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Pentax Optio VS20 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £157
inc VAT

The portrait-orientation controls are interesting but not much practical use; image quality is below par

Specifications

1/2.33in 15.9-megapixel sensor, 20.0x zoom (28-560mm equivalent), 191g

http://www.morecomputers.com
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The camera failed to redeem itself in our image quality tests. Brightly lit shots were pleasantly exposed and full of colour, but close inspection revealed heavy noise reduction that glossed over fine details and gave photos a plastic-like quality. Noise reduction worked even harder in low light, and while it kept noise reasonably in check, only the boldest details had survived. Noise is a common problem among 16-megapixel 1/2.3in sensors, and this one follows the trend.

Pentax Optio VS20 samples
Image quality is at its best at wide-angle settings and in bright light, but noise reduction gives details a plastic-like quality – click to enlarge

Telephoto shots had their own set of problems. Shots with focal lengths of 338mm and longer often suffered from misjudged autofocus, and at the full 560mm telephoto zoom position, out-of-focus shots were annoyingly frequent. Even when they were judged correctly, heavy chromatic aberrations compromised details towards the edges of the frame and produced distracting multi-coloured halos around high-contrast edges.

Pentax Optio VS20 samples
Telephoto shots suffer from poor focus – this is one of our better sample shots… – click to enlarge

Pentax Optio VS20 samples
…and this is one of the worst, but it’s not atypical – click to enlarge

Videos were better, but the 720p resolution, inefficient Motion JPEG compression and inability to zoom while recording aren’t up to today’s standards. Stabilisation for videos is electronic rather than optical, and it failed to keep handheld telephoto clips steady.

Sadly, there’s not much to be positive about in the VS20. Its unusual controls are badly implemented, it’s slow, takes ugly photos and it isn’t much to look at either. It’s one to avoid. For this money you can currently pick up the excellent Canon PowerShot SX220 HS instead.

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Basic Specifications

Rating**
CCD effective megapixels15.9 megapixels
CCD size1/2.33in
Viewfindernone
Viewfinder magnification, coverageN/A
LCD screen size3.0in
LCD screen resolution460,000 pixels
Articulated screenNo
Live viewYes
Optical zoom20.0x
Zoom 35mm equivalent28-560mm
Image stabilisationoptical, sensor shift
Maximum image resolution4,608×3,456
Maximum movie resolution1280×720
Movie frame rate at max quality30fps
File formatsJPEG; AVI (M-JPEG)

Physical

Memory slotSDXC
Mermory supplied16MB internal
Battery typeLi-ion
Battery Life (tested)200 shots
ConnectivityUSB, AV
HDMI output resolutionN/A
Body materialplastic
Lens mountN/A
Focal length multiplierN/A
Kit lens model nameN/A
AccessoriesUSB cable
Weight191g
Size63x112x39mm

Buying Information

Warrantyone-year RTB
Price£157
Supplierhttp://www.morecomputers.com
Detailswww.pentax.co.uk

Camera Controls

Exposure modesauto
Shutter speedauto
Aperture rangef/3.1 (wide), f/4.8 (tele)
ISO range (at full resolution)100 to 1600
Exposure compensation+/-2 EV
White balanceauto, 4 presets, manual
Additional image controlscontrast, saturation, sharpness, highlight correction, shadow correction
Manual focusYes
Closest macro focus1cm
Auto-focus modesmulti, centre, face detect, tracking
Metering modesmulti
Flashauto, forced, suppressed, slow synchro, red-eye reduction
Drive modessingle, continuous, self-timer, AE bracket

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