Pentax X70

The Pentax X70 packs a 12Mp sensor and a 24x optical zooms lens, which gives the film equivalent of 26-624mm.

The Pentax X70’s extensive focal range is more than enough for all general photography and its 20 AF points that appear in a central rectangular formation are useful for precise focus adjustment. Pentax’s Shake Reduction system comes in the form of the sensor-shift type, and compensates for shake by oscillating the camera’s sensor, not the lens.
At the rear there’s a 2.7in monitor that offers clear viewing at acute angles, but unfortunately the viewfinder isn’t fitted with dioptre adjustment, so spectacle wearers may struggle. The handgrip of the Pentax X70 feels very small compared with its rivals and controls like the shutter release and zoom feel plasticky in operation. Write-to-card speeds were rather slow, too, taking 4secs for a large JPEG. The menu system is easy to navigate, though, thanks to its twin-heading layout, and there’s an extensive ISO range from 50-6400, but it’s worth noting that image resolution drops to 5Mp at ISO 3200 and 6400. The £369 asking price of the Pentax X70 makes it quite steep compared to its rivals, but it runs off a rechargeable lith-ion battery pack, so there’s no extra outlay on batteries.

www.pentax.co.uk