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Pentax K20D 14 6MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction Body Only

The PENTAX K20D digital SLR offers advanced photo enthusiasts an array of exciting PENTAX innovations. The newly developed CMOS image sensor brings out optimum performance of PENTAX interchangeable lenses. Featuring 14.6 effective megapixels (highest in its class) and the latest noise-reduction technology, the sensor assures superb image quality. This SLR will make you feel in control with its Live View function that allows the photographer to see the image on the camera’s back panel LCD monitor while shooting. Customizable features ideal for shooters who demand complete control include the Expanded Dynamic Range function that allows users to gain more contrast/detail in bright settings and a new Custom Image function to select/adjust finishing touches to an image. Weather and dust resistant body allows you to keep shooting even in harsh conditions; Dust Reduction and Dust Alert features eliminate the need of time retouching Advanced 16-segment metering and 11-point AF, with 9 cross sensors, ensure perfectly exposed and focused images Unique exposure modes, such as hyper-program, Sv and TAv, offer shooting versatility Retractable P-TTL popup ElectronicFlash; Guide number – 13 (100/m); Coverage – 28mm wide angle (equivalent to 35mm) Flash modes – on, redeye, slow sync, slow sync + redeye, trailing curtain sync, wireless; Flash exposure compensation – -2 to +1 EV in 1/2 steps / Hot Shoe for adding optional external-flash USB 2.0 hi-speed, video out, DC input, cable switch, X-Sync socket; Video out – NTSC, PAL; Printer interfaces – PictBridge Body dimensions (W x H x D) – 5.6 x 4.0 x 2.76 ; Body weight (without battery or removable memory) – 25.2 oz; Loaded and ready – 28.2 oz Uses and includes Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery D-LI50 (39581) with Charger

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Shake Reduction / Image Stabilization / Vibration Reduction doesn’t work
I will be returning this. The Shake Reduction doesn’t work, in fact, it appears to make some pictures worse and definitely makes the camera run a little slower. I tested extensively with a Tamron 18-200mm set at 200mm, f6.7, 1/15s. In all my tests the pictures with the Shake Reduction on were either the same or worse than with the Shake Reduction set to off. This is very disappointing. This is the reason I bought this camera and not the D90 or the XSi. I wanted to use a 18-200mm with Shake Reduction (Nikon charges $800 for the lense alone in this scenario). I spent a long time on this expensive decision and I am very disappointed. I hope for other Pentax owners that this is an isolated example.

5 Stars I’ve owned my K20D for two months…
I came from Nikon, which does offer great products. I am now however, a full-fledged Pentax evangelist. I can’t say enough about their products. I now own a K20D and two lenses: the DA* 16-50 f/2.8 and the DA* 50-135 f/2.8. The combination of these two lenses and the K20D offers some of the best semi-pro quality available for the money.

There are 4 main features that made me buy this camera:

1) Price. Hands down, it is in my opinion, the most value for your money.

2) Weather proofing. 72 weather proofing seals on the camera body and coatings on their DA series lenses make this camera ideal for travel.

3) Top-side LCD panel. This is a must-have feature for anyone serious about photography.

4) Front AND Rear dials. This allows for quick modifications of various camera settings and are customizable for each exposure mode.

Regarding image quality – the camera is somewhat important as we’re now dealing with sensors instead of film, but the glass (lenses) are without a doubt the most important element of the equation. So – that said, you should seriously consider replacing the kit lens with a DA* or Limited series lens as soon as possible. The kit lens is very good (compared especially to competitor kit lenses). However, the DA* lenses are phenomenal.

Regarding comfort – the camera is very comfortable to hold. I have trouble putting it down. It literally goes everywhere with me.

Buy it. Don’t hesitate. You won’t regret it.

5 Stars The camra I have been waiting for
I have been taking pictures since 1978. I have used many different camera brands and types, both film and digital. This is my favorite. Pentax did a very good job making the controls user friendly. I was able to figure out 85% of the functions without ever opening the well written manual. That is always a plus in my opinion.

The file size is huge. It allows for major cropping. It will work with all of the old manual Pentax lenses as well as the new auto-focus models. For someone like me that has old glass, it will save you a lot of money. The other plus is that there is a lot of high quality glass available on EBay that will work with this camera, if you don’t mind using manual exposure. I have taken beautiful pictures using lenses from the late 70’s.

Overall if you are looking to step up to a DSLR I think it would be hard to beat the K20D. I enjoy using it everyday.

Do your part in stimulating the economy. Buy this camera!

5 Stars Great camera, great value
This is a really solid camera. It feels solid yet comfortable in my hands–I do have fairly large hands so take that into account.

I love the fact you can access all the main functions with external buttons and dials without having to go into a software menu.

I’m not going to go into all the details because there are so many but count on reading the manual several times, because even though the main buttons and dials can access the main functions, you won’t know how without the manual. For example, after owing the camera for a couple of months I just learned the other day how to change iso without using the Fn button.

I was debating getting the K-7 but I decided to save the money and get some quality glass instead. Most people are going to go through several bodies (at least) in their life but a great piece of glass will last you forever.

Of course, I won’t lie, the 14.6mp doesn’t hurt;)

5 Stars Excellent camera
The Pentax K20D takes excellent pictures and is very easy to use. I bought this model over less expensive Pentax DSLRs because it had LiveView. It would be nice to be able to focus while using LiveView, but this apparently is not technically possible. I do a lot of macro photography and even though LiveView is a great feature to have, I get by with just the viewfinder most of the time.

I added an Eye-Fi wireless SD card which sends my pictures directly to my computer without the need to plug it in, so I haven’t used the Pentax bundled software.

I added a grip, extra battery, and remote control. It is great to have an extra battery, remote, and extra SD card stored in the grip. The grip makes it a bit heavy – very much like an film SLR.

Overall it is an easy to use camera right out of the box. Oh, if you buy this camera from Amazon, it comes with the same accessories as if you bought it from the Pentax store (not gray market or repackaged). For some reason Amazon doesn’t list what is in the box as Pentax does. It took several phone calls and then a roll of the dice to finally confirm that everything listed on the Pentax site was the same as what came in the box on Amazon’s site. One thing to note though is that while it comes with an AC cord, it is not an AC adapter to power the camera. The AC cord it comes with is for the battery charger. If you want to power the directly from AC you must buy the AC adapter. Neither Pentax or Amazon are clear about this detail. The AC adapter is about $100 extra. Most people will not need it. Battery power is excellent, though a spare is nice to have. The battery charges fully in less than 3 hours and full charge is indicated by a light on the charger.

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Pentax AF 360 FGZ Flash for Pentax and Samsung Digital SLR Cameras w case

The PENTAX AF360FGZ auto flash unit features a large guide number of 30 (at ISO100/m), which allows for effective flash photography over a lengthy distance. This clip-on, bounce auto-zoom flash includes a variety of advanced flash features, such as P-TTL auto flash, high-speed synchronization and wireless P-TTL auto flash, when mounted on a PENTAX digital SLR camera. Zoom Head – 24-85mm (flash automatically senses focal length) Flash sync mode – Leading-shutter-curtain sync, Trailing-curtain-sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed-sync, modeling flash, Wireless flash Power Source – Four AA size batteries (alkaline, lithium, Ni-Cd, NiMh) Dimensions W x H x D – 2.8 x 4.3 x 4.5 inches (70 x 110 x 115.5mm) Weight – 9.6 oz. (270g)

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Excellent Product
Perfect addition to my K100D

It uses less battery life than the camera when in a pinch, I’ve been able to switch out the batteries to increase my camera’s life while still being able to use the flash.

2 Stars Mechanical Quality Stops At the Surface
If I could, I RATE THIS PRODUCT 2.5 Stars.

I agree with an earlier review in that this Pentax flash unit is mechanically very disappointing and certainly not worthy of the Pentax name. In no way does this product represent the Japanese Quality and Solid Designs of the 80’s that we have all become sentimental about. With this flash unit, Pentax has taken the low road to profit in place of working towards brand loyalty by producing a quality product, and making sure their dealers stand behind the product without sniveling.

