Release Issued by Pentax:

Latest Slim, Stylish Model in Optio S Line

GOLDEN, CO. (July 24, 2006)…PENTAX Imaging Company has announced the PENTAX Optio S7 compact digital camera. The Optio S7 is the latest model in the PENTAX Optio S series, which is known for slim, stylish, full-featured digital camera bodies.

In addition to an upgrade to 7.0 effective megapixels, this model features an easy-to-use Blur Reduction High ISO mode to help reduce the effects of camera shake and subject blurring for sharper images even in dim lighting conditions such as night scenes and indoor sporting events. In this mode, the camera adjusts shutter speeds automatically to an ISO as high as 1600 to match the brightness of the subject. The higher sensitivities permit faster shutter speeds.

Also featured in this newest Optio digital is Face Recognition AF & AE, a function that simplifies portrait-taking by automatically detecting the position of the subject's face and adjusting the focus and exposure based on the detected position.

Other features of the PENTAX Optio S7 include a 3X optical zoom, a high resolution 2.5 inch LCD monitor, MPEG-4 DivX® Movie Mode, and 23MB internal memory. In addition, the Optio S7 is the first compact PENTAX digital camera to accept the new SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) memory cards in addition to SD memory cards. SDHC (also know as SD 2.0) is a FAT32-compliant format designed for capacities up to 4GB or more.

PENTAX will ship the Optio S7 in September 2006 on a limited basis for under $300.00 US.