Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only)

Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only)

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• 14.6-megapixel resolution captures enough detail for poster-sized prints
• 2.7-inch LCD display; body only--no lens included
• Dust-proof, water-resistant construction; comprehensive Dust Removal system
• New Live View function
• Capture images to SD/SDHC cards (not included)

Buy Now : Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only)

Brand : Pentax
Category : Electronics,Camera & Photo,Digital Cameras,DSLR Cameras
Rating : 4.4
Review Count : 141

Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only)

• If Pentax were a bit more serious about increasing the sales of their cameras to first-time Pentax buyers, they\'d be making some changes to their marketing strategy. It\'s unfortunate that with most consumer/professional camera reviews, the Pentax products get dinged in relation to their competitors when they shouldn\'t have to be. You can see this in the Consumer Reports review of DSLRs and other reviews such as PopPhoto. The problem is that these reviews are performed with tested cameras at their default settings, and Pentax chooses to \"compromise\" the performance of their cameras by requiring custom adjustments to bring about the true potential of the product. The K10D took a hit with its lower-contrast, soft and dark pictures when in default mode. Change the settings and you have a camera every bit in step with its competition at the time. Now the K20D suffers the same fate with the decision to make Noise Reduction-OFF the default setting. The PopPhoto test of the K20D actually resulted in higher noise levels than the K10D. Indeed, when I first compared the two cameras, I found them both the same at ISO 1600 for the amount of visible noise. Obviously, this is a shocker when you consider that the K20 uses the new CMOS sensor as opposed to the K10\'s CCD. Although the detail was higher in the K20, the noise was no better. That is, until I set noise reduction to \"weak.\" What a difference! Comparing shots taken at the same settings between the two cameras (K10 default has noise reduction on) but with the K20 at the full 14.6 mp setting and highest JPEG quality with noise reduction at \"weak,\" and the K20\'s image is strikingly cleaner and sharper. There\'s no doubt the resolution of the K20\'s image is hands-down superior to the K10. But you won\'t read about this in any review unless they choose to turn on noise reduction. There is a very slight loss of detail with NR on, but the resolution of the K20\'s sensor is so good anyway that the loss is negligible (especially with the Pentax DA* 50-135 lens). Certainly experienced photographers could argue the Pentax reasoning behind the default setting issue, but from a marketing perspective, subjective reviews and objective lab results based on lesser picture performance of default settings can only hurt potential sales when a buyer sees that the 40D or the D300 has clearly better performance in the noise level competition. When you\'re going up against the giants, you need to exploit the maximum potential of your product, and I believe Pentax has failed to do that.Having a K10 and a number of Pentax lenses already, I couldn\'t quite justify jumping ship for the excellent Canon 40D or Nikon D300. But in the end, the price of the K20 was well-justified. The first feature that sold me on the camera is one that only true professional cameras have and isn\'t even mentioned in the K20 pitch - the ability to fine-tune the auto focus system so that if a lens is front or back-focusing, you can correct for it. This allows you to change the relationship between the point you focus on to the front-to-back area around that object that is also in focus known as the depth of field. This feature could save you a lot of heartache with poorly calibrated lenses that would otherwise be useless. The second feature of this camera that sold me is the improved sensor with its 14.6 MP rating and increased resolution. ISO 1600 shots are now a non-issue compared to the K10. Overall, the K20\'s pictures tend to be a tad bit warmer than the K10\'s, but I\'ve also found them to better handle high-contrast transitions between bright and dark with less blown-out bright areas. This was evident in sunset shots where the brightest areas of the orange clouds went yellow in the K10 but kept their detail and color with the K20 (shooting in JPEG). No longer is there an issue with under-exposed shots as with the K10, and normal settings are set close to sharpness/contrast ideals, I\'ve found. But of course, it\'s all adjustable to just about any result you could want. Just be prepared to deal with some pretty big file sizes on the highest quality JPEG setting - about 11MB. Shoot in RAW and it\'s almost twice that size. 4GB SD cards suddenly seem puny.After several thousand shots with the K20, there are a few things that I would consider a bit of a deficit with this camera\'s performance. First and foremost is the burst rate of 3 frames per second. This is perfectly fine for just about all shooting situations except sports. If you plan to do sports photography, this is not the camera for you. Way too much action happens between frames at that slow rate. The other area where performance lags a bit is with the auto focus system: it\'s just too slow at the very times you need it to work faster than it can. The issue remains a nuisance from kit lenses to the DA* SDM lenses in low-light or with moving objects. Live-View was not something I cared much about, but since it\'s there it has come in handy at times for inconspicuous pointing of the camera at non-moving