Pentax Optio H90 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Matte Black)

by Pentax

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.7 x 2.2 x 1 inches ; 4.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0035LBMAI
• Item model number: H90 Matte Black
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,158 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 25, 2010

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Optio H90 digital camera features a clean, contemporary design that is as in style in a museum of modern art as at a concert or sporting event. Developed with the concept of "functional beauty" in mind, the fashionable and affordable Optio H90 offers a full assortment of features to capture a variety of subjects and scenes. This first model in the new Optio H line features a wide angle 5x optical zoom lens (28mm-140mm equivalent), a 12.1-megapixel high resolution CCD sensor, and widescreen HD video capture at 720p and 30 FPS. Improved Pixel Track Shake Reduction technology captures blur-free images and the Face Detection, Smile Capture, and Blink Detection functions help users create better portraits.

Optio H90 Highlights

Clean, modern, functional design
Designed with functional beauty in mind, the Optio H90 features clean, straight lines and easy-to-push round, control buttons. Featuring high quality aluminum alloy and matte paint finish, the body is shaped for a firm, comfortable hold.

Optical 5x zoom lens for wide coverage from wide angle to telephoto The Optio H90 features a high-performance optical 5x zoom lens covering focal lengths from 5.1mm to 25.5mm (equivalent in the 35mm format to approximately 28mm wide angle to 140mm telephoto). With this wide zoom range, the Optio H90 may be used for a wide variety of subjects and scenes from spectacular landscapes, majestic architecture and group shots within confined spaces to tightly cropped snapshots from a distance. Featuring an Intelligent Zoom function, which allows for even tighter zooming in on the subject, the digital zoom range extends approximately 31.3x.

Exceptional image quality
Featuring 12.1 effective megapixels, the Optio H90 delivers exceptional image resolution with the Pentax-developed high-performance imaging engine for high quality images with well-defined details. Even when images are enlarged, the camera delivers sharp, high-resolution prints with edge-to-edge sharpness.

Large, easy-to-view LCD monitor
Despite its compact body, the Optio H90 features a large 2.7-inch high-brightness color LCD monitor with approximately 230,000 dots. With this large monitor, the user may check results of images and make any desired menu adjustments quickly.

High quality HD movie recording
The Optio H90 captures beautiful, high-definition movie clips (1280 x 720 pixels).* The camera is equipped with sophisticated Movie SR (Shake Reduction) mode,** which automatically compensates camera shake during movie capture for high quality, stabilized movie clips with minimal effort.
_{* When the Optio H90's AV output terminal is used, movie clips are output as normal-image-size data. If the user wishes to play back movie clips at high-definition-TV proportions (1280 x 720 pixels), the data must be transferred to a personal computer for playback.
** When the Movie SR mode is selected, the angle of view becomes narrower than normal shooting.}

Automatic Face Detection for effortless snapshots
The Optio H90's Face Detection AF & AE function detects up to 32 faces and optimizes focus and exposure settings in a mere 0.03 seconds even when faces are tilted or turned sideways. The Optio H90 is equipped with a Smile Capture mode that automatically releases the shutter the moment the camera detects the subject's smile, and a Blink Detection function that alerts users if a subject's eyes closed at the time of shutter release.

Additional features

• Eye-Fi connected: optimized for use with Eye-Fi wireless memory cards
• Pixel Track SR (Shake Reduction) mode to effectively compensate for camera shake during still-image shooting
• Auto Picture mode for automatic selection of one of eight shooting modes for optimum results
• Digital filters, including Toy Camera and Retro, to add distinctive visual effects to recorded images
• D-Range setting to prevent whitewashed (overexposed) and blacked-out (underexposed) areas in an image
• Auto-tracking AF mode to keep constant focus on a moving subject
• Digital Panorama mode to create a single panoramic picture from as many as three images
• Digital Wide function to compose an extra-wide-angle picture (equivalent to an image taken with an approx. 21mm lens in 35mm format) from two images.
• Frame Composite function (with 90 frames stored in the camera) to shoot or compose images with decorative photo frames
• Image Recovery function to recover accidentally erased images
• MediaImpression 2.0 for Pentax software for image viewing, editing and filing (compatible with the latest operating systems, including Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6)

Product Description

PENTAX 16522 12.1 Megapixel Optio H90 Digital Camera (Matte Black)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pentax Optio H90, May 3, 2010

