Pentax K20D review

If there's one brand that seems to instinctively cater for both the enthusiast and student it's Pentax, so it comes as little surprise to see the company upgrade its popular top-of-the-range 10-megapixel K10D.

Although the headline feature is the 14.6-megapixel Cmos sensor, in almost every other area the K20D can be viewed as a subtle advance on its predecessor.

The new model adopts the same weather-sealed plastic outer shell as the K10D, thereby inheriting the excellent ergonomics for which the older model was lauded. If we have a quibble over the layout, it's that there are no direct buttons for choosing ISO, white balance and drive modes. All these, plus the various flash options, are chosen after pressing the Fn button and then selecting the appropriate features from the rear 2.7in screen and direction pad. That's like the old model except now, in addition to altering white-balance settings, you can select from five different image parameter presets, adjust them on a neat-looking radar chart and visually check the outcome as a preview. This is taken using the collar surrounding the shutter button, like the K10D, but can now be retained as a Jpeg. You can also capture a snap normally and then apply image parameters settings to that, although it can be difficult to see subtle changes on the built-in screen.

Like just about every other new DSLR, the K20D has Live View and that, too, is selected from the shutter button collar. Compared with rival systems, the K20D's Live View feels like an afterthought. It's pretty easy to manually focus, though, especially as the standard kit lens autofocus system doesn't have to be de-clutched in the process. However, zooming in to check focus produces a grainy image at the maximum x8 magnification. If that doesn't work for you, the alternative is to adopt the viewfinder AF system in Live View, but this has a disconcerting double mirror flap.

Using the optical viewfinder, we felt it was a little darker than the best, and the low eye-relief means having to press your face right up against the camera body. On the plus side, it has a reasonably large image and the information is good. Showing the Raw setting is a good idea, but ISOs are only displayed through a custom option or when in certain exposure modes. And that's the same for the top-plate data panel.

We like the bundled 18-55mm kit zoom: it's one of the better-made starter lenses. Autofocus operation is steady, rather than blisteringly fast, and we found it was reasonably accurate even in low light levels. While the 11-point AF system sounds good on paper, the outer detection areas were hardly brought into play.

On-board anti-shake is welcome, but we didn't detect any distinct improvement over the K10D's system with the same kit lens. We were also a little disappointed to learn the burst rate hasn't improved beyond 3fps and that the buffer will hold no more than 38 full-resolution Jpeg images.

At low ISOs, the K20D delivers high-quality and detailed images, especially from Raw (Png or Pef) files. At both ISO1600 and ISO3200, colour speckles are pretty noticeable, although to Pentax's credit, detail remains high. An extended ISO6400 option isn't likely to find many takers, but a three-step noise-reduction system does go some way to providing a reasonable balance between smearing and speckles.

Colour rendition and tonal range seem slightly better than its predecessor's. But, like many if its rivals, the K20D's white-balance inaccuracies were obvious with indoor lighting.