Pentax and Samsung's New Digital Cameras Now Recognize Faces

Pentax and Samsung have announced new models of compact cameras aimed at the less savvy photography users.

The key feature of the Pentax Optio M40, Optio E40 and the Samsung L730, L830 and L83T is the face recognition technology, also seen in the Fujifilm Finepix models. Other than that, these are all your ordinary point and shoot, "press the button and the camera will do the rest"-cameras that pack many megapixels onto a small sensor and therefore have a lousy signal to noise ratio.

The already "legendary" Face Recognition AF & AE function automatically detects and focuses on faces and ensures the optimal exposure.

Anyway, the Optio E40 and M40 from Pentax boast 8.0 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom and the digital shake reduction technology, which is nothing more than[ADMARk=1] ISO boosting until you get a decent shutter time.

Here's what Pentax has to say about the M40: "With 8.0 megapixels, the PENTAX Optio M40 features an ultra-slim, sophisticated metallic body offering a 3X optical zoom and a large and easily viewable LCD monitor. The user-friendly Optio M40 also features Face Recognition and digital Shake Reduction."

As for the E40: " The PENTAX Optio E40 is an affordable, entry-level compact digital camera also featuring Face Recognition technology and Digital Shake Reduction functions for high-resolution photography. This entry-level model accepts widely available AA batteries and is designed for simple and intuitive operation so that even beginners can enjoy photography effortlessly."

Priced at US $199.95, the PENTAX Optio M40 will ship in August 2007. The PENTAX Optio E40 will ship in September 2007 for US $149.95.

The Samsung L83T offers an 8.2 MP CCD sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens and ISO values up to 1600. The camera boasts the proprietary ARS (Advanced Shake Reduction), which is the same marketing trick as Pentax's Digital Shake Reduction and that's to boost the ISO sensitivity. Macro lovers also get a macro mode that allows you to get close up to 1cm from your subject. You also get the fabled Face Detection technology.

The L730 and L830 are basically the same and you can tell them apart by the sensor. The L730 has 7 megapixels while the L830 boasts 8MP. Both models feature 3x optical zoom, a bright 2.5" LCD display and a suite of advanced video and editing features.

Other features include:

￭ Movie mode that lets users capture video, with or without audio, in one of four resolutions, from 320x240 to 800x592 ￭ Shutter speeds of up to 1/1,500 sec for fast moving subjects ￭ An ISO equivalent of 1600 for better pictures in low light ￭ Various scene modes, continuous shooting and exposure bracketing to help get the best shots ￭ 16 megabytes of internal memory, and both models accept Secure Digital (SD) flash memory cards up to 4 gigabytes ￭ Samsung's Digimax Master software (compatible with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP and Macintosh OS X 9.2 through 10.4) is also included in the box of both models enabling beginners to edit and manage their pictures as soon as they start using the camera.

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