Pentax today unveiled its latest compact camera, combining many of the features found on rivals’ snappers into one sleek point-and-click snapper.

Pentax's Optio V20: all the latest features

The Optio V20 is an eight-megapixel machine with a 5x optical zoom. Images are stored on an SD memory card. Pictures can also be viewed on the V20’s 3in LCD screen.

Pentax has built smile-detection technology into the V20, automatically closing the camera’s shutter when a smiling face is detected. The feature is currently flavour of the month with many manufacturers, including Sony and Nikon.

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The V20 also features more established tools, such as face recognition and shake reduction.

The camera’s 6400 maximum ISO sensitivity is high, and various pre-defined image modes, such as Landscape and Food, are available if you don’t want to fiddle about with the picture settings.

Pentax’s Optio V20 will be available in the US from May for $280 (£140/€190). A UK release hasn’t been snapped yet.