Pentax has today announced another addition to the Optio range with the five megapixel SVi. An update to the SV, it also has a 5x optical zoom, 1.8-inch LCD, impressive 3cm macro function and 320x240 movie mode. The only difference appears to the be the fact that the aluminum alloy-bodied camera has an 'enhanced' grip achieved by placing a resin element on the front right hand side. A battery stand which charges the batteries in camera, plus an additional set is also available. The Pentax Optio SVi will be available in June priced £249.

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Press Release:

The Pentax OptioSVi — a Compact Digital with the Power of 5.0 Effective Megapixels, the Versatility of 5X Optical zoom and an Enhanced New Design

Pentax is pleased to introduce the new OptioSVi — a compact, lightweight digital camera designed specifically for power with portability. With 5X optical zoom capability, it gives users a greater freedom of composition, and the new improved grip ensures comfortable handling that adds to shooting confidence.

Major features

1. New design with an enhanced grip
The body of the OptioSVi is crafted from a high-quality aluminum alloy with a fine spindle-pattern effect. The OptioSVi features a transparent resin element on the front right hand side that adds to holding comfort and further complements the overall design.

2. Versatile shooting, from telephoto to macro composition
Equipped with an smc PENTAX lens with a high optical zoom ratio of 5X and a focal length of 5.8-29mm (covering angles of view equivalent to those of a 36-180mm lens in 35mm format), the OptioSVi enables the user to zoom in for portraits or zoom out to capture landscapes. Such zooming power can also be combined with 4X digital zoom to achieve a total of 20X zoom capability, while Super Macro mode allows shooting from as close as 3cm from the subject.

3. Excellent image quality
A 1/2.5-inch, primary colour CCD with a total of 5.36 megapixels ensures high-quality imaging, while the renowned smc PENTAX lens achieves excellent compensation for aberrations and delivers clear, high-contrast images with minimised ghost and flare. Imaging quality is also enhanced thanks to a higher performance ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) that achieves more natural gradations and more accurate colour compensations.

4. Compact, lightweight body
Despite incorporating an impressive 5X optical zoom lens, the OptioSVi boasts compact dimensions of just 91.5mm (W) x 56mm (H) x 28mm (D) — an achievement made possible thanks to the unique PENTAX Sliding Lens System, which offsets the central lens groups from the optical axis and divides the lens elements into two groups for storage. Not only does this advance lead to reduced lens barrel length, but it also brings about a reduction in body depth too. Furthermore, such design success is also complemented by PENTAX expertise in the strategic, space-efficient mounting of parts for reduced weight and size overall.

5. Simple shooting mode selection
The OptioSVi offers the ample range of Program, Picture, Night Scene, Movie, Voice Recording, USER and M (manual selection of Aperture-priority AE and Shutter-priority AE settings) shooting modes — all of which can be selected with just a turn of the mode dial. Once in Picture mode, all the user has to do is select the icon that best matches the scene at hand from a choice of 12 on the Mode Palette on the LCD monitor, then point and shoot for pleasing results.

6. Function settings tailored to individual user tastes
A handy shortcut function lets users gain swift access to settings such as recording image size, white balance, sensitivity and other frequently used functions, while the M (Manual) position on the mode dial can be altered to activate Tv (Shutter-priority AE) or Av (Aperture-priority AE) shooting according to user preferences. All of these settings, can be accessed through use of the Fn (Function) button and the four-way controller, and such customisation capability contributes to a more comfortable, personalized and enjoyable shooting experience.

7. Battery stand charges batteries still in the camera in addition to a set of spares
Not only is the battery stand capable of recharging batteries without them having to be removed from the camera, but it can also house a spare set too that begin charging automatically as soon as the ones in the camera are full. This handy charger is also compatible with currents ranging from 100V to 240V (50/60Hz) too, which makes it ideal to take when traveling around the world for use with the appropriate adapters.

8. Other features
1) Movie shooting with sound, voice recording function
2) AV cable connects the OptioSVi to a TV
3) Choice of 5 kinds of auto bracketing
4) Simple Menu allows the user to hide a portion of the menu display as desired
5) SD memory card compatibility
6) USB 2.0 (High-speed) compatibility
7) Actual-image optical viewfinder
8) World time function (covers 68 cities worldwide)
9) Standard image viewer, ACDSee for PENTAX software
10) PictBridge direct print compatibility
11) DPOF function, Exif Print, PRINT Image Matching compatibility

Pentax Optio SVi specifications