Pentax has released the premium-styled Optio H90 digital compact. It features a 12MP sensor and the 28-140mm equivalent zoom lens seen in the i-10. The company's new 'functional beauty' concept lends the H90 a pleasant minimalism but the lack of optical image stabilization suggests the austerity might have gone a bit far. The H90 can shoot 720p HD movies and is optimized to work with Eye-Fi wireless SD cards.

Press Release:

PENTAX Optio H90

A compact, lightweight, popular-class digital compact camera, packed with an array of
user-friendly features and convenient functions

January 26, 2010: HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division is pleased to announce the launch of the PENTAX Optio H90 digital compact camera. Developed under PENTAX’s new “functional beauty” concept, the Optio H90 combines a functional, no-frills design with a full assortment of solid, basic features to accommodate a variety of subjects and scenes.

Positioned as an easy-to-operate, popular-class model, the Optio H90 features a high-performance wide-to-telephoto 5X optical zoom lens, approximately 12.1 effective megapixels, a large, easy-to-view LCD monitor, and simple operations, all in a compact, lightweight body. To ensure simplified, flawless operation and superb operability, scrupulous attention has been paid to every detail, including the position, shape, texture and quality of each part, and the operability and accessibility of every controller. As the result, the Optio H90 fits comfortably in the photographer’s hand and operates flawlessly under all photographic conditions.

Major Features

Solid, impeccable design, derived from the pursuit of functional beauty
The Optio H90 sports a simple, extremely functional design, with extensive use of straight lines and easy-to-push round control buttons efficiently positioned for easy access. To achieve the unparalleled functional beauty in the Optio H90 as an everyday photographic tool, PENTAX paid the utmost attention to every detail in design, material and finish. High-quality aluminum alloy is used for the camera’s upper front section; the entire lens barrel is coated with matte black paint; and the grip is shaped for a firm, comfortable hold.

Optical 5X zoom lens for wide coverage from wide angle to telephoto
Despite its compact dimensions, the Optio H90 features a high-performance optical 5X zoom lens covering focal lengths from 5.1mm to 25.5mm (equivalent in the 35mm format to approximately 28mm wide angle to 140mm telephoto). Thanks to this wide zoom range, the Optio H90 can be used for a wide variety of subjects and scenes — from spectacular landscapes, majestic architecture and group shots within confined spaces, to tightly cropped snapshots from a distance. When coupled with the Intelligent Zoom function — which allows for even tighter zooming in on the subject — the zoom range can be extended to approximately 31.3 times.

Exceptional image quality
Coupling approximately 12.1 effective megapixels assuring exceptional image resolution with the PENTAX-developed high-performance imaging engine assuring faithful colour reproduction, the Optio H90 delivers brilliant, high-quality images with well-defined details. Even when images are enlarged to larger sizes, the user is assured of sharp, high-resolution prints with edge-to-edge sharpness.

Large, easy-to-view LCD monitor
Despite its compact body, the Optio H90 features a large 2.7-inch high-brightness colour LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 dots. Since this monitor delivers large images and menus, the user can check them at a quick glance and easily make the desired settings and adjustments.

High-quality HD-proportioned movie recording
The Optio H90 captures beautiful, high-definition-TV-quality movie clips (1280 x 720 pixels).* It also comes equipped with the sophisticated Movie SR (Shake Reduction) mode,** which automatically compensates camera shake during movie shooting with the help of exclusive software, making it possible for everyone to enjoy high-quality movie shooting with minimal effort.

Automatic face detection for effortless snapshots
The Optio H90 features the sophisticated Face Detection AF & AE function, a great tool in casual shooting of people. This user-friendly function instantly and accurately detects up to 32 faces in the image field, then optimises focus and exposure settings in a mere 0.03 seconds — even when some of the faces are tilted or turned sideways. The Optio H90 also comes equipped with other convenient features to assist the photographer in capturing beautiful snapshots, including: the Smile Capture mode that automatically releases the shutter the moment the camera detects the subject’s smile; and the Blink Detection function that warns the photographer when the subject’s eyes close at the time of shutter release.

Other features

• Pixel Track SR (Shake Reduction) mode to effectively compensate for camera shake during still-image shooting
• Auto Picture mode for automatic selection of one of eight shooting modes for optimum results
• Digital filters, including Toy Camera and Retro, to add distinctive visual effects to recorded images
• D-Range setting to prevent whitewashed (overexposed) and blacked-out (underexposed) areas in an image
• Auto-tracking AF mode to keep constant focus on a moving subject
• Digital Panorama mode to create a single panoramic picture from as many as three images
• Digital Wide function to compose an extra-wide-angle picture (equivalent to an image taken with an approx. 21mm lens in 35mm format) from two images
• Frame Composite function (with 90 frames stored in the camera) to shoot or compose images with decorative photo frames
• Image Recovery function to recover accidentally erased images
• MediaImpression 2.0 for PENTAX software for image viewing, editing and filing (compatible with the latest operating systems, including Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6)
• Eye-Fi connected: optimised for use with Eye-Fi wireless memory cards
  
  * When the Optio H90’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.

Pentax Optio H90 specifications

Additional images