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Gear Reviews

Pentax K20D

Pentax K20D

£549.00

Photo answers rating rating is 4
Owners' rating rating is 4.5
Until the arrival of the 15.1Mp EOS 50D from Canon, the Pentax K20D had the accolade of offering the highest resolution on a non full-frame D-SLR at 14.6Mp.

As well as being able to shoot in Pentax’s native .PEF RAW format, the Pentax K20D
can also shoot in Adobe’s .DNG RAW format, plus the usual JPEG options.
The frame rate is a little disappointing at only 3fps – not really any different to a budget model – but there’s a beefy 11-point AF system to play with, and the central 9 AF points feature cross-type sensors for more accuracy. At the back is a 2.7in screen and there’s a stainless steel chassis with a fibre-strengthened polycarbonate body that features 74 weather and dust seals to protect the K20D from the elements. With the positive handgrip, all this helps to provide a very solid, durable feel when you pick it up.
Thanks to the wealth of cross-type sensors, the AF rarely hunts and is more than capable, but the speed at which it operates is disappointing, even with the latest Pentax DA lenses. While most Live View systems are employing contrast-detect AF for uninterrupted coverage during focusing, the K20D lacks this, resulting in a fairly pedestrian performance. The K20D’s menu system comes across as dated, with a Fn button that’s slow to use.

www.pentax.co.uk

Photo answers review

Photo answers rating rating is 4

Users' Overall Rating rating is 4.5(1 review)

  • A great machine!

    Anonymous

    User's Overall Rating rating is 4.5

    Show Details

    Performancerating is 4
    Value for moneyrating is 5
    Build qualityrating is 5
    Featuresrating is 5

    I come from the camp of 'had a Pentax already, so why change now'! The K20D is my 3rd Pentax DSLR, having previously owned an *ist DS (which was passed on to a newcomer to SLR photography), and with a K10D currently sharing it's stable. I'm not vastly experienced in all makes and models of camera, in fact I've hardly used anything other than Pentax, so my review is not comparative and therefore perhaps 'slightly' skewed. I'll try, however, to remain objective and honest about my experiences. Although I've been taking photos for nearly 15 years, I'm still learning a great deal, as my previous cameras had 'picture' modes which I must confess suited my fear (and a bit of laziness) towards setting shutter speeds or apertures manually. No doubt some readers will be disgusted and not read any further! The K20D forced me to become more involved with the camera, and I've learned more about using a camera (and it's potential) in the past 12 months than I did in the previous 14 years! I've been consistently overjoyed, on reading articles about photography methods and techniques, to discover that not only is pretty much everything/anything possible on the K20D (and the K10 I might add) but it's also incredibly simple and easy to achieve. Yes, there's the odd consultation with the instructions, but generally it's been so quick and easy to expand my abilities that I've sometimes wondered if I'm missing something vitally important! I know the review on this site says the menus are 'dated', and I'm not sure exactly what that means (is it a 'veneer' problem, or an issue with usability?), but I've found the camera extremely easy to set up to my own preferences, and the menus I find to be self explanatory. Maybe other systems are quicker/easier to set up? I certainly can't complain. I use several Sigma EX-range lenses, which I must say add a level of quality over 'kit' lenses that is amazing, and at a price that is much more reasonable than their Pentax counterparts. My only quibble with the K20D (and I marked it down on performance as a result) is with the autofocus. On the whole it performs very well, but there have been one or two occassions (that I didn't consider to be overly taxing) when it struggled, and on two of those occassions I lost the 'moment' as a result. I'm still trying to emulate and/or discover what will confuse the AF system, so I can prepare for future shoots with those factors in mind, but it now refuses to give anything other than a perfect AF every time so I'm none the wiser! And so, if you'll forgive my extended ramblings, I'm very pleased with the K20D, and I was amazed by how quickly I became comfortable and confident with it in my hands. It's quick and easy to change key shooting modes, it's robust build inspires confidence, and I think both it and the K10 will be my photographic companions for some considerable time to come.

    19 July 2010 12:52

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