Pentax Launches Budget Digicams

Pentax Corporation has released two new point-and-shoot digital cameras at the lower-end of the price spectrum. The new Optio E40 and M40 are compact digital cameras designed for users who want to enjoy photography effortlessly, the company says.

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The Optio E40 is an entry-level digital camera that uses AA batteries and is designed for simple and intuitive operation. This 8.1 mega pixel camera has “Face Recognition AF & AE” function that is convenient when photographing people, a Digital Shake Reduction function that reduces camera shakes and blurring, Auto picture and “green” mode that automatically chooses the best setting for the camera, and provides up to 12 times magnification.

Other features include:

• A 2.4 inch LCD monitor
• A Panorama mode enables the camera to join the captured images into one picture.
• Recording movie size of up to 640 X 480 pixels
• Calendar display function
• Continuous shooting mode that can records up to 16 640X480 shots in 2 seconds
• SDHC compatibility in addition to conventional SD memory cards
• PictBridge compatibility, DPOF functions, Exif Print and PRINT Image Matching III

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On the other hand, the Optio M40 comes with a slim, metallic body and sports an 8.0 mega pixel sensor. And while it has functions similar to the E40 like its Face Recognition AF & AE function, Digital Shake Reduction function, and auto picture mode, the M40 is also equipped with a powerful flash for brighter photos, 16 different photography modes like “Natural Skin Tone”, “Flower”, and “Food” to set the camera to its optimum setting.

Other features for the M40 include:

• Movie SR (shake reduction) function
• Auto Macro mode 
• Auto-tracking AF continuously focusing on a moving subject.
• Date Imprint function
• World time function for 75 cities (28 times zones)
• Calendar display function 
• 21.9 MB of built-in memory
• FotoNation’s red-eye compensation function for flash shots
• PictBridge compatibility, DPOF functions, Exif Print and PRINT Image Matching III

RRP:

Pentax Optio E40: $199
Pentax Optio M40: $299

See: www.pentax.com.au