Pentax Unveils X90 Mega Zoom, W90 All-Weather Cameras

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 3/8/2010

GOLDEN, COLO. — Pentax added a pair of point-and-shoot digicam models targeted at photographers looking for either advanced shooting capability or the ability to shoot quality photos in a range of outdoor conditions, respectively.

The new offerings include the X90 (shipping in April, $399 suggested retail), an advanced mega-zoom camera with a 26x super-telephoto range, and the W90 (April, $329 suggested retail), which is the company’s 11th-generation weatherproof digital still camera, offering an edgy form factor for active photographers.

The mega-zoom lens on the X90 has a 26-676mm equivalent range, and the 1/2.33-inch interline transfer CCD sensor offers 12.1-megapixel resolution. Also included are a 2.7-inch LCD viewscreen with anti-reflection coating and an electronic viewfi nder with diopter adjustment.

The camera was designed to bring the form factor and much of the functionality of a d-SLR into a compact point-andshoot with a full suite of both easy-to-use automatic features and manual override controls for creativity.