Used Pentax K20D 14.6 Megapixels Digital SLR Camera Body

2009-10-19T21:00:00

I'd love to have the K-7, with its smaller body and faster shutter mechanism, but the K20D is nearly as good and a lot cheaper right now. I think it will be good enough for me for a while, and then I can upgrade to the K-7 or its successor at a later date.

MICHAEL L.

2009-10-04T21:00:00

Amazing camera, lots of specials settings, user customization, and amazing IQ, in a very durable body. As a long time canon user i was a little afraid to move to Pentax but never regraded for giving it a chance. Got it for an amazing price, and it really feels like a pro camera in your hands compare to the same price category from canon, Nikon, and Sony. Very happy customer.

roico

2009-07-07T21:00:00

Like the strong build, weatherproof which i need as i hike into water fall and river areas and we get plenty of rain in Hilo.

DONALD W.

2009-04-13T21:00:00

Good solid feel. Pentax has got me back into fun photography. Loaded with useful features. A few changes in your settings gives you a full range with your older Pentax lenses. Try that with brands X and Y! I love the noise reduction settings for high ISO's. Great camera at a reasonable price!

Joe T.

2009-04-04T21:00:00

I've had the K20D since about June 2008 and I love it and haven't had any problems with it, other than the battery which died within a few months. However, the Power2000 NP-400/D-L150 batteries are under $20 and work great with the Pentax charger (vs $45+ for the Pentax batteries). I also recommend the Pentax SMCP-DA 18mm - 250mm lens as a good all around lens. And since I like doing scenic/wildlife photography, I also eventually bought a Sigma 50-500mm EX/HSM lens which works well with the K20D, though some might not like the weight of it, I can overlook it given the capabilities of it. This combination is great for getting up-close to wildlife.I'm not sure why anyone would choose other major brand digital SLRs which are around the same price but with less resolution. It just doesn't make sense to me.The only complaint, besides the battery, is that the interval shooting is limited to 99 images. That means that without an external trigger/intervalometer, you can only automate shooting a max of 99 frames w/o intervention if your doing time-lapse photography, although I did track down a company that makes compatible intervalometer for around $50 which I'm waiting to receive. The ~$140 Canon TC-80N3 might work with the K20D (if anyone has tried this, I would be curious to know if it works).

SAL

2009-03-11T21:00:00

I have used my K20D for 3 months now. I love the camera. The controls are logical and easy to use once you know them. I particularly like the in-camera image stabilization. I have taken some lower light shots, hand held that are very crisp that, when I tried the shots without stabilization were blurred. Just a great, solid feeling camera.

Bill L.

2009-03-02T19:00:00

I love this camera!

Steve5760

2009-02-14T19:00:00

This camera is very well built, sealed and comfortable to hold in the hand. The 15 megapixels are more than adequate and the price is simply unbelievable. For the same features in other brands you can't buy as much camera.

Tony

2009-02-05T19:00:00

I shoot landscapes, objects, wildlife and some portraiture, the K20D is everything it says and more. I have had no problems with this camera and I find it very easy to learn and use. I could not be happier with this purchase.

jbnhl

2009-01-25T19:00:00

I was encouraged to buy the camera because it would be compatible with my existing lenses. But that compatibility is severely limited and I had to purchase a new lens in order to be able to use the camera adequately. So I had to spend more money that I wanted to, but it works great with the new lens. I was disappointed in its ability for manual focus. The mirror in my existing camera is so much easier to use.

ANNE B.

2009-01-20T19:00:00

I have yet to find faults with the K20! This is by far the best photographic investment I've ever made!

Steven D.

2009-01-20T19:00:00

The camera is rather substantial (heavy), but that is a product of a very strong physical construction and shouldn't be held against Pentax. For those who use a camera in a less-than-comfy environment, it's built like a tank.

markf

2009-01-20T19:00:00

This thing feels so well built. Every time I look at the pics I am still in awe of the sharpness that this thing delivers even with the stock lens. I am certain there is no match for this camera below the $2000 mark. It was the best [$] I could have spent.

JEFFREY E.

2009-01-20T19:00:00

Great images, sturdy, tons of camera for a reasonable price.

Harvey

2009-01-13T19:00:00

I purchased the K20D because I had Pentax lens and an external Pentax flash I purchased years ago for a 35MM SLR Pentax, and everything fit and works great. The K20D is heavy, but the weight feels secure and steady.

Dan p.

2009-01-13T19:00:00

Some issues with shooting speed on sports shots. In truth it is likely more an issue with the person behind the camera than with the camera itself! Portraits have been nothing short of spectacular (which is the real reason for the purchase). Did run into an issue when using Kingston brand SDHC class 6 cards. While the same cards work fine in my older Pentax bodies, this camera just doesn't play nice with them! I was able to retrieve images with 3rd party recovery software, but it was a major hassle. No issues whatsoever with Sandisk SDHC (class 4 and 6 work great) or "generic" SD and SDHC cards from a local computer store.

jch

2008-12-28T19:00:00

Excellent all-round camera with excellent pricing. Image stabilization and huge selection of backward compatible lenses. I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars. Its 2 main weaknesses are slower frames per second than the competition (poses some limits on fast sport and fast wildlife shooting) and no mirror up control (most of its competitors lack this also).

MICHAEL W.

2008-12-28T19:00:00

i just love this camera,i was a nikon user for years and it was hard trying to convince my self to change over to pentax!this camera was easy to learn for me.the photos so far i take are out standing and i shot raw most of the time.low light is the only problem i have,but there is always manual focus to fall back on.buy this camera and you won't regret it.o yea adorama is a great store to buy from,great prices [...]

nikonmanak

2008-09-12T21:00:00

Bought this camera with the intention of shooting some of my work with strobes. I was very disappointed after reading in the instruction manual that "any use of high-voltage or high-current flashes may cause a camera breakdown." What a bummer. This clearly should have been stated under the camera specifications. Had it been, I certainly would not have bought it. Are all digital cameras with X-sync sockets like this?

Ray

2008-07-26T21:00:00

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.

jstevewhite

2008-06-06T21:00:00

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.

photodave

2008-05-22T21:00:00

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

An H.

2008-05-07T21:00:00

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!

Cliff P.