Pentax has a compact camera to be released with a shutter button on both the top and the side. This should be the switch between horizontal and vertical shooting easier. The Optio VS20 will have a suggested retail price of 209 euros.
Next to the shutter button is the zoom ring around it twice. The feature is reminiscent of the optional or integrated vertical grip when dslr’s where also the shutter button and other controls laid down.
The Optio VS20 has a 20x zoom lens with an effective range of 28-560mm in small. Despite the large range, Pentax has the brightness of the lens within a tight bandwidth, with a maximum aperture of f/3.1 in wide angle and a respectable f/4.8 at the telephoto position. The camera also has a macro mode, which from a distance of 1cm to be able to shoot.
Pentax has the new travelzoomcamera equipped with a 1/2,33″ccd image sensor with 16 megapixels and sensor shift image stabilisation. The camera has a 3″lcd with 460K subpixels, a built-in flash and a small grip on the front of the camera. Video footage to 720/30p are possible, and in the video mode can the digital image be stabilised. Also, the camera features a panorama mode.
The Pentax Optio VS20 is from mid February and available in black or a combination of black and white.
