[Marc Langille]

Hi Carl,

Welcome and look forward to seeing more posts! You live in a beautiful region, no question.

I can honestly say the K20D higher ISO performance has been very useful in many situations, especially for much of my work with wildlife. I am very comfortable shooting up to ISO 1250 with the K20D, but only in specific situations. I am sure if the subjects were in brighter light, I would not hesitate to go to ISO 1600 as your image shows.

Looks like we briefly crossed paths in the "weather sealed" thread! I've managed to get some great images from the kit lenses, it's just learning their strengths...

Regards,
Marc

[farfisa]

Great shots, Carl!

When I saw the user name, though, I would have bet a few bucks that you were Canadian

[MrApollinax]

Running through some early shots I took a peek at this one (having forgot what ISO I used), honestly thought it was an ISO 400 image. Impressive.

ISO 6400 doesn't look good at all but I rarely even go as high as 1600 so I really could care less.

Final edit (sorry about that!)

Nice shot but almost as important in this case.... EXCELLENT BEER!

[Alfisti]

Interesting to see what someone from another system thinks. I am surprised you did not spring for the 21 immediately, it seems to fit your needs.

You mention Canikon don't have enough external buttons but Pentax just refuses to a) use the trash button in shooting mode and b) supply a dedicated WB or ISO button. Seems a tad odd.

I am with Pentax for the compactness of the systen when lenses are taken into account though I do wish for more refinement from the AF system and more responsiveness overall.

[Jewelltrail]

kenyee

What do you guys do for hiking packs? I've found that the camera ones (Fastpack, Sequence, etc.) are mostly for storing camera gear and aren't even big enough to carry extra clothes when you get to the top or food, water, etc

I mainly use a 2300ci Mountainsmith pack. The K20 with all its accompaniment, is first fitted into a smaller Adorama sack. I then fit that into my Mountainsmith pack. Even with all this, I can still carry water, food, headlamp, knife, snowshoes, crampons, extra clothing, summit parka, as well as other items-- as needed.

kenyee How do you stuff camera gear in that pack? Padded case? I was thinking regular pack and a chest camera pack would be the most viable thing to do if you want to do more than a 30min hike.

I have hiked as much as 23 miles in a day, but in summer conditions. Above treeline, in Maine & New Hamphshire in winter, I usually stay at 10 miles an under for the day.

[ShadZee]

Carl,

I've read just about every article you have on Sony A700 and A900. I was this "--" close to getting A900. I was even contemplating flying to Canada and picking one up ;-)

However, I decided to stick with Pentax. The VERY low price and the 3 year warranty of the K20 convinced me ;-)

All jokes aside, the main reason I stayed with Pentax were the lenses. DA35 macro is fantastic, and the DA*, older FA* and FA Limited are as fine of a lens line up your can find anywhere.

I certainly believe the Pentax K20D is the BEST APS-C camera body there is. The A700, and D300 are the only two others I would consider to be in the same league, but considering the lenses... I think Pentax wins out.

In the last couple of months I've made two trips to high sierras / Mammoth Lakes areas. One while the leaves were turning red, and another one just last week after the big snow storm. Fantastic nature... loved it.

Welcome to the Pentax Camp.

[nostatic]

b) supply a dedicated WB or ISO button. Seems a tad odd.

I assume you do know about the trick of using the "OK" button and using the front wheel to change ISO in capture? While not a dedicated button, it is quicker than going to the menu. I agree that a specific wb/iso button would be nice, but it is tricky to balance usability and flexibility. One thing I hope they don't change is the lever for switching between meter modes.

[ShadZee]

I've changed the default setting for the front wheel in Av and Tv modes to change ISO. The ISO is displayed in the viewfinder as well as the top LCD instead of shots remaining (OK button will show remaining shots).

This way In Av (which I use most of the time) and Tv modes I can change the ISO through the viewfinder and see the exposure changes immediately. Very convenient, and the best implementation I've seen considering other brands.

