With the current crop of 12-megapixel cameras, the Pentax Optio A40 sits at the higher end of the price range, so we were expecting big things from it to justify the cost. The first feature worth noting is the SR (Shake Reduction) tool. Using a sensor inside the camera, the SR mechanism shifts the CCD to compensate for camera shake (usually a problem when shooting at full zoom). You can either set it to leap in when required or, by pushing the Preview button on the top of the camera, activate it yourself.

Pentax Optio A40 at Amazon

Pentax has also included a dynamic-range compensation tool, the idea being that, when enabled, it boosts under-exposed areas of an image without affecting the rest of the scene. Although it worked to an extent during testing (dark areas were indeed brightened up), the sacrifices made, such as increased image noise, often outweighed the benefits. The Pentax Optio A40 includes some advanced features, including a live histogram and both a shutter priority and manual mode, although strangely there’s no aperture priority mode. Face recognition is also present, allowing the Pentax Optio A40 to detect faces and ensure they’re exposed properly and in focus. In general, image quality is good. Colours are vibrant and the camera usually makes a good judgement on the exposure. It did, however, have a tendency to select a higher ISO than required, resulting in some unnecessary image noise. And, as we’ve seen from Pentax cameras before, it loses focus slightly at the top-left corner of the frame, but you’re unlikely to notice this outside of your image editor. Although some of the Pentax Optio A40 features didn’t always deliver perfect results, others, such as the SR tool, worked very well, making it a genuine contender in the high-end compact market.

Pentax Optio A40 Specifications

• 12 megapixels
• 1/1.8in CCD
• 2.5in LCD monitor
• 3x optical zoom (38-114mm, 35mm equivalent)
• 1/2,000-4 sec shutter speed
• ISO 64-3200
• 30fps movie mode
• 22MB built-in memory
• SD/SDHC card slot
• 89×23.5x57mm (wxdxh)
• 130g