objects or confirming focus when in manual focus mode. My only complaint is that its not as refined in its operation as I\'d prefer, and it makes odd clunky-clattery noises when its in use. Another feature that could use some improvement is the Auto ISO setting where the camera selects the ISO between a range you specify. The problem is that it defaults to the lowest ISO which could result in a shutter speed as low as 1/80. This is too slow for anything moving, and I\'ve lost opportunities to blurred pictures because of this. More expensive cameras have the ability to specify a minimum shutter speed as the secondary setting to this feature. Perhaps Pentax has it somewhere, but I just haven\'t found it. The last nit pick I have is with the shutter sound. It\'s a little bit sharper and quieter than the K10, but I really don\'t care for the sound on either camera - too \"squeaky/clangy.\"In the balance, however, there are a multitude of plusses to this camera that make it great such as the quality of the photos, the flexibility to custom adjust just about anything connected to the picture image and capture (too many to mention), the RAW file handling, in-camera image stability system, the auto focus adjustment feature, weather sealing, the ergonomics/handling and solid feel of the camera. The dust mapping and removal is nifty, too. The dust mapping lets you see a representation of where exactly the dust is on the sensor rather than having to study pictures and transpose the positioning to what you see when looking straight at the sensor from the front. It\'s also quite sensitive. It showed the presence of dust when I had a very had time even detecting the dust in photos of blue sky taken with a high f-stop. Interestingly, the dust shake-off feature of the sensor has never worked for me on either the K10 or the K20. What always works is to use a manual blower to shoot a few burst of air at the sensor at the right locations.If you want a truly fine camera that lets you stand out from the Canon/Nikon masses without feeling second-rate (so long as you stay out of sports arenas), this camera is a worthy purchase that will get you great results. I\'m surprised at the looks and questions I get from even professional photographers when they see me shooting with the K20 and a DA* lens attached. If you aspire to professional levels of photography without the typical high accessory costs incurred by Nikon/Canon shooters, this is probably one of the best mid-level cameras going. And Pentax is continuing to introduce more professional lenses on par with those from Canon and Nikkor at significantly lower cost.
• First, a quick disclaimer - I\'m not a pro but probably fall into the serious amateur category after falling in love with my old Minolta Maxxum 7000 over 20 years ago. I\'m the person behind the camera at all the parties and occassionally get the exceptional shot worthy of a few \"oooh and ahhhs\". I\'ve also been holding out on buying anything more than a simple toss around digital until the cost and quality of dslr\'s were to my liking. As the price and quality of 10+ mp dslr\'s are now in the comfort range I decided to chuck the point and shoot junk I\'ve been making do with and began shopping in earnest. After testing the Canon the speed seemed nice but I wasn\'t impressed so I narrowed it down to the Nikon 300 - it seemed to have everything I was searching for in a versatile camera. After adding decent quality lenses, storage, a few extras etc the price was going to come in at roughly $3,500 on sale...not bad but enough to make me take one last look around. On spur of the moment my better half said take a look at Pentax - they have been around forever and are known for making above average lens.So, the K20D pops up with a 14+ mp on sale for $800 or 1/2 the Nikon...so far so good but I was a bit nervous about ordering it despite the good reviews. I spent the better part of the day researching the camera and decided to give it a shot [sorry - bad pun].Ordered the K20D ($800), 8 gb card ($35), battery grip ($120), extra battery pack ($20), remote ($20) tripod ($18 on special), camera strap (free promo) and the Pentax 18-250 mm lense ($350). For $1350 I now have a very versatile camera for almost a 1/3 of the price of the Nikon....suffice to say based on price alone I\'m one happy shopper. UPDATE: also added the Tamron 90mm Macro with 1:1 for another $365 after rebate. Good additional lens with a few issues (see my review on it separately). Between the two - have a nice 1:1 macro and portrait lens with a terrific \"all around\" lens...also added several filters [uv, polarizing, close up] an inexpensive tripod and another inexpensive monopod plus some excellent books...all for less than the cost of the Nikon with one lens!Now, for the performance, look feel etc. The 14+ mp really make a difference - resolution is excellent and compares favorable to film. For the first time I don\'t feel like I\'m missing anything major. This camera takes some beautiful shots even with my own limited testing.The weight and feel are very nice - everything is ergonomically correct at least for my hands, intuitive access on all controls, solid and best of all - sealed! Screen size is adequte and I really appreciate the ability to set colors, font size and other adaptations to fit my needs. Diopter is also adjustable. The lens is reviewed apart but was a great all around choice - responsive and adequate although I intend to purchase additional dedicated/primary lens options soon. One thing I REALLY like about this Pentax is the backward compatibility - Pentax DSLR\'s allow the use of older Pentax lens so eBay and other options become a great way to find a quality lens at an