Digital Camera News

Pentax Announces Entry-Level Optio60

July 22, 2005 – Pentax has announced another addition to their Optio line today, the 6.0 megapixel Optio60. The 3.6 x 2.4 x 1.5 inch Optio60 (spec sheet) targets introductory level point-and-shoot users, and Pentax hopes that its high resolution count and glass lens will differentiate it from the dense pack of entry level offerings. The Optio60 is scheduled to begin shipping next month for an estimated price of $200 (USD).

Michelle Martin, Public Relations Coordinator PENTAX Imaging Company, A Division of PENTAX America, Inc. describes their new digital offering as 'Easy-to-use and hard to put down, the Optio60 offers simplicity with room to grow." Martin continued, saying "the price and the Simple menu make it appealing for new users and memory keepers, while the manual exposure options and the Webcam connectivity help make it a digital camera that will be useful for years to come.'

The Optio60 sports a 3x optical zoom lens, which equates to a 36-108mm focal range in 35mm format. The lens is composed of six groups in seven elements, with 2 aspherical. The Optio60 also includes a macro mode capable of shooting as close as 5cm from the front of the lens.

The Optio60 also offers a bit more control than many other models at this price point which are currently geared towards point-and-shoot or beginning users. In addition to Simple, Program, and selectable Picture modes (Night Scene, Landscape, Portrait and Sport modes), users of the Optio60 can select either Aperture or Shutter priority modes as well as a Metered manual mode, all of which will enable users to better shape the exposure. Available sensitivity extends from ISO 64 – 200. Images can be composed and viewed on the camera’s 2.0-inch TFT LCD display of 130,000 pixels, or framed with the Optio60’s optical viewfinder, which comes with a dioptric adjustment to allow users to calibrate the window to their personal eyesight.

Still images or video footage at a resolution of 320 x 240 at 20 frames per second can be recorded to the camera’s 12MB of internal memory or captured on an optional SD card. The Optio60 is powered by two AA batteries and is PictBridge compliant, and can also be used as a webcam.