Pentax Optio MX4
February 9, 2010 Digital Cameras, Pentax
It’s still quite telling that most camcorders use tapes, a format that consumer electronics is rapidly leaving behind, with DVDs rapidly taking the place of VCRs. While tape brings back visions of strands of plastic coming out from broken cassettes, it’s still used for specific reasons. DV video at a PAL resolution of 720 x 756 and 25 frames per second takes up a huge amount of space and tape, as old fashioned as it might seem, provides a lot of storage at low cost.
If like us, you’re into all things small, cute and gadgety, you’ll love the Optio MX4. It’s both a video camcorder, and a digital still camera with dimensions of only 73 x 59 x 103.5mm (W x H x D). It also offers an amazing 10x optical zoom.
The Pentax Optio MX4 uses SD cards as its storage medium. Video can be taken at a resolution up to 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second (fps), and it can also take still images at a decent resolution of four Megapixels, up from the 3.2 Megapixels offered by the first Optio MX. This gives an image resolution of 2,304 x 1.728, which is a significant hike over the one Megapixel still images you’ll get from most DV camcorders. Video can also be shot at 15fps and at resolutions of 320 x 240 or 160 x 120. Other still image resolutions available are 1,600 x 1,200, 1,024 x 768 and 640 x 480. Combined with the impressive 10x zoom, the Option MX4 could be the answer to those looking for the ultimate all-in-one device.
