The Pentax Optio T30 is another 7.1 megapixel compact camera released by Pentax today. It also features a 3x Optical Zoom and has a large 3.0 inch touch LCD for viewing and editing images.

The Pentax Optio T30 features Face Recognition Auto Focus and Auto Exposure for shooting portraits and Digital Shake Reduction (ISO based).

PENTAX also announced the latest model in the PENTAX Optio M series. Sporting an ultra-slim body with a fresh, textured design, the affordable Optio M30 features Digital Shake Reduction, Face Recognition AF and AE, and an Auto-Macro function that enables close-up photography up to two inches away in Super Macro mode and less than four inches in Auto Macro mode.

ePhotoZine has a review of the Pentax Optio T30 and writes, "As the Optio T30 is fairly automated – there are no aperture and shutter priority modes, but there is exposure compensation – it is selling itself as as a pain-free, gadget or beginners camera. ... Pentax have done a very good job, as with the 3in LCD, it's very easy to see what is being changed. Admittedly, the use of three different menu areas is slightly confusing initially, but the camera is so easy to use that even this will be mastered by a beginner without too much trouble. Aside from the interface, the other standout feature of the T30 is the ISO range which runs from 64 to an astonishing 3200. While the top mode is all but unusable except for black and white photos, it's impressive to see such a wide range on a compact. However, the selling point of the camera is the touch screen interface and the 3in LCD and these work well, making the camera a very solid purchase for the first time buyer."

Photography Press has a review of the Pentax Optio T30, and gives it a rating of 9 out of 10: "The most notable improvement of the T30 over the T20 has been the speed at which the camera operates. One of our biggest annoyances with the T20 was the delay when we had pressed the scroll on button too many times to quickly. Here and that problem seems to have been resolved, and although the problem hasn't gone completely it's considerably better. ... When it comes to image quality, it was great, the 7 megapixel sensor gave us no problem with noise apart from shooting at 3200 (something to be expected), and images where bright, crisp and colour balance good in either the snow or bar afterwards."

TechDigest has a review of the Pentax Optio T30 and writes, "Full resolution images stretch to 3,072x2,304 pixels and take up around 1-1.25MB at medium quality. Image quality was great with decent colour reproduction and realistic lights and darks. ... The T30 is a great point and shoot camera that's easy to use and creates great pictures. It's reasonably priced at £189.99 for a 7.1 megapixel camera and it's small enough to carry with you most places you go. The touch sensitive screen is very simple to operate, although it is prone to greasy marks after a little use. Internally there's only 20MB of storage, but you can add more via the SD card slot."

Trusted Reviews has a review of the Pentax Optio T30 and writes, "Picture quality also seems to be significantly improved over the rather disappointing performance of the T20, although it is still not entirely problem-free. The T30 has a maximum ISO setting of 3200, and produces good results at settings up to 400 ISO, and printable results as high as 1600, which is a pretty creditable performance by any standard. Overall picture quality is about average for this class of camera, with the lens producing good detail and contrast with relatively little wide-angle barrel distortion, although it did produce the opposite pincushion distortion at the telephoto end. Exposure and colour balance were accurate despite the atrocious weather in which I was taking my test shots. In less monsoon-like conditions the results would undoubtedly have been much better."

Pentax Optio T30 and writes - 'Generally, the Optio T30 yields images with a slightly stronger saturation than what a neutral setting would produce, ideal when images are printed. The default metering of the T30 is an averaging system that is quite reliable, delivering images that are well exposed under a variety of lighting conditions, and making it rare to need either the centre-weighted or spot alternatives.'