[jgredline]

[losecontrol]

Hello!

Very good work with that pics

I have been spending some time now with my new k20d and it's amazing.

No problems at all. Just positive high quality images.

I am looking for changing my work for have more time to be able shooting.

[Ratmagiclady]

I will also chime in that I am a happy K20d user. I don't believe any complaints and frustrations I may have would be better-addressed by anything short of being able to put film in there.

[losecontrol]

Hello!

It's great that so many people have post here, but I know there are still much people left that can be able to post here.

I hope that people that are worry of buy k20d becasue of problems can read this and understand that every camera-brand in the world have small problems but you have to be very unlucky to get one bad copy.

The k20d is a wonderful camera that fits almost everybodys needs.
Its also the best deal today you can get.

I hope that k30d will have much of the k20d personallity, but of course some changed too

Thank you for post here.
Together we help people understand why they should get a pentax and not go with the flow (canon&nikon) like everybody else

[Ken T]

Thanks to the built-in SR. Car was running 65-70mph, shot was taken by one hand without eye aiming through the viewfinder.

[rfortson]

Well, I've already stated my delight with the K20D, but I thought I'd add some examples of why I'm happy with it.

First, for people that say the K20D can't focus outside of bright sunshine, this was taken with the K20D and DA*16-50, and yes, it was as dark as it appears. Plus, the subjects were moving towards me (another thing that Pentax supposedly can't do). Nothing more than a snapshot, but breaks a few myths about Pentax.



Here's another myth buster. Shot at 135mm, f/2.8, ISO 2000. Pretty dim conditions, but the K20D and the DA*50-135 tracked it fine. And the "noise" (where ever it is) doesn't bother me a bit.




Here's another AF-C shot with the DA*50-135, though to be fair in bright light, it should be able to track. Still, to read some posts, you'd think it was impossible with a Pentax. BTW, if you look at the full sized shot on my flickr thread, you can actually read the fine print on their bibs.



Nothing out of the ordinary for this last shot, except is was shot handheld at 3/10 sec with the DA*16-50. Gotta love that shake reduction!




So, yeah, I'm a happy camper with my K20D. All those shots that others say can't be done with Pentax, I haven't run into them yet.

Okay, it can't compete with the D3/D700 for low noise at high ISO.

[jgredline]

To keep going with the theme Russ put together,
I have heard it said that people think the K20D is slow to autofocus and there fore not good for paparazzi...I beg to differ.

Here we have the slum dog millionaire....

[pentaxmz]

First, for people that say the K20D can't focus outside of bright sunshine, this was taken with the K20D and DA*16-50, and yes, it was as dark as it appears. Plus, the subjects were moving towards me (another thing that Pentax supposedly can't do).

I think you're misunderstanding some complaints.

The K20D does quite well, in all but darker conditions (twilight, for example). This is easy to confirm. Obviously, the faster the lens, the better the K20D will focus in darker conditions. Some cameras are simply better at focus locking in low light. However, I don't think this is a major complaint.

Also, I have never heard anyone complain about focusing on targets moving toward the camera.

The issue is that, the K20D doesn't focus nearly as fast as the competitors cameras or even the Pentax K-M, which is made clear in a video on this page: http://www.popco.net/zboard/view.php?id=dica_review&page=1&sn1=&divpage=reg_...NTAX_K-m_5.htm

After I watched this video, I tried the same comparison with my 10 year old Pentax MZ-S vs K20D. My MZ-S not only spun the lens motor at a higher speed, but it focused faster as well (much less hunting). Is it a big deal? For some, perhaps. But I find that this issue is relatively easy to compensate for, once you understand this apparent weakness.

Also, I am sure this is an issue that could be corrected in a firmware revision. Will it happen???

Here's another myth buster. Shot at 135mm, f/2.8, ISO 2000. Pretty dim conditions, but the K20D and the DA*50-135 tracked it fine. And the "noise" (where ever it is) doesn't bother me a bit.

Pardon me but that is a pretty easy target for any camera. Again, there is no myth to break here; The K20D does well in these conditions (as one can plainly see from your example).

Furthermore, "noise" is quite evident in this photo, BUT it is perfectly acceptable for that ISO. The complaints about noise at for long exposures (greater than 8 seconds). In fact, there is so much noise, a mandatory dark frame subtraction occurs after every long exposure.

Here's another AF-C shot with the DA*50-135, though to be fair in bright light, it should be able to track. Still, to read some posts, you'd think it was impossible with a Pentax. BTW, if you look at the full sized shot on my flickr thread, you can actually read the fine print on their bibs.

I don't recall anyone stating that the K20D couldn't handle this photo situation.

[Vormulac]

The complaints about noise at for long exposures (greater than 8 seconds).

We've been through this - greater than 15 seconds...

