Pentax Optio A30 Boots Up, Shoots and Focuses Quicker
Pentax goosed its Optio A series with the A30, a 10-megapixel point-and-shoot camera with a 3x optical lens and a 2.5-inch LCD. Besides a newfangled gyro system to reduce shakiness, the big update on this one is speed, where it's ready to use in 1.8 seconds and has a quick .02-second shutter delay. If you take lots of shots of kids or sports, you know how important it is to have a quick reset, and its faster focus helps, too.
The A30 keeps that manual mode that we liked in the A20, along with 640x480 movies compressed in our fave codec, the DivX format instead of that antiquated motion JPEG of the Canon point-and-shoots.
Another factor to consider is that our buddy David Pogue of The New York Times gave high marks to the A30's predecessor, the Pentax Optio A20, calling it one of the best cameras for under $300. Pentax wasn't talking price or release date yet, but this one hits the numbers.
Labels: a30, digital cameras, optio, optio a30, pentax, pentax optio, pentax optio a30, point-and-shoot
