Pentax unveiled two digital cameras this week, the 26x ultra-zoom Optio X90 and the waterproof W90. The 12-megapixel cameras will go on sale in April with the X90 retailing for $399 and the W90 for $329.
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| (Credit: Pentax) |
Pentax Optio X90
The Pentax Optio X90 follows its predecessor, the X70, with the same 12-megapixel image sensor and 2.7-inch LCD screen but longer 26x lens. The new camera’s 26-676mm lens measures farther than the X70’s 24x, 26-624mm lens; the X90 also adds an Intelligent Zoom function that extends the zoom to 33.9x when the resolution is cropped to 7 megapixels. Both cameras have a DSLR-like body with a large lens barrel and hand grip. Both have the same electronic viewfinder with 200,000 dots, but the new X90 adds a diopter adjustment.
Several improvements were made to features within the camera. The X90 has the same list of manual, priority, scene and movie modes. It can shoot 1280 x 720-pixel HD video, like the older X70, but the new model does it at a faster rate of 30 fps instead of the X70’s choppy 15 fps. Both cameras have face detection, smile capture, and blink detection modes, but the new X90 adds a small face filter that “makes the subject’s face appear slightly smaller than in reality in recorded images,” according to the Feb. 24 press release.
The Pentax X90 accepts SD/SDHC cards, like the X70, but adds Eye-Fi compatibility. The new version also enhances its battery life: the old camera could only grab 170 shots per charge to its lithium-ion battery, but the new X90 can get 255 shots per charge.
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| (Credit: Pentax W90) |
Pentax Optio W90
The Pentax Optio W90 makes a few improvements on its predecessor, the W80, too. Both share the same 12.1-megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom lens, 14-degree cold-proof rating, and dustproof capabilities. The new W90 can go four feet deeper into water with its 20-foot waterproof rating. The new cam can also be dropped from 4 feet instead of the W80’s 3.3 feet (in case you have your ruler out when you drop your camera).
The new W90 has a slightly larger 2.7-inch LCD screen instead of the W80’s 2.5-inch version, and the new model comes in black and pistachio green colors. It is designed to look like a piece of outdoor equipment with its carabiner hook and strap; Pentax promotes its outdoors-friendly camera as something that can hook onto a backpack easily.
The W90 has macro LED lighting, similar to what is included on the Olympus Stylus Tough cameras, that illuminates close-up subjects. Pentax is calling this mode its “digital microscope mode,” but its resolution is limited to 2.1 megapixels. New features to the W-series of waterproof camera include a collage function that combines multiple files into one, an ink rubbing filter that produces contrasty monochromatic images, a pet mode that remembers up to three pet faces, and compatibility with a waterproof remote control. The infrared remote will retail for $30.
