Though I’ve been writing about digital cameras for over 3 years now, I can’t consider myself a professional photographer, simply because I’m not. However I do know when a camera is worth the money, I can see the specifications and who is it going to be happy with a certain model. Take the Pentax gift for example. The Japanese company is planning to release a wide-angle 10 megapixel budget camera to the market, dubbed Pentax Optio E60.

Optio E60 is a 32-96mm equivalent wide-angle lens that helps frame wide portrait shots, scenery, or other very horizontal subjects, has a beginner focus that includes a fully automatic mode that changes all settings itself, has face detection, 3x zoom factor and for those with a little bit more experience it packs ISO-based blur correction.

The new Optio E60 runs on AA batteries (no Li-ion batteries here) and should be shipped on black (only) from October. Price should be close to $140.

My opinion? Too bad it doesn’t have optical image stabilization and what’s with so many (absurd) megapixels?

It seems Pentax likes to release products in pairs and that’s the case with the new Optio A40 and the V10 series of digital cameras. Let’s start with Pentax V10 series because they are on the lower-end that sports 8megapixels, 3x optical zoom and a 3-inch LCD display all these in a thin case just 19mm thick. Pentax V10 will be available from November and the price should be near $250.

Now to talk about the higher-end digital camera released today, Pentax Optio A40, it has nothing less than 12megapixel, a 2.5 LCD display and 3x optical zoom. This one also features face detection and some sort of shake-reducing processes. Optio A40 is going to be available right this month and the price would be near $300.via Engadget

Optio T30 and Optio M30 are two new digital cameras Pentax has released today. The prices have been set to $349.95 for the T30 and at $199.95 for the M30 and they will be available on market starting from March.

Optio T30 features a 7.1 MP imaging sensor that allows taking high quality pictures and displaying them on the 3″ LCD display. Much attention has been directed towards the functions packed in this device and I have to mention the digital shake reduction, face recognition, movie shake reduction (during video recording) just to name a few.

Optio M30 is the cheaper camera released today but it certainly doesn’t lack on the functionality either. It is another 7.1 MP camera offering a 3x optical zoom packed with a lot of goodies just like the T30. The shake reduction, the face recognition and the auto-picture mode are also included and it also offers great video recording capabilities (640×480 at 30 fps).

For more informations regarding the new announced products and more, please visit the producer’s website.

More cameras to be presented at CES 2007. Pentax have just announced its new novice Optio E30, 7.1 effective megapixel camera in advance of the upcoming trade show in Las Vegas.

Powered by AA batteries the new Pentax Optio E30 offers exceptional high-resolution photography with less power. It comes equipped with a 3x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom, 11MB built-in memory and a large 2.4 inch LCD monitor. What are all these for? Effortless picture taking.

The camera is not only compatible with SD cards but also with the newer SDHC formats for SD cards, which usually have bigger capacities (over 2GB). Obviously it’s a novice card, featuring a Green Mode for still pictures without wondering about the exposure time and settings because of the automated setup. Just point and shoot.

The new Pentax Optio E30 will be available from February, and the price is $149.95. Want to see this product or other new ones from Pentax, live? Visit CES 2007 at Booth 31577 in South Hall 3.