for blur-free video capture), high speed continuous shooting at 11fps (the SP-590UZ manages 11fps, whilst the P90 clocks in at 15fps incidentally), face detection capable of locking onto up to 32 faces in a single frame in a mere 0.03 seconds (the SP-590UZ manages 11, whilst we’re unable at this stage to ascertain what the P90 offers in this respect). Naturally, as with both other cameras, the Pentax X70 comes with a veritable host of scene modes as well as offering the user the ability to get a little more hands on if so desired (hence its bridge camera status).

In terms of pricing, the Pentax X70 has just become available to pre-order for just shy of the $400 mark whilst, at this stage, we lack final pricing info concerning the other two contenders – its not unreasonable to assume that they’ll fall into the same pricing bracket however in being in direct competition with each other.

On paper, at least, the Pentax X70 certainly appears to have the edge but we are keenly awaiting detailed hands-on reviews before flexing the plastic and, the moment we are tipped as to reviews being completed, we’ll update this post accordingly for those that, like us, have a new ultra zoom compact digital camera in mind. That said, the only thing right now that could possibly knock the X70 off the top of our potential purchase list is if it performs particularly poorly (and we really cannot envisage this happening – it is a Pentax after all).

Of course, at a later stage, when all three cameras have been released, if any readers have any personal reviews they would be happy to share with us, please, as ever, feel free to contact us – we’d love to hear about your hands on experiences.