Pixiq

There might be a constant background wittering that compact cameras are dying, being overtaken by camera phones, but camera manufacturers haven't given up on them yet - far from it, when you look at the new releases announced at CES - and that includes Pentax, who announced the Optio VS 20 today.

And I have to say, based on the spec, the VS20 is an alright little point-and-shoot.

It has a 20× optical zoom, which is plenty for anybody, being the 35mm equivalent of 28-560mm. If you want to get in close and shoot tiny things, you can focus as close as 1cm for macro shots.

The sensor has 16 megapixels of resolution and there're three anti-shake facilities to help ensure sharp images. First of all there's the CCD-shift-type shake reduction mechanism, which responds to lens length and shooting conditions. Digital SR mode adjusts ISO automatically depending on light levels, whilst Movie SR is there to help achieve blur-free videos. Videos, by the way, can be shot in 720p HD using the dedicated video button.

It comes with 15 different shooting modes when it is auto picture mode, covering everything from blue sky to sunset. Depending on what you're shooting, the camera will adjust its settings accordingly to ensure that you get the picture.

Its shooting modes shouldn't be confused with its scene modes, of which there are three new ones: handheld night snap, fish-eye, and sketch, in addition to its other filters. 

There's a face recognition function, smile capture that releases the shutter when it detects the subject smiling (always seems dangerous to me), and blink detection, to alert you if your subject blinks inconveniently. But, it will also respond to one of Pentax's wireless remote controls, which is rather handy.

If you want to stitch together three shots to make a panorama, the VS20 has a digital panorama mode to enable that.

In addition to the regular filters and capture options gimmicks, the VS20 comes with an additional shutter release button and zoom lever, for use when shooting vertically. There's a vertically-positioned tripod mount, too. I can't say that a vertical shooting feature is going to make me run out and buy the VS20, but at a smidge under £200, it's worth taking a look at it if you're someone who wants a touch more capability in a point-and-shoot than a camera phone affords you.

It'll be available in black or white at the end of February 2012.

More recent news...

1. Lytro + Apple = next thing in camera phones? (25 January 2012)
2. Sony's sniffing around a stake in Olympus (25 January 2012)
3. Picnik's been rained-off by Google (22 January 2012)
4. The weekly round-up (21 January 2012)
5. Writing good press releases - a quick and dirty guide (20 January 2012)

© Daniela Bowker. This article has been licensed for use on Pixiq only. Please do not reproduce wholly or in part without a licence.