I'm not planning for any scheduled updates, but do check back here from time to time for the latest and best prices on the Pentax K20D and related accessories.

The K20D is available as a body only, or as a kit (outfit) with the DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II lens.

Remember to check the price for the kit and compare that to the individual prices for the body only and lens. Most of the time, buying the kit saves you money, but it's sometimes cheaper to buy the body and lens separately.

Click on the links to access in-stock and availability information.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only): $799.99 – $140 price increase since the last update. As EnriqueBello remarks, "There are lousy point and shoot cameras asking for just a little less".

Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction and DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II Lens: $764.49 ($5.46 price reduction).

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II Lens for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras: $114.95 ($2.41 price decrease).

Accessories

For power, the K20D uses D-LI50 Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery Packs ($41.84) – be sure to purchase additional spares so that your camera doesn't run out of power during extended shooting sessions.

For storage, the K20D uses SD or SDHC cards.

Refer to Rob Galbraith's SD / SDHC card write speed tests (done on a Nikon D90) to get an idea on the relative write and read speeds of different brands of cards. At the time of writing (Oct 29, 2009), the SanDisk Extreme III SDHC cards occupy the top two spots.

If you frequently shoot with the camera in portrait (vertical) position, consider getting the Pentax BG2 Battery Grip for additional comfort while holding the K20D. The BG-E5 also lets you insert an additional D-LI50 battery pack, and has extra storage space for an SD / SDHC card and a Pentax Remote Control F wireless IR (infrared) remote control ($23.98). Read the user review for the grip at booleansplit.com.

Good luck shopping for your K20D!

Price History Archive

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction (Body Only): $659.99.

Pentax K20D 14.6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction and DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II Lens: $769.95.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II Lens for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras: $117.36.

Related Posts

1. Tethered Shooting with the Pentax K20D
2. Pentax K20D Reviews, Samples and References

Collected here are annotated links to various professional and user reviews, sample photographs and galleries, reference material and community / forum discussions related to the Pentax K20D digital SLR camera.

Pentax K20D user guide: Download the English language K20D operation manual (right-click the link and save the 4.7 MB PDF document to your hard drive)

As of 23-Jan-2008, the Pentax K20D gives you the most bang-for-the-buck resolution of any digital SLR in the most compact and lightweight package, and at the lowest price. Here are some comparisons with various cameras:

Pentax K20D: 14.6 MP, APS-C sensor, weight without battery: 715 g (1.58 lb), dimensions: 141.5 x 101 x 70 mm (5.6 x 4.0 x 2.76 in), now available for pre-order at $1,299.95. The price has fallen quite a bit since then – look at Pentax K20D Price Watch and Availability for links to the latest prices on the K20D, kit and accessories.

Canon 40D: 10.1 MP, APS-C sensor, weight without battery: 740 g (1.6 lb), dimensions: 146 x 108 x 74 mm (5.7 x 4.2 x 2.9 in), $1,149

Canon 5D: 12.8 MP, Full frame sensor, weight without battery: 810 g (1.8 lb), dimensions: 152 x 113 x 75 mm (6.0 x 4.4 x 2.9 in), $2,099.93

Canon 1Ds Mark II: 16.7 MP, Full frame sensor, weight without battery: approx. 1.2 kg, dimensions: 156 x 158 x 80 mm (6.1 x 6.2 x 3.1 in), $7,046.80

Nikon D300: 12.3 MP, APS-C sensor, weight without battery: 825 g (1.82 lb), dimensions: 147 x 114 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.5 x 2.9 in), $1,798.98

Nikon D3: 12.1 MP, FX (full frame) sensor, weight without battery: 1240 g (2.7 lb), dimensions: 160 x 157 x 88 mm (6.3 x 6.2 x 3.4 in), $5,579

Based on the body alone, it's clearly obvious that the K20D is the camera to purchase if you want extremely high resolution without breaking the bank.

Specifications

1. 14.6 MP (Megapixel) CMOS APS-C (1.5x crop factor) sensor measuring 23.4 x 15.6mm, designed by Pentax and manufactured by Samsung. The K20D had the highest megapixel count in its class at the time of its release, beating the Nikon D300, Canon 40D, Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 and Olympus E3.
2. 230,000-dot, 2.7-inch LCD monitor. This lags the new generation of 10 MP and greater DSLR cameras which boast 3-inch LCDs

Pentax K20D Reviews, Opinions and Impressions

K20D user review by Maxby

Maxby remains a film guy who likes to shoot street photography, and was asked to test the Pentax K20D plus a Pentax 17-70mm f/4 DA SMC AL IF SDM lens on a trip to Siem Reap.

Read his review, and enjoy the amazing photographs embedded in the forum post.

His conclusion?

This is a capable camera for general photography, like landscape, environmental portraiture, travel, nature, events and B&W conversions. However, it did not hold up very well as a camera for “street photography”.

This camera gives one the best value for money. Pentax is presently the only camera manufacturer that produces pancake lenses. These are great compact prime lenses for travelling.

The DA 17-70mm f4.0 lens was a good range (equivalent to 24 to 105mm) and was nice to use. The internal focusing couple with a fixed focus distance throughout the zoom range was a boon. In order to get it to focus faster, I usually zoom it to the widest angle, locked the focus and then zoomed out.

Overall this is an excellent camera and is able to produce excellent results.

Karen Clanin

Karen probably holds the record for being the first person to receive the brand new K20D, delivery date was 21-Feb-2008. The following are her K20D impressions and photos:

• AF (autofocus) feels faster on the K20D vs the K10D for the 300mm f/4.5 and 50-135mm lenses.
• She posts her first flower photo with the 300mm f/4.5 + K20D at ISO 400, and a comparison shot vs the K10D of the same flower (but taken under different conditions).
• She highlighted that the 50-135mm and 300mm f/4.5 lens performed better on the K20D.
• More ISO 400 50-135mm photos in dull weather
• The K20D produces a raw .PEF file that cannot be recognized by Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop yet, so she advised to shoot DNG in the meantime.
• Some high ISO test shots, at ISO 1600 & ISO 3200. Although resized, it's evident that the image colors and contrast hold together very well at higher ISO values.

K20D vs Nikon D300 at ISO 200:

*isteve performed this quick analysis of shadow noise, comparing both cameras at ISO 200. 100% crops and standard deviation (SD) figures are given.

Pentax K20D Image Samples

Photos of the D-BG4 / K-7 combination

Thanks to Ned Bunnell who posted eight images showing the D-BG4 and Pentax K-7 combo from every possible angle.

According to the blog post, the photos were taken with a Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 lens mounted on the Pentax K20D.

You might like to read a forum reaction (on DPReview) to these images.

Official samples

Head over to the K20D page at PentaxSLR.com to download 3 full-sized images. For convenience, I've provided direct links to the full-sized version:

• Sample #1 – Black & White Architecture @ ISO 100
• Sample #2 – Fabric Detail @ ISO 200
• Sample #3 – Night Landscape – no EXIF information is available

DA 300* Osprey Series

Dale Doram has shared three images photographed with a Pentax smc DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM lens mounted on the Pentax K20D in this forum thread.

He remarks that the DA 300 focuses faster, and is much lighter, when compared vs. the Sigma 50-500mm (Pentax mount) lens.

K20D Pictures of American Football in Australia

Justin, based in Australia, has posted some of the first sports photos, American football, snapped with the Pentax K20D and the Pentax smc P-FA* 200mm f/2.8 ED-IF lens.

Another 3 action images can be found here.

Images were shot in Av (aperture priority) mode, and Justin explains why.

View more of the photographer's work at his Jeber and Photobucket galleries.

K10D vs K20D high-ISO tests by Joseph Tainter

Joseph lays out the parameters of the test, namely both cameras were set to produce DNG RAW files, conversion done in Adobe Photoshop CS2, and JPEG saved at quality 9. Lens used was the DA* 16-50mm at f/4. Sharpening and noise reduction were turned off. The test images are: K10D & K20D at ISO 1600, K20D at ISO 3200 and 6400. He posts his conclusion and observations here.

High ISO K20D photos

Edvinas posted these resized K20D images, a mixture of portraits and still shots taken at ISO 800 to 1600. Camera settings were Automatic White Balance (WB), JPEG, noise reduction off. The camera used was a demo unit and not available for sale. Lens used was the Pentax SMC DA* Series 50-135mm f/2.8 ED IF SDM Telephoto Zoom Lens. 100% crops of the images are here. Firmware level was 0.20 and the lighting was a mix of fluorescent and window light.

Miscellaneous References

1. John Sheehy speculates on why the K20D might have better dynamic range at low ISO values compared to the Nikon D3 and Canon digital SLR cameras.
2. Official Pentax K20d product page at PentaxImaging.com
3. Official press release and data sheet (for the K20D and K200D)

Related Posts

1. Pentax K20D Price Watch and Availability
2. Tethered Shooting with the Pentax K20D

"Dantum" suggested the following workaround:

1. Set up a "Watched Folder" (say, Pentax K20 Photos) in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
2. Use the Pentax computer software to take the photo and put it into the Pentax K20D Photos folder.
3. As soon as Lightroom sees the new image in the Pentax K20D Photos folder, it will automatically import it.

Related Posts

1. Pentax K20D Price Watch and Availability
2. Pentax K20D Reviews, Samples and References