Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

Pentax has updated their line of rugged compacts again with the WG-2. Strangely the press release makes a claim that this is the 13th generation. I thought superstitions would mean people tend to not talk about such things. Oh well! The camera itself has some updates, with a new 16 megapixel sensor (backlit CMOS, so hopefully it is not too terrible), a 3" HVGA LCD, and 1080p videos at 30 FPS in h.264. The lens seems to be the same unit as the WG-1, a 5x 28-140mm equivalent f/3.5-5.5 lens which does not appear to be stabilised. Also carried forward are the six LED lights surrounding the lens to act as lighting for close-up shots. Pretty neat. The camera is rated to be waterproof to 40 feet (12 metres), shockproof from 5 feet (1.5 metres), freezeproof to 14F (-10C) and dustproof. Ships in March for US$400 for the GPS version, and US$350 for the one without. More photos and details at the read link.

Pentax, recently acquired by Ricoh, is now trying to be a little crazier than the competition by offering this travel zoom camera with vertical shooting controls, along with a tripod socket for mounting the camera vertically on a tripod. Almost like a SLR with a vertical grip. I am not sure how well it will handle in portrait orientation, but I certainly can see that it probably is not the most pressing concern for most buyers of such digital cameras. The specifications are not much to shout about as well. The most interesting thing is probably the lens, a 20x optical affair at 28-570mm equivalent f/3.1-4.8 lens, with a sensor-shift stabilised 16 megapixel sensor, a 3" HVGA LCD, and 720p video mode. The camera will go on sale in February for US$250.

"Guess what, amateur shooters? The superzoom just got shrunk. Pentax has just outed a new compact that touts a downright impressive 18x optical zoomer (25-450mm equivalent), with the snooping lens married to a 16 megapixel sensor..."

Pentax has a new compact travel zoom out, the Optio RZ18, which packs a 18x optically stabilised 25-450mm f/3.5-5.9 lens, a 16 megapixel sensor, 3" HVGA LCD, and 720p video at 30 FPS. The camera looks nice and compact, but Pentax's recent compacts have been pretty dismal of late. Any roundup that includes a Pentax camera tends to have the Pentax placed among the last. 16 megapixels in that tiny sensor is not going to help either. Available in October for US$300.

"Pentax today introduced their new Optio RS1500, a compact camera that lets you replace the front faceplate with your own custom design. It's the follow-up to the Optio RS1000 which did the same thing, but changing the faceplate no longer requires removing tiny screws."

While this is not a new feature for an Optio compact camera, it is now an easier feature to take advantage of. If you are in the market for a new compact camera and you like to customize your electronic devices with "skins", then this camera should probably be on your short list. There are ten faceplates right in the box, and Optio provides software you can download to create custom designs. The camera is available in pearl white or silver (without a faceplate).

Pentax has announced a new camera rugged Optio line, the Optio WG-1. The WG-1 has two models, one with GPS and one without, but are otherwise the same camera. The WG-1 has by now a pretty basic set of features, including a 14 megapixel CCD sensor, 28-140mm equivalent zoom lens with no stated aperture range, 2.7" QVGA LCD, 720p video at 30 FPS, and of course, a body that is waterproof to 33 feet/100m, shockproof from 5 feet/1.5m, crushproof to 220 lbs/100kg, freezeproof to 14F/-10C, and dustproof to boot. Oh, and see those white spots around the lens? Those are LEDs to light up the subject when in macro mode. The WG-1 will be available in April, with the GPS version priced at US$400, and the non-GPS version priced at US$349.

Also announced is a special K-5 edition, clad in a silver colour, and ships with a special edition of the 40mm f/2.8 DA Limited lens. Is it me or is Pentax starting to go down the Leica route with all these funny special editions? Picture of the K-5 after the break.

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Following up on the DSLR side of things, Pentax also has launched two compacts; the first is reminiscent of its Optio S series with its small metal body and circular grain design, which tends to get dirt stuck in, speaking from personal experience. The RS1000 comes with a 28-110mm equivalent lens, 3" QVGA LCD and 720p movie mode, and 14.1 megapixel sensor (which is a bit much). In addition to being available in black and white, the RS1000 features err, skins to personalise the camera. The RS1000 is priced at a cheap US$150.

On a side note, I remember using my Optio S5n when on holiday in NZ in 2005 and it was a pretty great camera except it had occasional focus hiccups. I did appreciate the UI and its ability to set the "Green Button" (a Pentax feature) to either idiot mode or quick-settings-for-advanced-users mode. It's something more manufacturers should adopt.

The other compact is the budget RZ10, a 14 megapixel camera with a 28-280mm equivalent 10x zoom lens, with a 720p movie mode, and a low price of US$220 to go. Not many outstanding features at this price point for a compact travel zoom, but it does boast a 9 FPS high speed shooting mode. It does look a bit toy like though; the green is especially unappealing. Both cameras will be available next month. Photo of the (non-green) RZ10 and a sample of the RS1000 skins after the break.

Pentax Optio RS1000 News Source: DPReview.com

Pentax Optio RZ10 News Source: DPReview.com

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"It's now more than a year since we published our last superzoom group test and despite the hype surrounding mirrorless system cameras such as Micro Four Thirds or the Sony NEX, and the fact that entry level DSLRs are becoming more and more affordable, superzoom cameras are as popular with consumers as ever. It is easy to see why. The combination of a large zoom range from wideangle to super telephoto, DSLR-like ergonomics and an attractive price point guarantee that these cameras appeal to a very broad audience."

Following up on their travel zoom roundup, Digital Photography Review has released one on the travel zoom's big brothers; the super zoom cameras. As mentioned, despite mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras being the new must-have for manufacturers, the appeal of such "bridge" cameras still lies in their versatility at a low cost. This time round, the winners are not so surprising. Still, I can't imagine going back to using thumbnail-sized sensors in my cameras!

"The Pentax Optio X90 is a super-zoom digital camera that looks and feels like a DSLR. Featuring a 26x, 26-676mm lens with a sensor-shift Shake Reduction system, the X90 should cover most photographic bases. Also on offer are a 12 megapixel sensor, 720p HD movies with an HDMI port, electronic viewfinder and a 2.7 inch LCD screen, Aperture-Priority, Shutter-Priority and Manual shooting modes, and a 1cm macro mode."

Another day, another superzoom. Photography Blog takes a look at Pentax's offering and are quite impressed by it. Me? I'll say I'm getting bored of the me-too cameras coming out in this category. Every big photography brand has one, and a few (including the Pentax) are quite similar. Given the zoom progression (20x, 24x, 26x etc) happening in roughly the same time from different manufacturers, I'm inclined to believe that there's one or two ODMs out there making the same camera but customised for each different brand name. The digital camera market is a very competitive nowadays so many of the big brands are willing to sub-contract out the mass-market cameras to cut costs, then do a minimum of marketing and hope enough sales are made based on brand-name recognition. I suspect this brings in a good sum of cash to keep other operations afloat.

On the camera proper: It's got a big zoom, it's not too expensive, um, that's not really more to it. Need long focal lengths on the cheap, get one of these. I personally would take a look at the Fujifilm HS10 because of the potentially better sensor involved, as well as an even bigger zoom ratio, but I won't get my hopes up there as well. Like I said, this area of the market feels a bit tired.