By 

H.M. Joyce "wv mountaineer" (Lake Charles, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pentax Optio H90 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Matte Black) (Electronics)

I read a mediocre review on this camera and I have to strongly disagree with the reviewer. Having had several Canon point and shoots I was looking for a small camera that would take very nice pictures and had high definition video. I also wanted a camera that was very small. Knowing that no small point and shoot could take the place of a DSLR I expected some compromises.
The H90 is a new camera and was introduced only in January 2010. Before buying it I could find no reviews on the internet by any consumer who had actually bought and used the camera. All I could find were press releases that repeated the company description of the camera features.
Since buying this camera I have taken many pictures and videos under various conditions. The clarity and color of the photos I am getting is truly amazing. This includes landscapes, portraits and suprisingly to me macro and super macro shots (which I haven't seen on other compact cameras). I have taken close ups of insects, flowers and other objects that could be in a professional photo journal. The shooting modes and other features are easily and quickly changed by intuitive screen icons. With a 4GB SDHC card there is plenty of memory for pictures and videos. The simple rectangular shape makes it a camera you can slide comfortably into your shirt or coat pocket. The camera housing feels solid. Playback to a TV or computer is very easy. Battery life is good but I suggest you carry a charged spare if you plan on a full day of picture taking.
For a small pocket camera the Optio H90 is an incredible feat of engineering. Pentax has been around a long time but isn't carried in many stores. My roomate in the 70's had a Pentax and swore by it but I hadn't paid much attention to the brand. I was attracted to this particular camera by the number of features for the price. For $180 I feel like I have gotten one of the best deals ever on a camera. I have never owned a Pentax before but this little camera has impressed me to the point that I will make my next DSLR purchase from Pentax. And by the way, the owner's manual is extensive and is only written in English. It is refreshing to have something to hold in your hand to read and that is comprehesnive.
I am putting a few of the photos in the image gallery for all to see. These pictures were taken at a state park while I was really just experimenting with and getting used to the camera. I have not put my best pictures in the gallery because I intend to copyright them. I am amazed when I look at these photos. They rival pictures I have taken with my old Canon SLR using some very expensive lenses.
This is a great little camera and well worth the price.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not a keeper, April 25, 2010

By 

Hunter Wimmer "hlwimmer" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pentax Optio H90 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Matte Black) (Electronics)

This is a darn cute camera and it's a great price, however a camera should be more than that... it should take good pictures -- unfortunately, this one does not.

I bought this camera after reading a few online reviews -- to replace an ailing Samsung NV10 which has terrible video quality and a sensor cursed with noise. While not a primary function, sometimes, it's nice to shoot a video now and again. The Pentax does excel here -- the video isn't HD-quality, but it's large enough and the sound quality is decent (whereas the Samsung was neither).

However, in a picture-to-picture comparison, the ailing 10MP Samsung sensor/lens is far better/sharper than the Pentax at 12MP. The Pentax pictures -- at any resolution and in any mode -- seemed to have a strange "soften" filter applied... to the point that they were painful to view full-size. The images just weren't sharp -- inside, outside, anywhere. I'll try to attach images in the "customer's image" area for viewing.

So, long story short... this one's going back to Amazon and I'll be looking at ponying up for a better, more expensive camera... The Pentax has its place, just not in my pocket.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome camera!, October 17, 2010

By 

Tammy (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pentax Optio H90 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Matte Black) (Electronics)

I bought the Pentax Optio H90 to replace my Canon Power Shot S51S. I needed a small, light weight, good quality, point and shoot camera to take on my hiking and backpacking trips that I didn't need to break my piggy bank for. This little camera fits the bill. I read the 4 Amazon reviews and hesitated after reading the 3 star review but decided to buy it based on the 5 star reviews. I'm glad I did! I've used this camera on 15 to 20 day hikes and backpacking trip in the last 2 months and have been very happy with the quality and sharpness of the pictures. I'm especially impressed with the image sharpness...one picture in particular is a close up of an insect taken in Super Macro Focus Mode. I could see every details of it's legs, eyes, attennae, etc when viewing the pic on the camera using the zoom function. Also, I'm happy with the video quality which is a lot better than my Canon. In addition, I tend not to read the how-to-use information that comes with the camera but this Pentax Optio H90 is user friendly...maneuvering around the camera w/o it is a breeze. In summary, for the price, this camera ROCKS!