Salute To An Underloved Traditional: The Pentax K20D

Can a 15-year-old DSLR compete with trendy mirrorless marvels in any class? Let’s see what the Pentax K20D is all about earlier than you resolve.

I obtained a Pentax K20D in 2008, shortly after Pentax introduced it. Each picture on this story, excluding the technical and product pictures, was captured with the identical K20D in 2008 or 2009. You may see extra K20D photographs on this story, Thanksgiving, which we printed first in 2008 then once more in 2015 and but once more in 2022.

To be sincere, I used to be predisposed to love the then-latest Pentax DSLR as a result of just a few years earlier I had reviewed the 6-megapixel Pentax *ist DS and had a memorable expertise. The *ist DS had a ridiculous identify nevertheless it was small, felt good within the hand and was fairly responsive. I even appreciated the situation of the on/off change—a small however essential ergonomic element. Though I used that DS for less than two weeks, a number of of the photographs I shot with it had been later printed in unrelated articles.

Options for Enthusiastic Photographers
The Pentax K20D is rather more superior than the *ist DS nevertheless it has the identical operational rhythm. It gives body-integral picture stabilization that works with any Okay-mount Pentax lens and a complicated digital sign processing engine that produces very low noise, for its period, even at greater ISOs.

It’s filled with actual photo-enthusiast options like double publicity functionality, single channel black & white seize and interchangeable focusing screens. It’s dustproof and climate resistant. It has a pop-up flash that’s perfect for fill and an X-synch PC outlet. And there’s a particular Burst mode that captures about 21 photographs at 1.6 megapixel decision in a single second.

Customers can modify the colour stability of the LCD—a possibility nonetheless missing in some modern-day DSLRs. It even has a built-in digital filter that simulates infrared. It’s the proper camera for fanatics.

The Pentax K20D has a devoted Uncooked button so if you wish to change from taking pictures JPEG information to Uncooked you are able to do so immediately, with a single button press. That was pretty unusual in 2008. And it produces forever-compatible DNG Uncooked information instantly. As I recollect it shipped with Silkypix, a robust Uncooked conversion and modifying software program utility that’s nonetheless fashionable right this moment.

Frankly, I don’t pay a lot consideration to pixel rely, however the Pentax K20D makes use of an APS-C dimension 14.6-megapixel CMOS sensor. You too can stepdown to 10- or 6-megapixels, and naturally Uncooked plus JPEG concurrently.

MTF Program Mode
I’m guessing that if you happen to learn Shutterbug you already perceive more-or-less how the Program mode works on digital cameras. In Program mode, the camera selects each the shutter velocity and aperture to provide the very best general publicity. The velocity/aperture quantity mixtures, when plotted on a graph, create a Program Slope.

The Program Slope is mostly adjustable in some method, with the bias shifting from Sports activities (excessive shutter speeds) to Portrait pictures (bigger apertures for a shallower depth of area). The names could also be completely different however the exercise is similar, and a biasing function of 1 sort or one other is discovered on most superior cameras right this moment.

The Pentax K20D permits the consumer to pick a program slope that’s biased in favor of MTF. MTF stands for Modulation Switch Perform, a measure of lens sharpness. When set to MTF bias, the Pentax K20D favors the very best aperture setting for whichever Pentax lens is connected, primarily based on precise lens efficiency. Customers not need to do not forget that their 28mm lens is sharpest at f/5.6, for instance—the Pentax K20D acknowledges which Pentax lens is connected and makes the suitable settings routinely, favoring the candy spot within the aperture vary and altering the shutter velocity accordingly to attain right publicity.

2008 Promoting Value
In 2008, the value for a Pentax K20D cameras with a pointy 18-55mm zoom ranged from round $899 to $999. Adjusted for inflation, that’s roughly $1350 in 2023 {dollars}, an superior worth for a fully-featured camera and equipment zoom. Pentax lenses are excellent; they all the time have been, and so they have some distinctive choices just like the HD Pentax DA 40mm F2.8 Limited pancake lens that’s only a hair over one-half inch thick.

Key Options
A few of these specs sound woefully anemic as a result of imaging expertise has progressed a lot over the previous 15 years. However they had been innovative in 2008 (properly, most of them anyway).

• APS-C dimension 14.6-megapixel CMOS sensor.

• Excessive-performance, high-speed PRIME (Pentax Actual IMage Engine) digital sign processor that makes use of DDR2 (Double Information Price 2) reminiscence for fast picture processing and high-speed knowledge switch.

• Physique integral SR (Shake Discount) picture stabilization—works with any Okay-mount lens and has the impact equal to roughly 2.5 to 4 shutter-speed steps.

• New Reside View perform.

• Expanded Dynamic Vary perform.

• Complete Mud Elimination system.

• Customized Picture perform permits adjustment of tone, saturation, distinction and sharpness.

• Hyper Program perform permits the consumer to immediately change to the Shutter Precedence or Aperture Precedence AE mode from the Programmed AE mode with a easy flip of a dial on the grip.

• Hyper Handbook perform. When taking pictures in Handbook mode, a single push of the inexperienced button permits the consumer to immediately set the correct publicity.

• Program, Handbook, Shutter Precedence and Aperture Precedence modes.

• Glass pentaprism with roughly 95% field-of-view and an roughly 0.95X magnification.

• Pure-Vivid-Matte II focusing display.

• Mud-proof, water resistant building with particular seals put in at 74 completely different places.

• Steady taking pictures at roughly three photographs per second.

• Burst Capturing mode captures roughly 21 photographs per second at 1.6 megapixel decision.

• Massive 2.7-inch wide-view LCD monitor with 230,000 dots.

• Excessive-precision 11-point wide-frame autofocus system.

• Rechargeable battery life of roughly 740 photographs (with out flash).

• Selection of 16-segment multi-pattern metering, center-weighted metering or spot metering.

• Shutter unit rated at greater than 100,000 actuations.

• Stainless-steel chassis.

• Non-obligatory Battery Grip (D-BG2).

• 9 built-in digital filters.

• In-body Uncooked file conversion possibility for picture submitting in JPEG and TIFF codecs.

What Does a Used Pentax K20D Value In the present day?
Costs of used K20D our bodies right this moment are far and wide. In addition to, any determine we point out now will doubtless be fallacious tomorrow. That mentioned, I’m assured I may discover a physique in good situation for lower than $200 had been I too take a look at this second.

When you have any Pentax Okay-mount lenses, you would possibly need to latch onto a Pentax K20D. There aren’t too many different 15-year-old cameras I can suggest. It’s a fantastic reward for a child or photograph pupil. Or if you wish to expertise among the finest underloved cameras ever.

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