Pentax X90 ultrazoom, rugged Optio W90 debut

BY: Andy Stanton, DigitalCameraReview.com Contributor

As PMA 2010 comes to a close, Pentax announces the X90 ultrazoom with a wide angle 26x optical zoom lens. It promises longer battery life over its predecessor, the Pentax X70, and adds an electronic viewfinder. The rugged Pentax W90 is also unveiled today.

Pentax X90
The Pentax X90 ultrazoom offers a very long, wide angle 26X optical zoom lens (26-676mm 35mm equivalent), high speed continuous shooting ability and full manual exposure controls in a sturdy but lightweight body. Pentax fights the urge to crowd more pixels onto the sensor, keeping it at a 12.1 effective megapixel count.

Here are some of the features we can expect from the Pentax X90:

• 12.1 megapixel sensor
• 2.7 inch LCD with anti-reflective coating
• Electronic viewfinder with new diopter adjuster
• Eye-Fi wireless SD memory card connectivity for built-in Wi-Fi capability to transfer photos and videos from the camera to a computer or an online photo or video sharing site
• HD movie capability (1280 x 720p HD video at 30 or 15 frames per second)
• An HDMI port to play back high resolution images and video on HDTVs
• Auto picture that selects among numerous scene modes
• Manual exposure modes including aperture and shutter priority
• Triple shake reduction technology including mechanical sensor-shift, digital pixel tracking and high ISO shake reduction
• Continuous shooting mode of up to 11 frames per second
• Face detection technology that finds up to 32 faces
• Macro mode that captures subjects as close as 1cm
• New, more powerful lithium ion battery.

Pentax Optio W90
The W90 offers enhanced waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, and coldproof performance and features a digital microscope mode with LED lighting to capture small but intriguing subjects. The W90 is designed with the look of mountaineering equipment and includes a woven web fabric strap complete with a carabiner to attach the camera to a backpack and other outdoor gear.

Here are some of the features of the W90:

• Waterproof to 20 feet
• Shockproof to four feet
• Coldproof to sub-freezing temperatures
• 12.1 megapixel sensor and wide angle 5X optical zoom (28-140mm 35mm equivalent)
• Digital microscope mode with LED lens lighting to capture macro subjects as near as 1cm from the camera
• Eye-Fi wireless SD memory card connectivity for built-in Wi-Fi capability to transfer photos and videos from the camera to a computer or an online photo or video sharing site
• 2.7 inch LCD with 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
• HD movie capability (widescreen 720p HD video at 30 frames per second)
• An HDMI port to play back high resolution images and video on HDTVs
• Shake reduction technology
• Face detection, smile capture, blink detection, and processing modes specifically designed for portraiture, and new Pet Recognition that captures up to three pre-programmed pet faces in memory
• Infrared remote control compatibility with Pentax infrared remote controllers
• An autofocus assist lamp to quickly and accurately focus in challenging lighting.

Pricing and availability
The Pentax W90 will ship in April 2010 at a price of $329.95, and the Pentax X90 will ship in April 2010 at a price of $399.95.