Pentax Announces 5MP Optio S5n

by , 10:50 AM EST, February 14th, 2005

Pentax announced Monday a new five megapixel, ultra-compact model for its Optio S series.

Imaging Resource described the camera as: "The Pentax Optio S5n, (see photo below) at 4.2 ounces, couples its 5.25 megapixels CCD imager with an smc Pentax 3x optical zoom lens equivalent to 35.6 - 107mm on a 35mm camera. As with other recent S-series models, the lens features Pentax's unusual 'sliding lens system', which removes elements from the optical path as the lens retracts, reducing its overall size to 0.8 inches.

Other features include a 2.0-inch LCD display with 110,000 pixels, four-mode internal flash, eleven scene modes, USB 2.0 and video connectivity, SD/MMC and 9.6 megabytes of built in memory for storage, and power from a rechargeable D-LI8 Lithium Ion battery. The Optio S5n comes with a stand which charges spare batteries and those in the camera."

The S5n records movies with 640x480 recording pixels at the rate of 30 frames per second. The OptioS5n is also a first in the OptioS series in that it offers the new advantage of MPEG-4 image compression.

The OptioS5n will be available in March, the company said. US pricing and availability have not yet been announced. The camera will retail for £250 in the United Kingdom, or about US$470, based on the current exchange rate.

For more information on the Pentax Optio S5n, visit Imaging Resource.

The Pentax Optio S5n
(Photo courtesy of Imaging Resource)