Comments about Pentax Pentax K20D 15.1 Megapixel Interchangeable Lens Digital SLR Camera Body, 2.7" LCD Monitor:

A review like this can't say enough good things about this machine. It feels like a quality camera and acts like it, too. The sensor is sharp enough that you'll notice if you have any less-than-sharp lenses, and when you hook it up with really sharp lenses like, say, the FA 35mm f2, the detail is awe inspiring. I'm constantly amazed by full length candids in which I can count eyelashes.

You can use all of the old Pentax manual focus lenses, amazingly enough. I have several, from a 50mm 1.4 to a 100 f4 macro, and they work flawlessly. With the Pentax-A lenses, all of your exposure modes work; with M lenses, you have to use "manual" with "green button" - which means you focus and touch the green button, which stops down the lens, meters, and opens up, setting your shutter speed appropriately based on your selected metering pattern. It becomes second nature after a very short time, and using M lenses seems nearly as transparent as using A lenses. And the excellent shake reduction system works with them, too, because it's in the body, not the lens.

The low-light performance is excellent. The busier your shot is, detail wise, the better your low-light images will be - low-key, out of focus areas can develop some fairly obnoxious chroma noise and 'scan lines', but it's easy to fix in post. I used to shoot a lot of film, and I use the Kodak 1600 speed color films, and this camera's ISO 1600 images are an order of magnitude better than ANY high speed film I have ever used. I've got 8x10s from this camera at ISO1600 that are just beautiful - you'd never believe they were 'low light' images. And when you combine it with the shake reduction I mentioned in the previous paragraph, you can take photos in unbelievably low light. If I try two or three times, I can get a sharp image at 1/4 second!

The *only* negative I've found is that the AF is a little slow, and sometimes I have to take over and drive. Several reviews elsewhere have said that this isn't a camera for sports photography, but frankly, I used to shoot sports with an LX, so the speed of AF doesn't really impact my choice of applications. Seems like the new generation should learn the benefits of prefocusing :D.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K20D 15.1 Megapixel Interchangeable Lens Digital SLR Camera Body, 2.7" LCD Monitor:

i use my camera for everything from top fuel drag cars that run 300 mph to soft studio portraits and it continues to amaze me every time i load the pics onto my computer. i cant possibly say enough great things about it. upgraded from the *ist D so its a huge step but i am very impressed.

Comments about Pentax Pentax K20D 15.1 Megapixel Interchangeable Lens Digital SLR Camera Body, 2.7" LCD Monitor:

I purchased a K10D about 18 months ago, and was completely awed by the camera, it was a huge improvement over my ist*. When the K20D was announced, I was mostly interested in the additional resolution, since I print many of my photos to 12 by 18 inches. The surprise was all the other improvements made to the camera, like lower noise, higher speed, faster focus, slightly larger screen, live preview, burst mode (21 frames per sec), the ability to shoot B&W, and more... On a recent kayak trip, a harbor seal popped up near the kayak. The attached image was taken with the K20D and the new Pentax 50-135mm lens with the kayak bobbing in the water. The resulting image says a lot. The focus and resolution are so good, you can see the spiral twist in the whiskers. I rated this camera as a 5, but the definition of 5 is "perfect" and nothing is perfect...so this camera is definitely a 4.8 or 4.9

Comments about Pentax Pentax K20D 15.1 Megapixel Interchangeable Lens Digital SLR Camera Body, 2.7" LCD Monitor:

I had the K110D and that camera was great. Then I purchased the K20D and stepped into a whole new world. This camera is incredible. It takes amazing pictures with low light, lots of light, good light, any type of light. It feels great in your hands, focuses fast (although could be a little faster), has a solid build, and reproduces astounding color. I will keep this review short, but believe me, you cannot spend money on a better camera. The only drawback is 3 fps burst rate and sometimes slow auto focus. Otherwise, this camera would be a 5!