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We clicked with:
Intuitive layout, design and shooting modes
Shots in the dark:
smc Pentax-DA 3.5-5.6 18-55mm AL II lens has ghosting issues
Overall, not hugely different to K10D
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The Pentax K20D DSLR means business. Megapixel business. With its class-leading 14.6megapixel sensor - that's more than even the Nikon D300 - it's a clear attempt to attract serious photographers seeking serious image size. But whilst cramming so many megapixels onto a relatively small APS-C sized CMOS sensor may sound pro, does it hinder quality? We investigate…
Features & Operation
The Pentax K20D is at the forefront of Pentax's existing DSLR range, benefiting from collaborative efforts with Samsung to develop the 14.6megapixel sensor (as found in the Samsung GX-20 DSLR) at the core of the system. That's only the beginning of a pretty hefty features list too - there's in-camera Shake Reduction available at the flick of a switch, Live View, Dust Reduction upon firing the camera up and a 2.7” LCD screen sat on the back of what is a sturdy, dust-proof and weather-resistant body. Throwing a line out to aspiring professionals there's even an x-sync socket on the side that can be used for studio lighting set ups.
The Pentax K20D feels good to the hand, and is fairly instinctive to use - it almost has the feel of an older and easily navigable system, only with the modern day gadgetry you come to expect. Indeed this is no bad thing and seems fairly typical of Pentax's well-grounded photographic expertise.
There are a variety of little extras that go a long way with the Pentax K20D - the ability to shoot simultaneous RAW (PEF or DNG) and JPEG (via the one-touch RAW button), and modes such as ISO priority: fix the shutter and aperture settings and the camera works with available light to select the correct ISO setting for exposure. 3 frames per second continuous shooting (up to 38 jpegs) also means that there's a large buffer to channel your pictures to the SD card. In fact the only thing that feels as though it's lacking for this class is a user-assigned one-touch button to allow for quick adjustments in any given user-defined field (such as assigning ISO or flash exposure compensation to a single button for quick adjustment). But even that's just being picky.
The 11-point autofocus system lends to quick and sharp focusing for the most part. The only apparent related issue comes from TTL exposure which tends to render images a little underexposed and flat. Never to the point that is beyond correction, but then that's not really the point - you don't want to be excessively dipping into post-production or always using auto bracketing (which, by the way, is another excellent feature offered by the K20D).
Pop up flash comes in handy for some fill-in situations, and can be dialled +/- 2stops to compensate exposure against flash input.
Live View is a very useful feature - though some may disagree - but only really for fixed subject matter. Taking a landscape image or still life with the aide of the LCD screen can be fantastically useful and easy on the eye (especially for those with glasses). Zooming (at 4x or 8x) into the image to manually focus is also possible, with the freedom to roam the image-frame to ensure your focus is spot on. Planning to go to a sports day though? - stick with the viewfinder. Live View brings LCD blur in abundance when panning, plus the lag between hitting the shutter and actually capturing the shot is further delayed. But whichever manufacturer you purchase, that's essentially what Live View means at the moment!
The Images
The burning question. By squeezing 14.6 million pixels onto a small APS-C sized sensor surely means that less light can reach each node, therefore image quality is poor? Well, that's how the theory goes...
In actuality there's not a huge issue. Images at ISO100-200 are perfectly clean and clear, 400-800 workable, 1600 workable at a push, and with 3200-6400 more or less beyond useable (as is so common among many manufacturers). By no means do these results blow competition out of the water, yet they aren't wildly different from the large majority of competitors at this range. The difference is that there's a lot more physical image size of course. Does beg the question whether the addition of ISO6400 (the older Pentax K10D topped out at ISO3200) was really necessary given the lack of quality offered.
The main issue with image quality is actually down to the lens. The smc Pentax-DA 3.5-5.6 18-55mm AL II should be a decent piece of glass. That's inherent in the name (indeed aspherical elements (AL) should reduce chromatic aberration and ghosting). But ghosting is a serious issue in many circumstances - through tripod-mounted long exposures with delayed shutter release, to 500/second handheld shots. It's not apparent on the camera's screen, only when opening images in full:
Caption - such ghosting is also visible on the ISO series above
Thankfully Pentax don't automatically bundle the K20D with a lens however, so you're free to pick up a body only for around £700. Given that all previous KA and K lenses will fit (albeit with limitations), you may already have existing lenses to put to the body. The current Pentax KAF-fit boasts a range of lenses that are, for the most part, heralded as excellent quality - though in the case of the smc Pentax-DA 3.5-5.6 18-55mm AL II this doesn't ring true.
In-camera Shake Reduction (SR) is a little hit and miss at times, but certainly effective. It can save around 2 stops worth, and whilst perhaps isn't as effective as some other manufacturers' systems (though with the ghosting issue from the lens it's hard to tell with absolute accuracy), it certainly does the job.
Conclusion
The Pentax K20D body is a sturdy, comprehensive little beast. If you already own a Pentax K10D then it's probably not worth the upgrade - it doesn't offer that much more. But for first time buyers, those looking to upgrade from an older system, or maybe you're sitting on a mountain of Pentax lenses from the past - the Pentax K20D is a potentially savvy purchase. It may be somewhat underminded by the Samsung GX-20 however, given that's fundamentally the same camera but for a few hundred smackers less.
Lens wise, the kit lens isn't the greatest. But that's the way the story tends to go with entry-level kit bundles. Best advice would be to buy body only and plump up the extra pounds to get a truly decent piece of glass.
All in all, the Pentax K20D is a decent camera with enough features to keep top-end enthusiasts, travel photographers and possibly even some pros happy. It's not the 14.6megapixel sensor that makes this the camera what it is, that almost doesn't matter - it's the combination of intuitive layout, functions and relative ease of use. Whether it will do well in the market is a different matter - but there's no reason to shun Pentax on the basis of brand name, given that the K20D will give any other top manufacturers' products a good run for their money.
**Picture quality tricky to judge on the basis of the lens, moreso derived from image size and ISO noise
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Sensor
| 14.6 megapixel CMOS sensor (23.4 x 15.6mm)
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LCD monitor
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2.7" TFT LCD (230,000pixels)
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Sensitivity
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ISO 100-3200
"Hi" option ISO 6400 equivalent
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Auto Focus Points
| 11-point (9 cross type sensors)
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White balance
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Auto, 8 modes, manual and fine tuning
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On board flash
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Built in pop up, GN13
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Shutter speed and flash sync
| 30seconds (or Bulb) - 1/4000th second
X-sync to 1/180 sec
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Continuous shooting
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3fps
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Storage
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SD / SDHC
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Battery
Lithium-Ion battery pack D-LI50
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Lens type / fitting
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KAF2, also compatible with KAF, KA and K lenses (with restrictions)
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