Pentax unveils Optio I-10

The Optio I-10’s unique, eye-catching design is reminiscent of the beloved SLR cameras of yesteryear; it will surely create a sense of nostalgia for many users. By efficiently positioning components such as a flash unit and a speaker to the upper middle section of the camera body, and by reducing the height of both sides to a minimum, Pentax was able to create this original SLR-shaped body with an elevated mid section. The centre section of the camera’s front panel is elegantly textured to give a high-quality appearance and a pleasing texture, while all other elements, including the near-centred lens and the Pentax logo just above it, have been carefully designed to enhance the SLR camera image.

Despite its compact dimensions, the Optio I-10 features an optical 5X zoom lens covering focal lengths from 5.1mm to 25.5mm (equivalent in the 35mm format to approximately 28mm wide angle to 140mm telephoto). This wide zoom range means the Optio I-10 easily handles a wide variety of subjects and scenes — from breathtaking landscapes, majestic architecture and group shots in a confined space, to tightly cropped photos shot from a distance. When coupled with the Intelligent Zoom function, which allows even tighter zooming in on the subject, the zoom range can be extended to approximately 31.3 times.

Combining the exceptional image resolution provided by approximately 12.1 effective megapixels, the faithful colour reproduction of the Pentax-developed high-performance imaging engine, and the camera’s high-performance Pentax zoom lens, the Optio I-10 delivers brilliant, high-quality images with well-defined details. Even when enlarged to larger sizes, the images ensure sharp, high-resolution prints with edge-to-edge sharpness.

The Optio I-10 incorporates an advanced CCD-shift-type SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism, which effectively compensates for camera shake by shifting the camera’s image sensor (CCD) horizontally and vertically in relation to the amount of shake detected by the high-accuracy gyro sensor. This sophisticated mechanism offers an outstanding camera-shake compensation effect equivalent to approximately up to 2.5 shutter steps, even under shake-prone shooting conditions — such as when using a telephoto lens, or when shooting a sunset or indoor scene with the incident light only.

The Optio I-10 comes equipped with 11 digital filters to add various visual effects to recorded images without the need for a computer. In addition to the conventional Monochrome and Sepia filters and the creative Toy Camera and Soft filters, the Optio I-10 now offers the new Starburst filter, which creates cross-, heart- or star-shaped highlights from nighttime illuminations or reflections on the water. The user can even apply multiple filters to a single image.