Originally posted by RiceHigh 3. Moreover, the shutter release button is badly loose, which means the reaction force is simply too little for the half-pressing. In fact, I found it just feels worse than my K100D. The shutter release button of the vertical grip suffers from the same problem as the main body button. The bad feel decreases the overall feeling about better build quality;
I think it's called soft touch back in the film days. Don't remember which Canon model but not everyone liked it either. My old Z-1p had similar characteristic too and switching between the MZ bodies and the Z-1p could result in some accidental shots. But once I got used to it, I like the soft touch better for quick snaps.
Originally posted by RiceHigh 6. I shot stationary people and object under the sunlight and indoor with AF-S mode, using the central AF point mostly. What I would temporarily conclude that the AF system is the same as and identical to the K10D and K100D's (well, if Lithium batteries is used in the K100). The most annoying thing is the final focus reconfirmation which checked for if the first time AF movement stopped position had any errors and needed to re-adjust once more (aka hunting, although it is not in a serious way, just because the testing environment is just bright or not too dim indoor). The responsiveness of the AF is rather poor, too, which means that after you have half-pressed the shutter release button, there is a noticeable delay before the AF motor moves - the AF system just needed to think longer than what I would tolerate. Well, in short, I would still think that the AF system performance, speed, responsiveness etc. is still pathetic;
I recently tried the 40D twice at different time just to see how much better the AF tracking was. My sister was helping me for the tests and walking toward me in BestBuy (around 5-6EV I think). With the kit zooms at their long ends, 40D never missed a moment, D80 was about as good but the AF was less smooth at close range, surprisingly the E410 while not as perfect, still managed to tracking much better than my DS with any lenses that I have. My DS with DA16-45/4 was able to take 4 shots in AF-C but it either AF on the background (thanks to the wide AF sensors) or completely OOF (it just kept thinking...). When I checked the raw speed the 40D was turning the lens from one end to another, it was no faster than my DS. So it is not the raw speed that made the AF difference. Based on my experience with the DS (yeah I know K10D/K20D should be faster), I have noticed that as the EV drops, the camera tends to "think" and hestitate a moment before it starts to turn the lens. As it zips in, it would hesitate twice before it locks focus. On rare occasions, it would hesitate once only before lock. I think these are the reasons the Pentax AF suffers for moving targets as it simply hesitates too much. But for static subjects, you rarely notice the difference. Nonetheless, I am convinced Pentax would not seriously address this shortcoming in the near future (should have done it along with the SDM but they didn't), I have just bought myself a set of 40D just for low EV AF & AF tracking. Will be interesting to see how much it helps in practice.
Originally posted by RiceHigh 7. Furthermore, the classic Pentax AF red illumination indicator incorrect position problem does still exist for these two units I tested!(?) The first K20D was having the central AF red point shift upwards whereas the second one had it shifted upwards and to the right side. The problem is indeed rather annoying (at least to me and quite some other users as reported) although it have nothing to do for the actual AF sensor alignment, I just wonder why Pentax still and still have NOT debugged its design and adopt a better indication method which should not be having this persistent problem, which happened on day one with my *ist D bodies, which is just a very disappointed thing.
The projector is located on the "forehead" of the prism, together with the focus screen you see the red indicator. If either one was not aligned precisely, the red dots will not appear perfectly centred. If it was not too far off, it might (or might not) be addressed by reseating the screen.
Originally posted by RiceHigh Moreover, do note that the misaligned AF red dot may mislead the user to level the image when looking through the *optical* viewfinder, which is a practical problem which much less people would notice.
I think the only concern is that the AF sensor module might not be as precisely as aligned as it should. This might led to miss-AF or thought to be BF/FF. The same applies to spot meter as well, except realign the metering cell is a lot easier.
Originally posted by RiceHigh 8. I am not impressed with the overall build quality of the K20D. It feels exactly the same of all the *ist D and previous K cameras - the outer shell is just too plasticky somehow afterall.
I don't treat my gears rough so I don't know how much they could take. But go by the "feel" only, the 40D didn't feel more solid than my DS, just bigger & heavier. In fact I think Nikon and Olympus bodies are better assembled though the feel could be deceiving. But my most concern is the sudden death with Canon gears like the err99. I know Pentax gears enough that I trust they won't die on me, let's hope the Canon won't disappoint me.
Originally posted by RiceHigh All in all, the quick conclusion of mine is that whilst I believe that the K20D should be the best DSLR body ever made by Pentax in the Pentax land. It just fell short of many things in the competition and by no means it is really a wise choice to choose by considering its relatively high price tag which it is just not worth by judging in any ways unless we are tied firmly to the Pentax system. Frankly, if I am starting from scratch, why not buy a D300 or a 40D at about the same price, which has better and faster AF, faster shooting frame rate, better build quality, less shutter lag, less "classic" Pentax specified and unique problems, a stronger and more comprehensive system, better customer support and so on.
Given the same price point, I personally think 40D is a better buy (not the reason I bought it however). But if Pentax managed to match the same AF performance on the next model (could be a long shot), Pentax could make a serious come back. IMHO, the AF issue alone has been dragging Pentax down for 2 decades and it is time to address it once and for all if they wanted to survive. Features may attract buyers, but only the actual performance will make them stay.