Over in the States, Pentax has announced the Pentax Optio V20 compact digital camera with a 5x zoom lens, 8 megapixels, and a 3-inch LCD monitor.

Described as "ultra-slim and stylish", Pentax also claim the compact digi-snapper is easy to use.

Three features on the Optio V20 are angled to help users get the most out of portrait photographs.

It's not rocket science these days but 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 while Blink Detection reports to the user whether any subjects closed their eyes in an image, so that the shot may be recaptured if necessary.

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

The PENTAX Optio V20 will ship in May 2008 for $279.95, no word yet on UK availability or pricing.