Pentax DSLR shooters, maybe you need a compact camera to keep in your pocket at all time. Never miss another photo opportunity.

Hi Pentaxian friends,

I have missed many photo opportunities in the past just because I didn’t have my DSLR with me. There are no doubts that the ultimate photographic equipment is indeed the DSLR, but they are always too big to keep one with you at all time.

I started my digital endeavor with a Point and Shoot camera and when I upgraded to the Pentax series of DSLRs, I never went back. Yes, DSLR cameras are great, but no matter how small they are, they are never as small as Point and Shoot cameras and you can’t keep one on you at all time. There are plenty of occasions I wish I would have had a camera with me. Life is full of surprises and you never know what’s around the bend. My first Digital Point and Shoot was (shame on me!) a Nikon Coolpix. It had a small 3.35MP sensor and I paid nearly $800.00 for it at the time. Mind you that the DSLRs were selling at around $5,000.00 at the time. None-the-less, prices have gone down for the Point and Shoot as well as for the DSLRs, and I think it may be time to get a Point and Shoot camera again. The current compact cameras can fit in a shirt pocket, and have features such as 10 to 12MP Sensors, Face Recognition, Shake Reduction, Large LCD monitors, High ISO shooting, Movie mode, and plenty of other features that were not available on the best DSLRs of just five years ago.

Pentax is introducing two new Compact cameras today, the Optio P70 and the Optio E70. I think I might have to purchase one of these in a few Months or sooner. Now don’t go and get uptight like so many did when Pentax introduced the White K2000. It’s not a replacement for the K20D, and it’s not a earth-shattering announcement either. It just made me think that advanced amateurs or even a Pro's could use a Compact camera every now-and-then. Life is full of surprises. Be ready to capture those surprises, anywhere, anytime.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque