Pentax Optio P80

Press Release:

Pentax are pleased to announce the launch of the Pentax Optio P80. With a stylish and ultra-thin body, this new high-performance model features a host of advanced functions.
 
The Optio P80 has a whole host of advanced features, such as a 4X optical zoom, approximately 12 effective Mp for incredible high-resolution images, and a large, easy-to-view 2.7in colour LCD monitor, all in a high-quality metallic shell. Even with this robust feature set, the Optio P80 has been designed to be extremely compact, with a body as thin as 16.5mm in some sections.
 
This new digital compact camera also offers a variety of user-friendly features, including Vertical Snap to facilitate vertical-position shooting; a Smile Capture function to automatically release the shutter when it detects a subject’s smile; and an Auto Picture mode to automatically select one of eight shooting modes for a given subject. The Optio P80 is further enhanced by triple anti-shake protection using Pentax exclusive in-camera software, High-Sensitivity Shake Reduction, and Movie Shake Reduction modes.
 
Main Features of the Pentax Optio P80:

1. Stylish, ultra-slim camera body - The Optio P80 sports a compact, ultra-slim body and high quality design including a an aluminum-alloy case and chrome-plated finish. Its extremely compact and lightweight, with the thinnest part of the body measuring a mere 16.5mm in depth, despite the incorporation of an optical 4X zoom lens and a large 2.7 inch LCD monitor. * PENTAX-original lens storage mechanism, in which the central lens groups are offset from the optical axis and the entire lens is stored in vertical steps into the lens cylinder. As a result, the overall lens length at the fully retracted position is greatly reduced, contributing to a reduction in body depth.
2. Upgraded automatic Face Recognition function - The Optio P80’s face recognition AF & AE function has seen a major upgrade over the previous version. In addition to the ability to automatically detect up to 32 faces in a mere 0.03 seconds, the function can now detect a subject facing diagonally to the camera, or one with a tilted head. It has a smile capture mode, which automatically releases the shutter the moment the camera detects the subject’s smile; and a blink detection function.
3. High-quality HD-proportioned movie recording - The Optio P80 captures beautiful, flawless movie clips at 16:9 high-definition TV proportions (1280 x 720 pixels)** at a frame rate of 30 frames per second. ** When the Optio P80’s AV output terminal is used, movie clips are output as normal image-size data. If the user wishes to playback movie clips at high-definition-TV proportions (1280 x 720 pixels), the data must be transferred to a personal computer for playback.
4. Triple anti-shake protection to prevent different types of camera shake - When shooting still images or recording movies the Optio P80’s new Digital SR (Shake Reduction) mode effectively compensates for camera shake by processing affected images with Pentax exclusive software.
5. Optical 4X zoom lens for excellent zoom coverage from wide angle to telephoto - Despite its compact dimensions, the Optio P80 comes equipped with an optical 4X zoom lens covering focal lengths from 4.9mm to 19.6mm (equivalent in the 35mm format to approximately 27.5mm wide angle to 110mm telephoto).
6. High image quality - Combining approximately 12.1 effective megapixels and high-performance zoom lens, the Optio P80 delivers brilliant, high-quality images with well-defined details. Even when images are enlarged to large-size prints, the user is assured of sharp, high-resolution prints with edge-to-edge sharpness.

Other features:

• Vertical Snap mode, to capture vertical-position images with the same ease of operation as a mobile phone.Auto Picture mode, to automatically select one of the eight shooting modes for the optimum result.
• A variety of digital filters, including the newly added Toy Camera, to add distinctive visual effects to recorded images.
• D-Range setting, to prevent whitewashed (overexposed) and blacked-out (underexposed) areas in images.
• Favorites function, to save reduced-size files of favorite images in the camera and recall them at will.
• Digital Wide mode, to create a panoramic, ultra-wide-angle picture (equivalent to an image taken with an approx. 20mm lens in the 35mm format) from two images.
• Frame composite function (with 90 frames stored in the camera) to shoot or compose images with decorative photo frames.
• Image recovery function, to recover accidentally erased images.

For more information please visit the Pentax website.