Pentax Optio E50

Perfect choice for digital newbies and travelers. Easy-to-use and affordable, the Optio E50 offers 8.0 megapixels, a generous 2.4 inch LCD monitor, 3X optical lens, Face Recognition technology and Digital Shake Reduction functions for high-resolution photography. Beginning digital photographers will enjoy the slim, lightweight body and the Simple mode selection dial. With travel-compatible AA battery power, the Optio E50 makes a perfect digital choice for newcomers or photographers on the go.

”Face Recognition AF & AE” for simple and convenient photography of portrait

The Optio E50 is equipped with the ”Face Recognition AF&AE” function *1 that enables to take a photograph of portrait easily and beautifully. This is a convenient function that automatically detects faces and adjusts the focus, and set the optimum exposure, regardless of where people are located on the screen. So, the faces do not become dark even when taking a photograph against the backlight. A maximum of 10 people can be recognized at once.

*1 Available when the photography mode is ”Auto Picture”, ”Program”, ”Portrait”, and ”Kids” and camera is directed to the people from the front

Digital SR ( Shake Reduction )

A mode that reduces camera shakes and blurring of the subject when photographing still images. The sensitivity is adjusted automatically, to as high as the high sensitivity of ISO 1600, to match the brightness of the subjects. This enables for photography with fast shutter speeds, and images with less blurs can be obtained.

Supports easily-available AA batteries

As the Optio E50 supports AA batteries, it is possible to easily obtain batteries even when the user is away from home, allowing for worry-free photography. In addition, the battery life has been improved through further power saving and approximately 250 photographs *2 can be taken when using alkaline batteries.

*2 Based on measurement conditions conforming to CIPA specifications

Auto Picture mode automatically determines the best setting for shooting conditions

The Auto picture mode lets the camera automatically determines the shooting conditions for Landscape, Portrait, Night Scene, and Normal modes and chooses the optimum settings for each subjects. This PENTAX original function makes photography a lot easier for users since it eliminates the necessity of making a number of individual settings.

Equipped with the Green mode for automated setup

The Optio E50 comes with the Green mode, which automates the camera setup when shooting still image that allows even complete digital-camera beginners to enjoy picture-taking effortlessly. A single button press automatically sets the exposure, sensitivity, white balance, and other parameters according to the shooting conditions. This function is useful when asking someone else to take your picture or when you are simply lost track of the camera settings.

High quality images

Although the Optio E50 is an entry-class camera, high quality images, where detailed parts are clear even when pictures are stretched out, can be obtained. This is due to the camera's high pixel count of 8.1 effective megapixels, new image processing engine with increased processing performance, and high-performance PENTAX lens.

3X optical zoom and 4X digital zoom for a maximum of about 12X magnification

The Optio E50 features a 3X optical zoom lens with a focal range covering angles of view equivalent to those of a 37.5-112.5mm lens in 35 mm format, which is ideal for a broad spectrum of subjects from landscapes, through sightseeing photographs, to portraits. Such zooming power can also be combined with 4X digital zoom to achieve a total of about 12X zoom capability.

Other features

Panorama mode for composing photographs into one panoramic picture
Large and easily viewable 2.4-inch monitor, with approximately 110,000 dots
Recording movies at sizes up to 640 x 480 pixels with images quality rivaling camcorders
Date imprint function for easy image categorizing
Full-flat design, when power is off, realizes convenient and great portability
16-frame continuous shooting that enables for 16 images ( 640 x 480 pixels / image ) to be shot continuously and recorded in 2 seconds
Approximately 10MB of built-in memory allows internal image storage even when the memory card is full
Frame composite function allows you to add a decorative frame around the image when shooting
FotoNation's red-eye compensation function for flash shots
Includes the ACDSee for PENTAX 3.0 viewer/image management software that supports Windows Vista™
Support PictBridge, DPOF functions, Eixf Print, and PRINT Image Matching III

More external Pentax Optio E50 reviews!

Sensor • 1/2.5" Type CCD
• 8.1 million effective pixels

Image sizes • 3264 x 2448
• 2592 x 1944
• 2304 x 1728
• 2048 x 1536
• 1600 X 1200
• 1024 x 768
• 640 x 480

Movie clips • 640 x 480
• 320 x 240

File formats • JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
• AVI (Motion JPEG Format)
• WAV (mono)

Lens • PENTAX smc Motorzoom
• 6.2 mm – 18.6 mm
• Approx. 37.5 mm – 112.5mm (35mm equiv.)
• F2.8 -5.2

Image stabilization No

Conversion lenses No

Digital zoom Up to 4x

Focus TTL Contrast Detection AF

AF area modes • 3 Point AF
• Spot AF
• Manual focus

Focus distance • Normal: 0.4m to infinity (entire zoom range)
• Macro: 0.15m to 0.50m (wide-angle)
• Landscape: Infinity
• Manual focus: 0.15 m – infinity (wide-angle), 0.4 m – infinity (other focal lengths)

Metering TTL multi-field metering

ISO sensitivity • Automatic or manual (ISO 100 – ISO 1600)
• Digital Shake Reduction automatically sets the sensitivity to ISO 1600

Exposure compensation ± 2EV in 1/3 EV steps

Exposure bracketing No

Shutter speed Approx. 1/2000s to 4s

Aperture n/a

Modes • Full automatic
• Programmed automatic

Scene modes • Nightscene
• Movie
• Sound
• Landscape
• Flowers
• Portrait
• Surf+Snow
• Sport
• Pets
• Panorama
• Digital Shake Reduction
• Frames (adds decorative frames to images)
• Date recording

White balance • Automatic
• Daylight
• Cloudy
• Tungsten
• Neon
• Manual selectable

White balance fine tune n/a

Self timer 2 or 10 sec

Continuous shooting Yes

Image parameters n/a

Flash • Auto
• Forced on
• Forced off
• Red Eye Reduction

Viewfinder No

LCD monitor • 2.4“ TFT LCD colour monitor
• Approx.110,000 pixels
• Approx. 100% coverage
• 2 levels of brightness can be selected

Connectivity • USB 2.0 High Speed
• AV out (PAL/NTSC)
• Dock Terminal

Print compliance • Kodak ImageLink system compatible
• DPOF
• Print Image Matching III

Storage • SD/SDHC cards
• Approx. 10 MB internal memory

Power • 2 x AA batteries
• AC adaptor (optional)

Weight (no batt) 120 g (4.2 oz)

Dimensions 96.5 x 60 x 22 mm (3.8 x 2.4 x 0.9 in)