Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 110
 A hands on review of Pentax's new flagship digital SLR May 9, 2008
James E. Maynard (Seattle WA USA)
105 out of 106 found this review helpful
I have been a Pentax owner since the 1950's when the first Heiland Pentax SLR was introduced to the market. This is my 3rd Pentax digital SLR, the first two being the 6 megapixel 1stDS and the 10 megapixel K10D. This new model is a significant upgrade from the K10D, and at 14.6 megapixels, provides significantly more resolution in the crops I make from the original images. What this allows is for me to go to smaller crops (increased area enlargement) and still maintain excellent resolution. Another significant feature is the new imaging device from Samsung, producing, for me, low noise excellent quality photos at sensitivities as high as 1600 ISO.
To me, one of the most significant features of this camera, also found on my earlier K10D, is the RAW button on the left side of the camera body. This enables me to shoot most of my photos in JPEG, but allows me to go to RAW for a single image that I really want to get the most out of. This feature really conserves memory card space, but allows shooting of intermittent RAW images when they are really needed. This is a feature that I believe is unique to Pentax. At the highest quality (least compression) JPEG setting, the camera produces 10 megabyte images, which provide plenty of detail and excellent color.
The quality of the shake reduction capability seems, to me, to be improved over the K10D. I have been able to shoot sharp photos at F3.5 at a 30th of a second at a focal length of 250 mm.
The camera is extremely well built and, for this reason, is slightly heavier than other brands of comparable size. But the small extra weight and the fact that the camera feels well in the hand makes for really steady shots.
A new feature is live image production on the 2.7 inch rear screen, which is somewhat larger than that on the K10D. Being a long time SLR user, I don't use this feature very much. But it seems to be the up and coming thing on new digital SLR's.
The internal software of the camera has really been upgraded and includes an in camera capability to convert RAW images to TIFF or JPEG, a really neat feature if one is on the road and doesn't have access to the computer software necessary to process RAW images but yet wants to view them on other portable imaging devices.
I bought my camera without a lens and separately purchased the new 18-250 F 3.5-6.3 Pentax zoom lens and the 50 mm F 1.4 Pentax lens, which serves as a very short telephoto, wonderful for taking pictures of people. This is the combination I would recommend. The 18-250 appears to be manufactured for Pentax by TAMRON and is an excellent lens in my opinion. It is also quite versatile, giving a 28 mm field of view at wide angle and 375 mm at full telephoto. The 50mm F 1.4 is really inexpensive, at about $199 from reputable internet dealers, and is one of the sharpest lenses ever produced by Pentax. This lens is a real "sleeper" and should be owned by any Pentax DSLR owner for low light and portrait photography.
At about $1250-1299 street price for the body alone, the camera is not cheap. But it is a prosumer model and priced somewhat below comparable Canon and Nikon models. It is providing me with wonderful performance and I highly recommend it.
Dr. James E. Maynard
Unquestionably best camera I ever touched. Unbelievable photographic tool! March 17, 2008
Alex Vox (Winnetka, IL)
109 out of 118 found this review helpful
I had a pleasure to use this Pentax's baby for three days. This camera takes photography as far as it never was before under $8.000 price tag. The image quality is stunning. I especially like this rich tremendous color rendition that looks like mid format color slide of 6x9. The tone gradations are simply endless. If you take picture of sunset it will be the best sunset you ever seen.
I will not describe endless technical data details but I must stress how smart, convenient and relevant all the menus! You have a photography tools in your hands, not the computerized toy for browsing menus. The controls placement is the best I ever seen in any brand. Everything is under your fingers, everything is assignable. The camera reacts in the way you expect, it feels solid, complete.
It is pleasure to hold it, the balance is very good. This camera's software allows remote shooting (just like k10d) and if used in studio may be entirely controlled by computer. The ability to use the internal flash as a controller is very nice! The ability to store preview is very nice! The shift preview on shutter is super cool! The viewfinder is nice, clear and bright!If you had experience with K10D, you will find these awesome Pentax invented modes related to auto ISO settings.
The image quality is second to none. While there are many good cameras are around, this one of the league on itself. The tonality, sharpness, expressiveness of this cam is outstanding. What is even more outstanding is the combination of shooting experiences that end up in the final image. You feel that you control it to any degree you wish. The final image may be whatever you tune it to be. Make a profile and get it over sharpened as Canon, oversaturated as Sony or over contrasted as Nikon. Mix is in any way you pleased. You have any number of cameras inside. I personally enjoyed portraits and nature shots I made with it. With awesome tonal variations, countless gradations in shadows, natural and lifelike skin tones. This camera does equally good job on dark skins as well. And it looks real, photographically rich and not exaggerated.
In short, my three days of hands on experience with this camera I walked off very impressed. Hugely impressed.
First impression: I love it! May 17, 2008
nsv (The Everglades)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful
I've only shot about 1700 images so far, so I haven't fully explored all the new features on this camera. This is my first impression and I'll update this review as I become more familiar with it.
I've used the K10D since it came out, and the K20D is a strong addition to the line. The new sensor is amazing. Live View is very handy when you're reaching to get the camera into an awkward position. I haven't needed the Dust Alert feature yet, but since I shoot in less than clean conditions, I'm guessing it will come in handy.
One of the features of the K10D that they've kept, and the primary reason I switched to Pentax in the first place, is the construction of the body with 72 seals to keep water and dust out. I've used the K10D in the pouring rain, in sea spray, and in smoky or dusty, windy conditions, and never had a problem. I've started to expose the K20D to the same conditions, and I expect the same performance.
