A groundbreaking feature for the fans of portrait photography, this camera finally makes it easy as pie to control it in the portrait mode as well as in the landscape mode.

Having a shutter button placed in a landscape position can be really tricky when using the camera to shoot in portrait mode, and someone finally realized the improvement potential. What makes Pentax Optio VS20 so special is that it’s most likely the first compact camera with a separate shutter for portrait photography.

Each of the two shutters, landscape and portrait, have their own zoom controls that make it easier to operate in each mode. Portrait mode has its own tripod socket that enables the camera to be mounted in two orientations.

Some of the best things about Pentax Optio VS20 are that it comes equipped with a 16MP CCD sensor with mechanical image stabilization, 20x optical zoom and the ability to make videos in 720p at 30fps. Several interesting photo effects are new as well, such as fish eye or sketch filters, that could be really fun to experiment and play with.

Night snap mode is another innovation that lowers the noise and blur in low light settings, increasing the quality of the image.

With these new features, Pentax Optio VS20 will surely be interesting for those who want to do more portrait photography, and will be available in both black and white. It is soon to be released on the USA market, and the recommended retail price sounds pretty affordable.