affordable price. Since my old pricey Minolta lens\' are no longer of any use that is a big bonus at least until Sony puts something decent on the market. In the meantime, this was a good starter lense [18-250 mm] that works well with the camera.The menu and pre-sets are easy to use and versatile although I quickly found myself preferring manual - that is just a personal bias however. Preview was easy to use. There are a lot of negative mention regarding the Live screen option...having been playing with slr\'s for 20+ years I\'ve never used the screen to take photos with but tested it for a few minutes and found it easy enough to use - just not sensitive to take a quality photo. It is possible to zoom in the live preview mode (contrary to what a few have mentioned) but all in all - it\'s not a feature I use enough to make a valid statement about.The only other \"flaw\" that makes the camera less than perfect is the 3fps - it is substantially slower than other DSLR\'s on the market. Since I rarely shoot sports or have need for speed - it isn\'t a major consideration for me however, I would have gone with the Nikon if it were. This camera is able to shoot rapid series of shots in low quality settings of up to 21 fps - a fun little addition for playing around with but with a quality so low it isn\'t going to give more than email quality.A few things I REALLY liked about the camera - other than price, resolutoin and intuitive design were several of the upgraded features. In addition to sealing both the camera and battery pack, the ability to take shots in raw and jpeg format at the same time is a great option. Likewise, this is fully compatible with adobe format so saves need for changing formats or fooling around with various options - just set on dual use and go. The battery pack with an extended memory card expand this to a considerable level. I was able to get about 750 pictures off just one battery using a flash part of the time and high resolution settings. The battery pack is very ergonomic, adds a battery back-up that is easy to switch and also allows storage for an additional card and remote control. When fully charged I expect to put at least 1500 photos on the card and battery before changing out - easily.The camera comes with battery and charger, inexpensive camera strap - neigther were mentioned when I was buying so I ordered a battery charger that had to return.One additional note - in addition to 10% off the price of a decent/versatile lens - be sure to register before the end of the year. Pentax is offeringa FREE upgrade to 3 year warranty on this purhcase!!! That beats all others hands-down. In addition to the pentax 18-250 mm lens, I also purchased the Tamron 90 mm macro which has a $90 rebate AND 6 year warranty right now. Good stuff! Good deals - even if Amazon has lowered the price $35 since I bought this a week ago [argh] and offers a free camera case that I missed [double argh]. Still very pleased.Will try to review again after having owned/used but so far REALLY pleased with price, performance and resolution of the camera.UPDATE: I\'ve now owned this for several week and had a couple opportunities to use it in different settings - outdoor shots, inside with a little \"mini studio\" for portraits, some macro work etc... although the \"user\" [myself] is rusty and still learning all this camera is capable of doing - the results are consistently great....even when I thought they would be inferior. The range of this camera is pretty amazing especially in low light settings or shadows where other camera\'s begin to show extreme noise. Side by side comparison to a more expensive Canon model - this took more clear shots hands down...in fact, this can actually allow ISO settings up to 6400 {although not great quality at that level] whereas the Canon can\'t even attempt it. At more modest levels, this handles photos with ease while the Canon has already started showing serious noise distortion.In fact, the one issue I\'ve run into while taking portraits was \"too true to life\". This camera shows every detail - much to the dismay of at least one or two aging family members. Of course, that is easy to correct in a good program but if resolution is what you are searching for this one has it!Another great feature is the bracketing. I\'m interested in pursuing a bit of High Dynamic Range photography - something new that is made possible by the digital format. I\'ve not had an opportunity to delve into this much yet but the resolution of this camera combined with the bracketing feature make it a LOT easier to get started in this creative endeavor. After purchasing several books on the topic I was a little worried about the complexity - no need. This camera makes it relatively simple to try out this fun and creative new method. While it isn\'t something I plan to use all the time, it IS a fun and exciting area that expands the entire photography field beyond what was ever possible with film.Finally, for those that appreciate black and white photos - I can report this provides a very nice redition. This was originally another area of concern for me since so many digital pictures seem to have either a yellow or reddish cast rather than true black and white/greyscale. While much will depend upon who you use for printing the pictures, at least you will find a responsive greyscale with this camera. VERY little to No need for modification in Photoshop - nearly all were excellent straight from the camera setting.Cannot say enough good things - combined with the extended 3 year warranty currently offer [and the big price reduction offered by Amazon...argh] this is a no-brainer. Buy it - you will like it!

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