The Pentax flash I received was assembled in the Philippines and judging from the rough mold quality of the battery door and surround plastics used to secure the battery door are reminiscent of parts that come from a place with little QA. With the flash unit I have, when all four AA batteries are out, the battery door is difficult to open. With all four batteries in place, the battery door is easily knocked ajar, leaving a 1.5-2 mm gap at the top of the battery door. From this slight open position, the battery door can and does with little force, pop open letting the batteries to spill out. I had the flash in my hands for just 3-4 minutes before that event happened and when I need my flash the last thing I want happening is for the batteries to fall out into my camera bag or on to the floor.

If you are right handed like myself, because of the natural area where a person tends to grab the flash, to release the flash head position lock button, by default causes the battery cover on my flash unit to pop partially open. Only once in 3 attempts was I able to till the flash head without disturbing the placement of the battery compartment cover and knocking the cover partially open. I have been using flashes of this similar design and nature since the old Vivatar 283 days of the late 70’s and never have I seen a case where the act of tilling a flash head could cause a battery compartment to open.

The second area of concern is the flash shoe. Like another review stated the shoe uses a small metal pin to help keep the locking mechanism align while the user moves the compression collar. The compression collar on my shoe is not well registered mechanically. I can see this device failing and perhaps cracking in the field.

Also the flash unit, with hot shoe locking collar released, fits much too tightly in the camera hot shoe. For this reason, the flash unit is difficult to remove from the K20D hot shoe and always requires close attention during the process as I need to use both hands, one placed near the flash hot shoe, and one placed near the camera hot shoe. Then I have to wiggle the flash unit back and forth till I unseat the flash.

If not, I get the impression that over torquing during this process could lead to serious mechanical damage to both the flash unit and camera body. I’m use to using just one hand to perform this task, of seating and unseating a flash unit atop a prism housing, and this is the most difficult flash unit I have ever mounted.

In fairness, I thought I should make sure that the mounting issue was with this Pentax flash, so I tried to see how a backup Vivatar 2000 flash unit would sit on the K20D camera hot shoe, and I was able to seat and unseat the Vivatar flash on the camera hot shoe with a single hand. Hence the fitting (mechanical tolerance) issue rest with the Pentax flash itself. From feel, I estimate the Pentax flash hot shoe pad to be about 0.005″ of an inch too think.

Today, all of my photo shooting is done for fun, but that does not preclude my desire to still use and operate equipment that is reliable and robust enough that I can operate in the field and not be overly concerned about the state of my equipment or if the equipment will even survive little more than casual use. From what I have seen of the Pentax 360 Flash, makes me wonder if an investment in other Pentax gear is such a wise move. If Pentax is incapable of doing the very basic mechanical functions well like keeping a simple battery cover closed tight, then how can they be trusted to be any better with the more complex tasks?

From this product if not already, Pentax needs to initiate a Technical Lessons Learned (TTL) database, so this sort of fiasco in elementary mechanical design does not surface in a future product.

This sight unseen purchase, should I return the item will costing me $35 dollars for a 180 dollar sale. Beach Camera wants to charge a 10% restocking fee to take what I see as an inherent design and manufacturing flaw plus cost to return ship. Maybe, Beach Camera should not sell what they are not willing to stand behind, or they would take a defective product return without conditions. Also, why would you need to restock a defective item? Because of their return policy towards Amazon customers and the fact that they are not open on Saturday, I give a neutral recommendation for Beach Camera.

Minus one star for battery door design, function & quality of parts used.

Minus half star for hot shoe design & material selection.

Minus half star for casual use & field reliability.

4 Stars Nice flash.
Easy to use. Fast enough recharge. Affordable. Able to go wireless.

2 things. While I haven’t used the 540, I’d probably buy it over this one due to the lack of swivel alone. If you don’t find yourself taking portrait oriented photos in low light, its not an issue at all though.

also, i find turning the autozoom off in most low light situations. set to around 50mm, and keep the pttl on, makes a huge difference.

5 Stars Great product
Perfect product to carry with you! Low weigh and very compact, ideal for parties and other uses that you don’t want to carry a big accessory bag!

Plus: Very economic for the batteries!

5 Stars It’s a Fair product for the price
It have done all was it have promise, is well built and perform very good also it have a reachable price. I recommended a lot for any Pentax camera it also give great results with my Lumix LX3 of camera flash, tough it took a wile to make it work.

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