Pentax pulls wraps off rugged digcam

Outdoor enthusiasts lookinig for a tough point-and-shoot digital camera may want to examine the Optio W60 introduced this week by Pentax, of Golden, Colo. The 10-megapixel camera, offered in two colors--ocean blue and silver, can operate in up to 13 feet of water and in temperatures as low as 14 degrees Fahrenheit. The unit, which has a 2.5-inch LCD, meets the highest Japanese Industrial Standards for waterproofing, Class 8, and the penultimate JIS benchmak for dustproofing against dirt, dust and sand, Class 5.

If you want your images to capture the "great" in the great outdoors, this Optio model will let you do it with its wide-angle optical zoom (28-140mm equivalent) and a special Digital Wide function that will automaticallty stitch two shots into a single ultra-wide-angle image (21mm equivalent). The DSC has all the state-of-the-art enhancements found in the latest bytecams--face recognition, smile capture and blink detection--and will also shoot high quality video at 1280 x 720 (720p HDTV equivalent). Scheduled to reach retailers in July, the Optio W60 will have a US pricetag of $329.95.