Pentax goes old school with the launch of two new Optio models, the I10 and H90, that pack the company’s latest imaging tech into compact, retro-styled shells. The I10 is obviously designed with vintage film SLRs in mind, although technically, it’s just an advanced compact, and not a DSLR kit.
Available in white or black body colors, the I10 features a 12MP sensor paired with a wide-angle 28-140mm equivalent lens with a 5X optical zoom range—giving this cam a nice range of view whether you’re shooting a close subject or landscape scenery. It also packs a 2.7-inch wide (16:9) screen for shooting 720p video, as well as in-cam tech that includes “Triple Shake Reduction” technology made up of a mechanical shift sensor, digital Pixel Track shake reduction, and Movie shake reduction for easy, sharp images even in low light. Standard point-and-shoot features include face detection, smile capture, blink detection, and after-shot processing modes for fixing skin tones and composition.
The H90 is designed with a retro-rangefinder feel to it, with a boxy body and a two-tone color scheme. The specs describe features that make it technically similar to the I10: the same resolution, lens, and display size, as well as similar shake-reduction and shot optimizing tech. Looking at the release, we can’t tell the spec differences between the two cams (aside from the design, of course), but if all you want is a retro-styled snapper, the H9 is significantly cheaper at $180, compared to the I10’s $300 price tag—it’s more compact too.
Pentax also released an entry-level point-and-shoot to go with the two retro-cams called the E90. The compact cam dials down the spec to a 10MP sensor, a 32-96mm lens with a 3X optical zoom, and basic, ISO-only shake-reduction for $100.
Tags: Digital Cameras, Optio, Pentax
