Another new Pentax camera to make its debut very soon is the Pentax Optio M30 which is 7.1 megapixel shooter and has a comprehensive feature set. The M30 seeks to be an affordable digicam however Pentax has incorporated features like Digital Shake Reduction, Face Recognition AF and AE, and an Auto-Macro function that enables close-up photography up to two inches away in Super Macro mode and less than four inches in Auto Macro mode.

The Pentax Optio M30 features a 3X optical zoom lens with a focal range covering angles of view equivalent to those of a 38-114mm lens in 35mm format and is housed in body which is just 0.7 inches (18mm) thin. The on board Digital Shake Reduction mode helps in adjusting the camera sensitivity to as high as ISO 3200 to match the brightness of the subject and the "Auto-Macro function allows the camera to determine the distance from the subject, and even while in the normal focus mode, and automatically switched the focus range to macro mode."

Movies can be captures at 30 fps (frames per second) at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and one can also activate Movie Shake Reduction function*, which automatically corrects camera shakes. Another function in Movie Mode is the “Movie SR" function which helps in achieving a narrower field of view than that during normal recording.

The M30 also includes the “Face Recognition AF & AE” function* that automatically detects and focuses on faces regardless of where the people appear in the photo frame. The Optio M30 should see a March release and would retail for US $199.95.