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.

The Pentax S7 camera includes the new Face Recognition AF & AE (This camera’s Face Recognition AF & AE function uses the Face Tracker face-recognition technology from FotoNation) function, which allows you to take bright, beautiful photos of people with perfectly focused faces free of shadows caused by exposing for the background or for the colors of clothing. This useful function automatically detects the position of the subject’s anywhere in the photo frame and then adjusts the focus and optimizes the exposure for 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.

• Approx. 232,000 pixels 2.5-inch non-glare LCD monitor with excellent outdoor visibility
• Mode Palette provides quick access to 16 snapping modes and 15 playback modes
• Frequently used functions can be assigned to the Green button
• Digital zooming provides up to 4X magnification
• Approximately 23MB of built-in memory
• Built-in AF spotbeam (on/off switching possible)
• Includes the ACDSee for Pentax image viewer/image management software
• Supports PictBridge, DPOF functions, Exif Print, and PRINT Image Matching

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