Trendy design and an affordable price, how does the new Pentax H90 shape up? The What Digital Camera Pentax H90 review investigates…
Pentax Optio H90 Review
Pentax Optio H90 review – Features
The Pentax H90 is an affordable, strikingly-designed compact ‘inspired by Japanese trends’. With a 12.1 megapixel CCD sensor, 28-140mm 5x optical zoom lens and 2.7in, 230K-dot LCD screen, it’s possible to shoot stills or even 720p HD video. A Programme Auto (P) mode features to allow user-defined sensitivity adjustment from ISO 80-1600 (3200-6400 at a 5MP size), as well as exposure compensation and in-camera digital filter effects, such as black and white shooting mode. As such the Pentax H90 is an ideal point-and-shoot snapper that comes with a rechargeable li-ion battery – at around £130 it’s a competitively affordable product that should appeal to those on a limited budget.
Pentax H90 review – Design
The Pentax H90 comes in one of three choice finishes – silver & orange, black & white or silver & white. Each design has a ‘top strip’ of colour across the upper quarter of the camera which makes for a striking and unique design. The orange may not be for everyone, but with the three different colour choices there should be something for all tastes.
The 2.7in screen on the back is inset a couple of millimeters into the raised plastic body of the rear, with the zoom, d-pad and button controls to the right hand side. Layout is straightforward and the buttons are well labeled on the d-pad and standalone playback, face detection, menu and ‘green’ (for user-assignable function) buttons. As the zoom is set to the rear of the camera, it can be a bit more fiddly to use than if it was on the camera’s top, though this is down to personal preference.
The H90’s in-camera menu options are easy to use, divided into two main sections: a three page ‘Rec. Mode’ and three page ‘Setting’ page available when in P mode. Scrolling down through the pages can make locating some options a little slow, but as this is predominantly a point and shoot, toggling between options is unlikely to be required for each time a shot is taken.
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