Terry Sullivan has recently posted his review on Pentax *ist DS2, a 6.1 megapixel CCD sensor Digital SLR camera with 2.5″ LCD screen and the ability to run on AA batteries. He gives the camera 2 out of 5 stars and writes

“Our daylight shots revealed little noise at 100 or 400 ISO, a bit more at 800, and a significant increase at 1600 and 3200, all of which is pretty standard. But compared with the D50, the DS2 introduced more grain and colored noise. We were also disappointed with the quality of the daylight still life, which was underexposed by about 1.5 to 2 stops, resulting in a dark image. Moreover, the picture lacked the sharpness that a D-SLR should produce. Color saturation was good, however, especially in the reds and yellows, despite the underexposure. There was a bit of fringing in the image, but nothing too conspicuous.”

>> Pentax *ist DS2 Latest Price

Pentax Optio M10 is a point-and-shoot digital camera (released on 15.02.06), featuring a 6.0 megapixels (CCD sensor) with 3x optical zoom (equivalent to 35-105mm) and a 2.5″ LCD screen. It’s measuring 3.5 x 2.3 x 1.0 inches (89 x 60 x 25mm), 120 g (4.2 oz) and it’s able to take up to 900 shots with lithium AA batteries as the Optio M10 incorporates an ultra-efficient power management system.

>> REVIEWS (last update: 10.03.06)

Read more »

TrustedReview has posted their review on Pentax Optio WPi, a 6.0 Megapixel point-and-shoot water resistant digital camera with 3x optical zoom and 2.0″ LCD screen.

“If you have a camera-killing lifestyle but enjoy taking pictures, then the WPi is the ideal solution. It is well made, looks superb, handles well, has reasonably good image quality and can survive and take pictures in conditions that would destroy any other camera. There’s nothing else on the market like it.”

>> Pentax Optio WPi Sample Photos
>> Pentax Optio WPi Latest Price

DigitalCameraReview has posted their review on Pentax Optio WPi, a 6.0 Megapixel point-and-shoot water resistant digital camera with 3x optical zoom and 2.0″ LCD screen.

“The Pentax Optio WPi is a great choice if you’re looking for a waterproof camera (and don’t need to go to great depths). The waterproof, dustproof body has a rugged feel, but a stylish look. The camera also takes good, 6 megapixel images in a variety of conditions. I experienced good exposures in tough lighting situations, and good, if a bit saturated, colors. Noise levels were acceptable and the flash was enough to illuminate dark, normal-sized rooms.

The Pentax Optio WPi is a great option for someone who thinks they’ll need a camera in wet conditions. For example, I would love to take my digital SLR fly fishing with me, but it’s not going to happen. Having a waterproof Optio WPi would be great for capturing an image of the one that didn’t get away and then videoing the release underwater.”

THORNTON, COLO., 31 January 2006 – GeoSpatial Experts today unveiled a new GPS photo mapping product bundle that includes a Pentax digital camera, Garmin handheld GPS receiver and the GeoSpatial Experts GPS-Photo Link software. GeoSpatial Experts will be demonstrating all three products January 31-February 2 at the ESRI Federal Users Conference in Washington, D.C.

The Pentax-Garmin package is the third GPS-Photo Link mapping product bundle offered by GeoSpatial Experts, the one-stop shop for photographic mapping needs. Due to relatively low cost of the camera and GPS receiver, GeoSpatial Experts views this as the perfect hardware/software combination for first-time photo mapping users.

Read more »

PENTAX Imaging Company has announced a significant price adjustment on the *ist DL digital SLR camera with 18-55 DA lens kit. The price reduction from $799.95 US to $599.95 US takes effect February 1, 2006.

“Digital single lens reflex cameras with interchangeable lenses are gaining in popularity as products have become easier-to-use and prices have fallen,” said Ed Lee, Director, Consumer Services and Digital Photography Trends Service InfoTrends, Inc. “Consumers wavering between a higher-end compact digital and a digital SLR will take note of this new PENTAX pricing as will consumers who have been considering an upgrade to a digital SLR,” added Lee.

Read more »

Pentax has recently announced the latest firmware update version 1.01 for the Pentax Optio SV/SVi point-and-shoot digital cameras. The latest firmware which is available for both windows and macs system will improve the metering performance when using interval shooting.

- Download Optio SV firmware version 1.01 for Windows or Mac
- Download Optio SVi firmware version 1.01 for Windows or Mac
- Read Firmware version 1.01 Manual

Steve’s Digicams has recently posted a review on Pentax Optio WPi, a 6.0 Megapixel point-and-shoot water resistant digital camera with 3x optical zoom and 2.0″ LCD screen.

“The WPi features a Pentax 3x optical zoom that helps produce sharp images throughout its range, with average barrel distortion at wide angle and slight pincushioning at full telephoto. The operation of the optical zoom is smooth and quiet, but not continuous; it moves through its 38-114mm range in 10 distinct steps, more than adequate for composing most shots. The 9-point autofocus system did very well in most situations, however it would benefit greatly from a focus-assist lamp when shooting in low ambient lighting; focus will fail more often than not in these conditions.

Bottom line - Pentax has yet again created a “cool” digicam that can capture great photos whether you’re at home, in the office, or taking a dip in the pool. With 6-megapixels, you have plenty of resolution to work with and will have no problem making beautiful 8×10-inch or larger prints. Priced at around $299, it offers an excellent value for such a versatile little camera.”

UK T3 Magazine has recently posted a small review on Pentax Optio S6, a 6.0 Megapixel point-and-shoot digital camera with 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5″ LCD Screen. Here’s the verdict:

“The 2.5-inch LCD really is fantastic. It’s extremely responsive, so you get almost no smear at all as you pan the camera around to follow your moving subjects. It’s also sharp enough to show up any facial hair with stunning clarity on your close-up portraits.

Picture quality is good – in snaps of Sony’s AIBO robot dog doing his thing, every bit of dust on his snout shows up crisply, as do all the reflections on his glossy casing. Colours, meanwhile, are bright, but slightly lack contrast which can make some images seem a little two-dimensional.”

>> Pentax Optio S6 Latest Price

Cameras.co.uk has posted their review on Pentax Optio S6, a 6.0 Megapixel digital camera with 3x optical zoom lens. Here’s what they say about the image quality:

” The first and most important issue is that a number of the images I have taken look pixilated. Pixilated is where you can start to see individual pixels in the picture. This gives photos a rough look with a lack of smoothness to the shot. In my test shots this was especially noticeable in the skies. In fact this is likely to show up in any areas where there is a large section of similar colour.

My second gripe is the sharpness of the images. If you are planning to produce relatively small prints of around 4×6″ or perhaps 5×7″ this issue is unlikely to be too much of an issue. Go any larger and you will start to see a fall off in the sharpness of your photos, especially away from the centre and towards the corners. “