K20D - Worth upgrading firmware if I have no hot pixel issues?

NicholasN · 01-06-2009, 06:28 PM

Is it worth it? I don't use the 2 sec timer and have no hot pixel issues. Does the firmware 1.1 actually have any other changes?

navcom · 01-06-2009, 07:31 PM

There were some other assorted fixes but nothing major. One thing to remember is that if you do upgrade and you use Lightroom, LR might not recognize the RAW files initially, as one of the changes in the firmware changed the camera name from "Pentax K20D" to just "K20D", which for some reason makes it unrecognizeable.

LR just tells you that you may need to install a plug-in to recognize the RAW file but if you just accept it anyway, it will work just fine.

Frogroast · 01-06-2009, 08:46 PM

If I understand the posts about this issue, it doesn't seem to affect Adobe products, but it does affect iPhoto, Aperture, Bibble, and others.

Is this correct or not? I'm getting my K20D tomorrow and I can't wait to play. Last thing I want is to break it before I even get started

debbie · 01-06-2009, 11:00 PM

iPhoto and Aperture will not be affected if you have updated your RAW compability.

ozzi-paul · 01-07-2009, 04:20 AM

I read somewhere that the hot pixel problem doesn't ocur in the DNG raw files, only in the
Pentax PEF raw files, would that be right.

navcom · 01-07-2009, 05:16 AM

Originally Posted by Frogroast

If I understand the posts about this issue, it doesn't seem to affect Adobe products, but it does affect iPhoto, Aperture, Bibble, and others.

Is this correct or not? I'm getting my K20D tomorrow and I can't wait to play. Last thing I want is to break it before I even get started

I updated my firmware and was immediately hit with a warning that I may need a plug-in to edit RAW images in Photoshop from LR (I use DNG). I just select "edit anyway" and it works fine. There is a box for "ignore this message next time" which I selected after getting this message several times. Now it's not an issue...or at least I'm not noticing any limitations or problems.

It may well be an actual problem with PEF format files since I have always used DNG.

rfortson · 01-07-2009, 12:24 PM

I updated firmware when it came out (I always do as a matter of course), and just recently switched to LR. LR2 and the current LR2.1 never gave me any problems. I think it was corrected in the latest ACR update, anyway.

I didn't have the hot pixel issue either, but I still upgraded firmware. I haven't noticed anything different.