As with the A10 model on which it is based, the Pentax Optio A20 combines two impressive technologies in a compact body. First, there's the company's 'Sliding Lens System' tech, which removes elements from the optical path as the lens retracts - allowing a slimmer profile when the camera is powered off. Secondly, there's a 'Shake Reduction System' which was newly developed for the A10, and uses two gyro sensors coupled with focusing information and a proprietary CCD shift mechanism to reduce blur caused by camera shake.

Where the Optio A10 had a resolution of eight megapixels from a 1/1.8" imager, the A20 bumps this slightly to a ten megapixel imager. There's also a newly added Shutter Priority mode, and the minimum ISO is raised just slightly (from 50 to 64). Finally, on top of the CCD shift shake reduction and software removal of shake from movies (both seen in the A10), the Pentax A20 adds a third method of combatting blur from camera shake. A "blur reduction" mode trades off 50% of the camera's overall resolution, allowing the maximum ISO sensitivity to be raised from 800 to 1600 megapixels at a resolution of five megapixels - still plenty for the most common print sizes, even with a little cropping.

As with its predecessor, the Pentax A20 sports a large 2.5" LCD display, with a generous 232,000 pixels. Other notable features on the Optio A20 include Secure Digital card storage plus 24MB of built-in memory, and both USB data and NTSC / PAL switcheable video connectivity. One final change of note is that the Pentax A20 adds support for the new SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) standard, which extends the maximum flash card capacity to a theoretical 32GB (4GB cards being the largest at the time of this writing), with sustained transfer rates of up to six megabytes per second.

On paper at least, the Pentax Optio A20 looks to be an even more capable camera than the Optio A10 (which shipped in February 2006) - and impressively this has been achieved at the exact same list price of $350. The Pentax A20 ships from October 2006 in the US market.

Pentax Optio A20
General
Camera Type	Compact
Manufacturer	Pentax
Model Number	A20
Dimensions	3.5 x 2.1 x 0.9" 88.5 x 54.5 x 23.0mm
Weight	145.0 g 5.1 oz
Planned Price	$350.00
Planned Availability	Oct 2006
Image Capture
Sensor Type	1/1.8 CCD 10.37 megapixels (total) 10.00 megapixels (effective)
Filter Type	RGBG
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Image Dimensions	3648 x 2736 (10.0 megapixels) 3072 x 2304 (7.1 megapixels) 2592 x 1944 (5.0 megapixels) 2048 x 1536 (3.1 megapixels) 1600 x 1200 (1.9 megapixels) 1024 x 768 (0.8 megapixels) 640 x 480 (0.3 megapixels)
Image Quality	3 levels
Image Preview / Review
Viewfinder	No
LCD	2.5", 232,000 pixels 100% field of view
Playback Zoom	8.0x max
Lens
Lens Type	smc Pentax 3x optical zoom
Image Stabilization	Yes
Focal Length	7.9 - 23.7mm (actual) 37 - 112mm (35mm equivalent)
Aperture Range	f/2.8 (wide) - f/5.4 (tele) - ???
Focusing System	5 point contrast detection w/ spot, tracking, infinity landscape, and pan focus modes Manual Focus possible (0) steps
Focusing Range	Normal: 14" - infinity (35 cm - infinity) Macro: 2.4" - 16" (6 cm - 40 cm)
Exposure
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600* (blur reduction mode)
Shutter Speed	4 - 1/2000 second
Exposure Modes	Program, Shutter
Metering Modes	TTL metering: Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure Compensation	+/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV increments
White Balance	Image Sensor - Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light, Manual, Manual
Internal Flash	Modes: Auto, Flash-off, Flash-on, Auto + Red-eye reduction, Flash-on + Red-eye reduction, Auto backlight compensation Range: Wide: 0.20 - 23 ft (0.06 - 7.1 m); Tele: Approx. 1.15 - 11 ft (0.35 - 3.5 m)
Creative
Scene Modes	Auto Scene, Night scene, Movie, Voice record, Landscape, Flower, Portrait, Kids, Blur reduction, Surf & Snow, Candle Light, Text, Food, Sport, Frame composition, Pet
Digital Zoom	4x
Self Timer	Yes, 2 or 10 seconds
Movie Format	AVI (MPEG-4 DivX) with audio 640x480 and 320x240 Max. frame-rate: 30 frames per second Max. clip length: 323 seconds (640x480) / 1,052 seconds (320x240)
Storage
Recording Medium	SD/MMC, Built-in
File System	Complies with Design Rule for Camera File System (DCF)
File Format	JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
Connectivity
Video	Yes, NTSC / PAL switchable
Computer	USB 1.1
Other	DC input
Power
Battery Type	Lithium Ion rechargeable
Battery Form Factor	Proprietary D-LI8
Product Bundle
Software	Software (S-SW42)
Battery / Charger	Proprietary D-LI8 Lithium Ion rechargeable battery and charger
Flash Memory	24.0MB built-in memory
Other
Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) compliant	Yes
PictBridge Compliant	Yes
Internal Microphone	Yes
Internal Speaker	Yes
Remote Control	Yes
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