[ShadZee]

Like OP, I've just gotten my K20D.

One of the interesting and impressive things I've seen so far is the image Bracketing settings.

You can set the camera up to take 3-5 shots with a SINGLE push of the shutter button

Fantastic and QUICK for hand-held HDR shots.

[Rush2112]

Nice shot but almost as important in this case.... EXCELLENT BEER!

You mean the one I polished off last night ? lol!

[Rush2112]

Carl,

I've read just about every article you have on Sony A700 and A900. I was this "--" close to getting A900. I was even contemplating flying to Canada and picking one up ;-)

However, I decided to stick with Pentax. The VERY low price and the 3 year warranty of the K20 convinced me ;-)

All jokes aside, the main reason I stayed with Pentax were the lenses. DA35 macro is fantastic, and the DA*, older FA* and FA Limited are as fine of a lens line up your can find anywhere.

I certainly believe the Pentax K20D is the BEST APS-C camera body there is. The A700, and D300 are the only two others I would consider to be in the same league, but considering the lenses... I think Pentax wins out.

In the last couple of months I've made two trips to high sierras / Mammoth Lakes areas. One while the leaves were turning red, and another one just last week after the big snow storm. Fantastic nature... loved it.

Welcome to the Pentax Camp.

If you're going to stay with one brand only, I think either Pentax or Sony are a good brand and offer the best overall lenses (sony's new stuff is fantastic). Interesting you've read my articles, I thought I was safe here from bumping into anyone! lol j/k of course.

Heck I haven't pulled the trigger on the A900 yet so.. if that says something. Partly because I can get one to use anytime I want for free so parting with 3k right now is a difficult proposition, for my needs, I just don't need THAT much resolution at the moment.

[Rush2112]

Interesting to see what someone from another system thinks. I am surprised you did not spring for the 21 immediately, it seems to fit your needs.

You mention Canikon don't have enough external buttons but Pentax just refuses to a) use the trash button in shooting mode and b) supply a dedicated WB or ISO button. Seems a tad odd.

I am with Pentax for the compactness of the systen when lenses are taken into account though I do wish for more refinement from the AF system and more responsiveness overall.

The 21 is on the list, and I will get to it very soon

On the buttons, im used to pressing the FN button on the Sony's to dive into my changes anyways so for me it isn't that bad, but im only one opinion. Having the buttons on the Sony's is nice though for sure. Either way, I find the Pentax much more usable than the Nikon or Canon alternatives, speaking for my needs.

Always room for improvement indeed.

[Rush2112]

Great shots, Carl!

When I saw the user name, though, I would have bet a few bucks that you were Canadian

And if I ever get to talk to Mr. Peart, I'll have him make that unofficially official!

C

[Rush2112]

Little snag I ran into with the 40mm F2.8 LTD. It wouldn't autofocus but for the first few feet or so in the range, I cleaned the contacts- not it. I cleaned the cameras contacts- not it. Hmm.

So I checked it in MF, smooth worked great. Hmmm

Ahh ha, I wonder if there is a bad chip inside? No.... that wasn't it.

The AF screw was sticking, a bit of a snag on the inside of the lens so I whipped out my trusty jewlers screwdriver and gently worked it to see if it would free itself. It was tight at first but freed quickly and working it back and forth a bit loosened it up quite a bit.

I'm gonna try it out for a couple more days and if it doesn't completely loosen up I'm going to ask for it to be returned and replaced. It autofocuses now but that shouldn't have happened. Tiny little lens, really neat and very sharp at f5 and above to about f8. Nice bokeh too at f2.8 due to out of focus blur, but the CA's are quite pronounced at that aperture.

Carl

[Alfisti]

Welcome to Pentax lenses and their achilles heel.

Nice bokeh too at f2.8 due to out of focus blur, but the CA's are quite pronounced at that aperture.

Carl