(bulb mode notwithstanding)

[rfortson]

I think you're misunderstanding some complaints.

The K20D does quite well, in all but darker conditions (twilight, for example). This is easy to confirm. Obviously, the faster the lens, the better the K20D will focus in darker conditions. Some cameras are simply better at focus locking in low light. However, I don't think this is a major complaint.

Also, I have never heard anyone complain about focusing on targets moving toward the camera.

The issue is that, the K20D doesn't focus nearly as fast as the competitors cameras or even the Pentax K-M, which is made clear in a video on this page: ??? | ?????? ??

After I watched this video, I tried the same comparison with my 10 year old Pentax MZ-S vs K20D. My MZ-S not only spun the lens motor at a higher speed, but it focused faster as well (much less hunting). Is it a big deal? For some, perhaps. But I find that this issue is relatively easy to compensate for, once you understand this apparent weakness.

Also, I am sure this is an issue that could be corrected in a firmware revision. Will it happen???



Pardon me but that is a pretty easy target for any camera. Again, there is no myth to break here; The K20D does well in these conditions (as one can plainly see from your example).

Furthermore, "noise" is quite evident in this photo, BUT it is perfectly acceptable for that ISO. The complaints about noise at for long exposures (greater than 8 seconds). In fact, there is so much noise, a mandatory dark frame subtraction occurs after every long exposure.



I don't recall anyone stating that the K20D couldn't handle this photo situation.

So, in keeping with the theme of this particular thread, what part of your Pentax gear are you happy with?

Oh, and if you think people aren't complaining about what I showed, you haven't been reading the boards much. Believe it or not, you're not the only one that complains about Pentax.

BTW, f/2.8, ISO 2000 and 1/180 second is pretty dim. And where exactly was the noise?

[jmc7104]

One of my K20 shots.



Another eagle.


Roller Dam On Mississippi River


From the local conservatory


I bought my K20 in late December, 08. It was not a replacment for my K10 but as a compliment to same nor did it replace my istDL nor my K100. I have been extreamly happy with all of the above, with the exception of the K100 I have had no problems with any of them. The K100 had to be sent back to the factory from brand new for loss of time date setting on power off . 2 weeks turn around at pentax repair and perfect operation ever since. So I am happy with Pentax Camera systems.

[rfortson]

I bought my K20 in late December, 08. It was not a replacment for my K10 but as a compliment to same nor did it replace my istDL nor my K100. I have been extreamly happy with all of the above, with the exception of the K100 I have had no problems with any of them. The K100 had to be sent back to the factory from brand new for loss of time date setting on power off . 2 weeks turn around at pentax repair and perfect operation ever since. So I am happy with Pentax Camera systems.

Great shots, Jim! I love dams, and the eagles are nice as well. I always sold my older camera to partially fund my newer camera. I started with the DL. However, I just recently bought a new DL kit from Wolf Camera for a song, and I'm really happy with it. The controls are a bit spartan compared to the K20D, but the IQ is great! I'd forgotten how nice those big, fat pixels on the 6mp CCD were!

[pentaxmz]

So, in keeping with the theme of this particular thread, what part of your Pentax gear are you happy with?

I have already stated why I like the K20D. But if you insist.....

1. In good lighting, the K20D produces an amazingly good low noise image at
high ISOs (even 3200 is good in comparison to other cameras).

2. The fibre-reinforced Polycarbinate on metal chassis possibly makes the K20D one of the most durable DSLRs available at any price. This is a new 'like', based upon my research which was prompted by Peter Zack.

3. I enjoy the ergonomics of the K20D... easy to handle and the right buttons are all in the right place!

4. A big thank you to Pentax for the PC Vid output! This helps place the camera into a pro/semi-pro market. But darn it, they could go all the way if they upgraded the 645 camera.

5. In body shake reduction is now becoming an enviable feature among some Canon and Nikon owners. Pentax has some great patents on this technology. I'm not sure how Pentax SR compares to Sony and Olympus DSLRS.

For the record, in lens stabilization is mostly better (~ up to 4 stops) but the caveats are: fewer lenses, more complex lenses, heavier lenses, and more expensive lenses.

6. Weather sealing is a nice treat..., but I still maintain that I am NEVER going to test that claimed degree of sealing! That means, I will still take all measures to ensure the camera stays dry!

7. I have 7 lenses, some are as old as 20 years.... I love that I can use them all, without an additional adaptor. I believe Pentax is unique with that claim.

Oh, and if you think people aren't complaining about what I showed, you haven't been reading the boards much. Believe it or not, you're not the only one that complains about Pentax.

There is a huge difference in complaining about legitimate issues and complaining about an issue based upon not understanding how to operate the camera. The later can be corrected with education, while the former is a problem that cannot be solved.

