Capturebuzz

Pentax Corporation has announced the Pentax Optio A40, the latest model in the “Optio A" series. The Optio A40 is Pentax's first digital camera with 12.0 effective megapixels that allows the capture of ultra high-definition images.

The Optio A40 uses a new large, 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor that has a wide light receiving area allowing superior tone reproduction. The camera features an ultra-slim body of just 19mm even though even thought it incorporates a large LCD monitor. High-quality aluminum alloy is used for the body, giving the camera a sophisticated texture.

Features

• 12MP 1/1.7″ Type CCD Sensor
• 37-111mm (35mm equiv) 3x optical zoom lens
• 2.5-inch TFT 232,000 pixels LCD
• Shutter-Priority AE mode and Manual Exposure
• Intelligent zoom and Auto Picture Mode
• Three types of anti-shake functions
• 18 shooting modes and 15 playback modes
• 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 movie clips (30 fps)
• 21MB of built-in-memory
• Compatible with SD and SDHC memory cards
• FotoNation's red eye compensation function for flash shots
• ACDSee for PENTAX 3.0 image viewer/image management software
• Windows Vista support
• Support PictBridge, DPOF functions, Exif Print, and PRINT Image Matching III

New with the Optio A40 is a “Dynamic Range Adjustment" that prevents whiteouts and blackouts by correcting the tones for the highlighted areas or the shadowed areas of a subject with significant differences in contrast. When photographing people against the sun, it is possible to display subjects brightly while keeping the tones of the background.

The Optio A40 is also equipped with a “Face Recognition AF & AE" function that automatically detects and focuses on people’s faces. In addition, the Optio A40 also comes with new functions that apply face recognition technology, such as “Natural Skin Tone" mode, which smoothly presents skin texture based on the detected information, and “Half-length Portrait" mode, which automatically takes a close-up photograph of the bust by trimming the people recognized in photo frame.

Pricing and Availability

The Pentax Optio A40 will be available in black color only in early November for a price of $299.95 (US MSRP).