Pentax K20D Review
Review Date: April 28th 2008
Author: Mark Goldstein
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Conclusion
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Ratings
(out of 5) |
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| Design | 4.5 |
| Features | 5 |
| Ease-of-Use | 4.5 |
| Image Quality | 4.5 |
| Value for Money | 4 |
At first glance the Pentax K20D simply looks like an incremental upgrade of the K10D, with relatively few additions on offer apart from the headline-grabbing 14 megapixel resolution. Whilst the increased image size is certainly worthy of attention, Pentax have made a substantial number of improvements underneath the surface that add up to make the K20D a really compelling DSLR camera.
The new 14.6 megapixel Samsung CMOS sensor manages the tricky feat of offering comparable image quality to the 10 megapixel sensor in the K10D, whilst obviously increasing the image size and allowing you to create bigger prints from the native file. The quality between the two cameras is very similar when comparing the ISO speeds - both produce noise-free images from ISO 100-800 and both start to suffer at 1600, and on the new K20D, the highest settings of 3200 and 6400. Whist the three fastest speeds are certainly useable, they don't compare that well with the Canon EOS 40D and Nikon D300, which are better bets for low-light photography. If you don't require fantastic image quality at high ISO speeds, then the K20D certainly holds its own against the competition, whilst again offering that extra resolution.
Pentax have made some notable improvements with the K20D in terms of it's responsiveness and ease-of-use, in particular offering much quicker file write times that really speed up using the camera. If you have a collection of Pentax lenses, you'll love the new AF Adjustment custom function, which allows you to precisely calibrate each one to the K20D, and the Dust Alert feature shows you exactly where the dust is on the sensor. Studio photographers can now seriously consider the K20D because of the welcome addition of an X-sync socket, and the camera still offers dust and water-resistance and effective anti-shake and dust-removal systems.
The one improvement that feels more like an after-thought is Live View. Pentax's marketing literature isn't making a big deal out of this feature, and after using it you can certainly understand why. Live View on the K20D only really makes sense if the camera is mounted on a tripod, and even then it offers very little feedback to the photographer. Even worse, you can't actually change any of the important camera settings like the aperture or shutter speed when it's activated. If Live View is one of your must-have features, we'd advise you to look elsewhere.
Despite the half-baked Live View mode and an increase in price over the K10D, the Pentax K20D is a significant improvement on its predecessor. The shutter release mechanism and auto-focusing system are still noisy, and we'd upgrade the supplied 18-55mm kit lens as soon as possible to get the best out of the sensor, but overall the K20D remains one of the most innovative DSLRs currently available, which we can once again highly recommend.
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