Pentax Optio A20 and Optio M20 Digital Cameras Announced

Pentax has announced two updates to its Optio line of compact Point and Shoot digital cameras.  The Pentax Optio A20 features 10 megapixels and three methods of providing anti-shake.  It will be available in September for under $350.  The Pentax Optio M20 features 7 megapixels and long AA battery life.  It will be available in September for under $200.

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Pentax Optio A20

The A20 is the upgrade to the Optio A10 that was introduced at the beginning of this year.  The A20 bumps up the capture resolution to 10 megapixels and also adds support for SDHC memory cards.  Pentax is also marketing the A20 as having three methods of anti-shake:

• Shake Reduction - a CCD shift image stabilization mechanism
• Blur Reduction mode - the camera will boost sensitivity to ISO 1600 to increase shutter speed
• Movie Anti-shake - camera shake during movies can be corrected automatically with software

Other Pentax Optio A20 specifications:

• New Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) that provides better image processing power
• Face Recognition AE & AF
• Tracking AF
• DivX movies up to resolutions of 640x480 at 30 fps
• Auto picture mode - the camera selects the best mode for the shooting conditions
• In-camera red-eye correction

Pentax Optio M20

The M20 is also an upgrade.  Its predecessor, the M10, offered 6 megapixels.  The M20 features 7 megapixels, with a 2.5 inch LCD and 3x optical zoom.  The M20 is powered by 2 AA batteries.  If you use alkaline batteries, you will get approximately 220 shots.  If you try lithium batteries, you will get approximately 700 shots.

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Other Pentax Optio M20 specifications:

• Face Recognition AE & AF
• Auto picture mode - the camera selects the best mode for the shooting conditions
• High ISO blur reduction (up to ISO 1600)
• Tracking AF
• Capture movies up to resolutions of 640x480 at 30 fps
• Auto picture mode - the camera selects the best mode for the shooting conditions
• In-camera red-eye correction
• SDHC compatible