Pentax pulled the wraps off a new 12-megapixel (MP) compact digital camera yesterday. The new Optio A40 ($299.95) expected to reach the market this month is loaded with features, including three shake reduction modes. There's a manual mode that shifts the camera's image sensor using a gyro-sensor that detects the degree of shake in a shot. There's a digital mode that compensates for shake by increasing the unit's ISO, which maxes out at 3200. And there's a movie mode that comes into play when the device is being used to shoot video. The camera also features:

• 2.5-inch LCD with 232,000 pixels.


• 3x optical and 6x digital zoom.


• 640-by-480 video at 30 frames per second.


• DivX video storage.


• Face recognition technology, including "Natural Skin tone" and "Half-length Portrait" mode, which automatically takes a head and shoulder shot of people in a frame.


• Auto Picture mode, which automatically chooses the best shooting settings for a shot.


• 21 megabytes of internal memory.


• SD and SDHC card support.


• PictBridge, DPOF, EXIF, and Print Image Matching III support.