If people complained about issues that you set out to disprove, well good for you, you performed admirably at dispelling those myths.

BTW, f/2.8, ISO 2000 and 1/180 second is pretty dim. And where exactly was the noise?

Your first sentence doesn't make sense...

But there is noise... it is everywhere. But it is natural and completely acceptable (in fact, this is one of the amazing attributes of the K20D). The photo is so fine (lacking noise) that one might be suspicious that it isn't a less than ISO 400 photo.

I attached a 200% blow up (with smoothing turned off). An example of noise is the discoloration (multi-colored specs) in the grey background pillar. But I don't know how much of your photo's noise is due to jpg compression, etc.... if you do a 100% crop, you will always see some noise, at all ISOs. It is as natural as seeing film grain on even the lowest ISO film.

I also included my own noise samples. One can clearly see how noise gets steadily worse as exposure time and ISO's increase in these 100% crops. Even 1/20 second at ISO 200 shows some noise (sorry for the soft focus), 30 seconds at ISO 1600, isn't too bad, but an 8 minute photo at ISO 1600 is worthless (BTW, the bright specks are hot pixels missed by the DFS).

Yes, I know these are extremes for the average photographer... the only purpose of these photos is to illustrate noise is always there on any camera.


BTW, compliments to all the great photos posted here!

[rfortson]

I have already stated why I like the K20D. But if you insist.....

1. In good lighting, the K20D produces an amazingly good low noise image at
high ISOs (even 3200 is good in comparison to other cameras).

2. The fibre-reinforced Polycarbinate on metal chassis possibly makes the K20D one of the most durable DSLRs available at any price. This is a new 'like', based upon my research which was prompted by Peter Zack.

3. I enjoy the ergonomics of the K20D... easy to handle and the right buttons are all in the right place!

4. A big thank you to Pentax for the PC Vid output! This helps place the camera into a pro/semi-pro market. But darn it, they could go all the way if they upgraded the 645 camera.

5. In body shake reduction is now becoming an enviable feature among some Canon and Nikon owners. Pentax has some great patents on this technology. I'm not sure how Pentax SR compares to Sony and Olympus DSLRS.

For the record, in lens stabilization is mostly better (~ up to 4 stops) but the caveats are: fewer lenses, more complex lenses, heavier lenses, and more expensive lenses.

6. Weather sealing is a nice treat..., but I still maintain that I am NEVER going to test that claimed degree of sealing! That means, I will still take all measures to ensure the camera stays dry!

7. I have 7 lenses, some are as old as 20 years.... I love that I can use them all, without an additional adaptor. I believe Pentax is unique with that claim.

Excellent! I guess I'm a "glass half full" person, so I like to hear what's good about a product. Sometimes I learn about a function I haven't tried yet, and then I have to go out and play with it.

There is a huge difference in complaining about legitimate issues and complaining about an issue based upon not understanding how to operate the camera. The later can be corrected with education, while the former is a problem that cannot be solved.

If people complained about issues that you set out to disprove, well good for you, you performed admirably at dispelling those myths.

Amen, brother! I totally agree with you on this. However, people do complain about these "issue" (quite often, and on multiple fora) so I thought I'd show that at least my camera doesn't have these problems.

Your first sentence doesn't make sense...

But there is noise... it is everywhere. But it is natural and completely acceptable (in fact, this is one of the amazing attributes of the K20D). The photo is so fine (lacking noise) that one might be suspicious that it isn't a less than ISO 400 photo.

I attached a 200% blow up (with smoothing turned off). An example of noise is the discoloration (multi-colored specs) in the grey background pillar. But I don't know how much of your photo's noise is due to jpg compression, etc.... if you do a 100% crop, you will always see some noise, at all ISOs. It is as natural as seeing film grain on even the lowest ISO film.

I also included my own noise samples. One can clearly see how noise gets steadily worse as exposure time and ISO's increase in these 100% crops. Even 1/20 second at ISO 200 shows some noise (sorry for the soft focus), 30 seconds at ISO 1600, isn't too bad, but an 8 minute photo at ISO 1600 is worthless (BTW, the bright specks are hot pixels missed by the DFS).

Yes, I know these are extremes for the average photographer... the only purpose of these photos is to illustrate noise is always there on any camera.


BTW, compliments to all the great photos posted here!

Okay, now I know what you're calling noise. I agree that literally noise is in every digital image. I'm just saying that the level of noise in that particular ISO 2000 shot was very low, and as you said it was akin to something seen around ISO 400 or so. So when I say "noise", I'm referring to the more general term for offensive noise. I'd never find that level of noise offensive. Of course, that's a personal preference, though I'd say it would match up well with any other APS-C sensor camera out there.

Thank you for the compliment on the shots.