Originally posted by codiac2600 Pentax K20D
So we still have 3FPS and we will still have the same low-light AF ability coupled with the same 11 AF points with 9 of those being selectable.
What has changed in the camera? Way too much for me to ever remember hence why I wrote this article ahead of time so I could make sure I have all the bases covered when the camera is announced.
The sensor… this sensor is most likely the most technologically advanced sensor on the market period. This is the very first high resolution sensor and actually breaks the quality of many lenses on the market. 14.7 effective megapixels… that sounds almost ludicrous! Many of you are probably thinking well small pixels right? WRONG! The pixels are actually the same size as the pixels on the Sony 12MP sensor that is in the Sony A700 and the Nikon D300! Now you’re all thinking that I’m nuts because there is no way Pentax has this sensor technology because nobody else has it. Sorry guys they do have this technology because they patented it and Samsung built it. We now have a high resolving sensor with high sensitivity! Somewhere a rep told me that each pixel has a base ISO1600 sensitivity, but this could be different or an interpretation. It’s basically magic like Ken Rockwell always says when he doesn’t want to understand how something works. Not only does this sensor have great sensitivity per pixel, but is self repairing! With a couple of button presses you can fix dead pixels on your sensor while you wait. Huh? You know those dead pixels that happen from time to time. Basically you’d send your camera in to be repaired and they’d send it back with that dead pixel mapped out of the equation. The K20D can do this for you in camera folks! So let’s sum this up… a 14.7MP, high resolution sensor, low noise, and self healing!
Estimated US price is $1299 body only and $1399 with the new DA 18-55 II. All previous K10D accessories will work on the K20D including grip, focusing screens, etc.
*DISCLAIMER* All of these statements are my own and it stems from a prototype camera that lacked full functionality and a finalized firmware. Things can change drastically when the final product hits the market. If for any reason you have handled a camera of newer firmware and setting have changed please inform me so I can make appropriate changes. Under no circumstance may anyone reproduce any of this, but can link this physical thread as much as you like. So you better have my permission before you try and copy and past this onto your own website.*END DISCLAIMER*
I think Pentax made a mistake by not improving frame rate and AF. Nikon improved both when it brought out the D300. Now Pentax is even further behind in this regard versus the competition.
The decision to make a 14mp is a marketing one. Basically, the marketing department decided that a 14mp camera will be more attractive to consumers, who mostly shop on the basis of megapixel count and price. Pentax marketing appears to believe that it can charge much more money by maximizing megapixel count. This is basically the same camera as the K10D in terms of frame rate and durability, but it is introduced at a price that is much higher than that of its predecessor primarily because of megapixel count. The $1299 price is simply too high, in spite of the 14mp resolution, since Canon has just released a 12mp 450D that can do 3.5fps at $799. Is the extra 2mp worth $500? To many end users I doubt that it does.
I wish Samsung had applied its patented technology to maximize pixel size instead of pixel count. A more modest 12mp with larger individual pixels than those on the Sony A700 and Nikon D300 would have been a better alternative than 14mp.
Nevertheless, it is good news to see that Samsung has graduated to the APS-C size sensor class. The future hopefully will bring more and bigger sensors. After all, it could get ugly if the K30D has an 18-20 megapixel APS-C sensor and it shoots only 3fps. A 14-16mp full frame DSLR that can shoot 5fps should be Pentax's next goal. Perhaps Samsung can even make some medium format CMOS sensors for the Pentax 645D.