The Shake Reduction is also fantastic, especially for my shaky hands. It doesn't replace a tripod, but it does allow me to shoot handheld in lower lighting than I ordinarily could. Since I have several lenses, it's also a money saving feature for me.
5/26/08 update: Three additional comments:
I've used this camera in both pouring rain and windy dusty conditions (not at the same time, obviously.) Since the body construction didn't seem dramatically different from the K10D, I expected it to survive my abuse, and so far it has.
Live View with a tripod and a wireless remote is heaven in awkward positions! No more contorting my body to squeeze into difficult spaces! (Well, ok, I do that for long enough to focus, then stand comfortably and switch to Live View. You can use the AF button to focus while using Live View, but I guess I'm a little old fashioned, and I like seeing my subject in focus in the viewfinder.)
It can be frustrating waiting for the images to write to the card, especially when you shoot in Continuous Shooting mode and shoot six or eight images at a time. But since part of that is due to the speed of the card and part of it is due to the size of the images, I can't complain about the camera here. If you are shooting multiple large raw files quickly, BUY FAST CARDS.
I've just scanned the manual and didn't notice the maximum capacity, but I'm using 8GB SDHC cards.
Now that I've spent a little time using it, I love this camera even more.
Glad I Switched July 27, 2008
Matt Antonio (San Antonio, TX United States)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
I have been really happy with this Pentax K20d, and I am impressed with the 16-45 f.4 lens that I bought to go with it. I initially upgraded from a Canon Rebel 300D to a Canon 40D, it was a nice upgrade but the new Canon wasn't bringing me enough enjoyment to be worth the near thousand dollars I paid for it, and I knew it would lead me to buying lenses that would be too heavy and expensive. I sent it back and a moth later decided to buy the K20d. I was impressed with the low price and low weight of Pentax's mid-range lenses. I honestly thought that the camera itself wouldn't be as good as the 40D but I decided to follow the mantra that lenses are what matter and thought I could sell my Canon lenses and get some great Pentax prime lenses, and a wide zoom lens.
I have had the K20d for a over a month, and it is a great camera. It takes the pictures that I want it to take. This is the first digital camera I've been really excited about using and I think it is because it allows me to get the exact exposure I want. The metering won't produce as many decent pictures on full auto as a Canon, because it will always preserve bright highlights. The reviews say that it underexposes, because if you take a picture of a person with the sky behind them, it will consistently keep the sky from blowing out - making the person too dark. At first this means more missed and underexposed shots, but it exposes the same way all the time, and after a week with the camera I found that I always knew how the camera was metering and I now get the exact exposure I want on the first shot far more often than I used to.
The camera also makes manual mode far more useable. I like finding a good exposure for the light and then sticking to that as long as I know I am in similar light. If my photos are looking a little bright or a little dark on the histogram, I change the shutter speed or aperture a click. With the green button, I can be in manual mode but have an automatic resetting any time the light changes, from full sun to shade. Anytime I know that there is a big change in light I hit the green button and get the automatic exposure setting, instead of having to spin the dials.
I like the ability to change what the dials and buttons do in many of the modes. I can customize what the control wheels do in each picture mode. Also note that many reviews say the K20d does not show ISO in the viewfinder (which was a big detractor for me since it was one feature I really liked about the 40D upgrade) but actually you can customize this and show ISO in the viewfinder instead of the number of remaining shots. You can also change ISO in any mode by holding OK while turning the finger wheel.
Negatives: The K20d does produce more noise over ISO 800 than the Canon, but I like that it keeps more detail and I like the grain of the noise far better. However sometimes in very high ISO shots there can be too much chroma noise (colored noise) to do anything but convert to BW, and in two or three pictures I have seen banding in high ISO pictures when I try to push them a stop in my raw converter. Also the auto-focus sometimes hunts in single shot mode in light that the 40D would handle, although I have found that if I put it on AF-Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) it usually finds focus. My understanding is that the Pentax AF system attempts to be more exact, and I think I have noticed that when I am in good light I have less missed pictures due to focus than with the Canon.
Pentax K20D 14.6MP Review May 6, 2008
Frank (Clinton, MO USA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only)
We are amateur photo shooters and have a 5 year old digital Kodak - which was okay for snap shooting -
Now for the PENTAX K20D 14.6MP Digital Camera we offer this review.
It is the TRUE amateur's friend. It is in a completely different class to the old technology, including 35mm film format. It is way ahead in the performance field for its class of digital camera. We are glad to be back in the SLR type of camera too.
Right after arrival of our new K20D camera we did a PROM photo session on our patio with 5 couples - what a pleasure to shoot when you have the time right - what is the right time? - a series of shots 2, 3, 4 or 5 with each setting and this camera is so fast you can outshoot the point and shoots by a mile - and great results too - Our daughter was assisting with her PENTAX K10D and both of these DIGITAL CAMERA'S are recommended highly by us. We experienced a number of comments from others sharing in this event, what kind of camera is that? It must be nice to be able to take so many shots and capture all of these special moments! They are right - we have over 300 perfect shots to brag about from this session, and two cameras captured those images.
The camera settings are easy to study and learn. You can adjust so many different ways in just seconds and get the perfect results you desire, snap a test shot, view - then capture images of one of a kind, ones that you can truly enjoy viewing plus brag on after a shooting session.
We use the SanDisk 4 GB Extreme III SDHC Card and the write speed is awesome for this camera. We bought a Metz 58 AF-1 TTL Shoe Mount Flash for Pentax & Samsung SLR Cameras for our camera and makes a great match with the Pentax DA 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 ED AL IF Lens.
This K20D is the camera for the money as we see it, study the features, it's loaded with them and you will see this is a fine camera that will deliver what you want in the photographic world - We highly recommended this product from PENTAX.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 110
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