Pentax Optio RZ10

Photography News

Also announced is the PENTAX Optio RZ10 digital compact camera. With a 10X optical zoom lens to capture a wide variety of subjects from travel and landscape to action and sports, the Optio RZ10 offers advanced features and handy functions that make photo shooting simple and effortless for everyone. The 10X zoom offers high-magnification from wide angle to telephoto, as well as powerful macro focus settings.

The camera also features dual Shake Reduction (mechanical sensor-shift and digital) for effective blur reduction and an upgraded Auto Picture mode for “hands-off” selection of the most appropriate shooting settings. Sporting a simple and modern, yet functional exterior design, the camera will be available October 2010 in classic black, pure white, lime and violet for $219.95 USD.

PENTAX OPTIO RZ10 FACT SHEET

Optical 10X zoom lens
Equipped with a high-performance 10X optical zoom lens covering focal lengths from 28mm wide angle to 280mm telephoto (in the 35mm format), the Optio RZ10 captures beautiful images with a wide range of subjects and scenes — from spectacular landscapes to fast-action sports events. The camera also provides high-quality macro focusing as close as one centimeter from the subject. Together with the Intelligent Zoom function for even tighter zooming in on the subject, the zoom range may be extended to approximately 67 times to cover the focal length of 1876mm super-telephoto lens (in the 35mm format).

Automatic shooting mode
The PENTAX-original Auto Picture mode is upgraded with new modes in the RZ10 to automatically select the most appropriate shooting mode for a given subject or scene by accurately assessing various photographic conditions on and around the subject. This user-friendly mode instantly and reliably selects one of 16 shooting modes (eight conventional modes plus eight new modes including Blue Sky, Sunset and Pet) and optimizes various camera settings including sensitivity and shutter speed to assure the best results with minimal effort by the photographers.

Dual shake reduction to assure sharp, blur-free images
With a mechanical CCD-shift-type Shake Reduction (SR) mechanism and Pixel Track SR, the Optio RZ10’s dual shake reduction system minimizes camera shake and image blur more effectively to help ensure sharp images even during sunset, indoors without flash and when shooting with a telephoto lens. High-quality, widescreen HD movie recording Optio RZ10 users can enjoy high-quality movie shooting with minimal effort. The Optio RZ10 captures widescreen HD 720p movie clips (1280 x 720 pixels)* and comes equipped with the Movie SR (Shake Reduction) mode,** to automatically compensate for camera shake during movie shooting with the help of exclusive software.

* When the Optio RZ10’s AV output terminal is used, movie clips are output as normal image-size data. If the user wishes to play back movie clips at high-definition TV proportions (1280 x 720 pixels), the data must be transferred to a personal computer for playback.

** When the Movie SR mode is selected, the angle of view becomes narrower than normal shooting.

Exceptional image quality
By coupling approximately 14 effective megapixels assuring exceptional image resolution with a high-performance imaging engine capable of reproducing true-to-life colors, the Optio RZ10 delivers brilliant, high-quality images with well-defined details. Even when images are enlarged to large sizes, users are assured of sharp, high-resolution prints with outstanding edge-to-edge sharpness.

Automatic face detection for beautiful, lively snapshots
The Optio RZ10 features the sophisticated Face Detection AF & AE function. This instantly and accurately detects up to 32 faces within the image field, then catches them in sharp focus and in optimum exposure in as little as 0.03 seconds — even when heads are tilted or faces are angled slightly away from the camera. The Optio RZ10 also comes equipped with other convenient features to assist the photographer in capturing beautiful, lively snapshots. These include: Smile Capture that automatically releases the shutter the moment the camera detects the subject’s smile; and Blink Detection function that warns the photographer when the subject’s eyes close at the time of shutter release.

Unique Pet mode for automatic detection of dog and cat faces
The Optio RZ10 features an improved Pet mode, which comes in handy when taking pictures of dogs and cats. This upgraded function not only assures far greater accuracy in detecting three pre-registered faces of dogs and cats, but is also capable of automatically detecting unregistered faces of dogs and cats, unlike the previous function.

Casual, all-purpose design for every occasion
The Optio RZ10’s casual but stylish design makes it perfect to accompany its owner anywhere and on all occasions — on trips, for day-to-day snapshots, and at holiday events. It is designed to be functional and maneuverable, while meticulous attention has been given to every part of the camera body ergonomics, including: smoothly rounded edges; an easy-to-hold, rubber-coated grip; and a beautiful, lustrous alumite-finish black lens barrel. In addition to the standard color of chic black, the Optio RZ10 also comes in three vivid, lively colors designed to give it a sportier appearance.

Other features

• Large, easy-to-view 2.7 inch color LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 dots
• Burst Shooting of up to 40 images at a maximum speed of 9.1 images per second
• Digital filters, including Toy Camera and Retro, to add creative visual effects
• Choice of three image sizes (4:3, 16:9 and 1:1) to accommodate different applications
• D-Range setting to prevent whitewashed (overexposed) and black-out (underexposed) areas in an image
• Digital Panorama mode to effortlessly create a single panoramic picture from as many as three images
• MediaImpression 2.0 for PENTAX software for image viewing, editing and filing application (compatible with the latest operating systems, including Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6)
• Eye-Fi connected: optimized for use with Eye-Fi wireless memory cards