Today Pentax unveiled [JP] the Optio M60, a 10.1 megapixel digital camera to be released in Japan August 22. In the US, a slightly similar camera will be released in October (as the Optio E60). The camera’s main selling point is the price: It will not cost more than $140 in the USA.

It seems Americans will get a trimmed-down version. Pentax in America states the E60 will feature 3x optical zoom, while Pentax Japan’s official news release itself promises 5x optical zoom for the M60.

These are the main specs of the American version (Optio E60):

- 1/2.3″ CCD and 10.1 megapixel sensor (M60: 10.0 megapixel)
- 3x optical zoom with angle view of up to 36mm to 180mm in 35mm format
(M60: 5x optical zoom)
- face recognition for up to 10 persons (M60: 32 persons)
- 2.4-inch LCD screen with 112,000 dots (M60: 2.5-inch LCD screen with 230,000 dots)
- support of SD and SDHC cards
- ISO sensitivity of up to 6,400
- 6.3 MB of built in memory (M60: 36.5MB)
- USB port

As of now, it is unclear whether the M60 will remain Japan-only (at least Pentax issued a press release in English already).