Pentax Optio P80, E80: Pocket-friendly point-and-shoot cameras

By Joshua Goldman on 06 August 2009, 11:09am

Pentax has launched two new point-and-shoot cameras: the Optio P80 and Optio E80.

The P80 is a refresh of the Optio P70, a decent ultra-compact camera that had the unique feature of letting you shoot vertically, using the control pad on the back, for a camera phone-like experience. It looks like most of the specs are the same, too: 12 megapixels, a 69mm (2.7-inch) LCD, and a 4x, f2.6-5.8, 27.5-110mm-equivalent lens. There's still no optical or sensor-shift image stabilisation, but at least it now records movies at a 720p resolution at 30 frames per second.

The P70 was slow and its photo quality was lacking above ISO 200. We hope those aspects have improved on the P80.

Available in black, white and green, the Optio P80 is expected to be available in September, although UK pricing hasn't yet been announced. It'll cost $200 (£120) in the US.

The E80 is an update to the company's entry-level, AA-battery-powered Optio E70. Unlike the P80, there are some noticeable spec changes.

The E80 gets a larger (69mm) LCD, a brighter, wider 3x, f2.9-5.2, 31.5-94.5mm-equivalent lens, and the ability to capture 720p movies, although only at 15fps. The previous model's large controls with easy-to-read markings are retained, making this a good choice for first-time digital-camera users. Unfortunately, Pentax has taken away its Pixel Track SR shake reduction.

Available in silver or black, the E80 is also expected to be available in September. UK pricing hasn't yet been disclosed but it will go on sale in the US for $130 (£75).

Update: The E80 will cost £100, and the P80 £180.