Pentax has announced the PENTAX Optio V20 compact digital camera with a 5X zoom lens, 8.0 megapixels, and a 3.0 inch LCD monitor.

Three features on the Optio V20 help users optimize portrait photographs. A Face Recognition function automatically detects and focuses on faces, then sets the optimum exposure. Smile Capture detects the key facial expression of happy people and releases the shutter automatically. Blink Detection reports to the user whether any subjects closed their eyes in an image, so that the shot may be recaptured if necessary.

Additional features include Auto-tracking AF for continuously focusing on a moving subject, 52MB of built-in memory, and an Auto-Macro mode that allows close-up photography as near as 4 inches (10 cm) without changing the normal focusing mode.

The Pentax Optio V20 will ship in May 2008 for US $279.95.