pentax

Need a camera that can take as much of a beating as you can? Consider the Pentax Optio WG-1 ($323) — it could be the perfect outdoor camera for your Summer excursions. Waterproof up to 33 feet, as well as cold-, dust-, shock-, and crush-proof for those of you with butter fingers, the WG-1 comes with a 14MP lens, wide-screen HD video, GPS so you can geo-tag your pics, and front-facing LED lights that function like a ring light to illuminate underwater shots.

Plus, the camera comes in several different colors to match your style — black, gray, purple, and green — but I happen to prefer the bolder colors since they'd be easy to find if you dropped it in a river or lake. Just sayin'.

The images of the Pentax Optio l-10 were supposedly leaked early yesterday morning, but by the afternoon the camera was confirmed and quickly made it to the top of my "want" list. Why? Well, look at this thing! Its white hot exterior is a throwback to film SLRs of old, but that only masks the very "now" tech inside: 12MP, wide-angle 5x optical zoom, 2.7 inch LCD screen, and HD video recording.

Superior shake and pixel track reducer makes your images and videos clear as a bell, while the smile, blink, and face detection technology (it even recognizes dogs and cats) ensures you'll get some great shots of your pals and your pets. Coming in black and stunning white, the Optio l-10 will begin shipping in February for $300, but you can start preordering now. I would.

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Pentax sure made a big splash in the tech world when it debuted its 10-megapixel, 720p recording, 5x optical zoom W60 waterproof camera last year. Till this day, people are still raving about this compact cam that puts some regular point-and-shoot cameras to shame.

Well, Pentax has just announced its latest in the waterproof world — the Pentax WS80. At $250, this camera is just shy of being $100 cheaper than the W60, yet it boasts the high def 720p recording, and the 10-megapixel rating. The only major thumbs down is that it can't be used in waters deeper than five feet, whereas the W60 is waterproof up to 13 feet. Shallow snorkelers, this new Pentax camera is for you. Deep sea divers, guess again.