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Gail's Pentax K20D DSLR Blog
Pentax K20D likes
Technical editor, Bernard Dery, shares all he likes about the Pentax K20D:
- Great build quality. Sturdy and rugged body, good textures, no plastic feeling.
- Very good ergonomics. Buttons are well placed and fall under the fingertips very naturally, at least for me. Most camera settings can be accessed via external buttons, reducing the use of menus to a minimum.
- Analog LCD on top, just like old film cameras used to have. This means that most image parameters can be easily visualized without using the power-hungry main LCD. At first I did not think I would like using the top LCD, but after only a few weeks with the camera it feels like a very natural thing, and I would be hard-pressed to part with it. I almost never use the main LCD for anything except menus and image review.
- FULLY customizable camera. The user can select what most buttons do. The two jog dials can be fully customized in each shooting mode.
- The GREEN button. The button can be used in every mode to make the camera perform a metering reading, and set the camera so exposure is accurate. It can give a good starting point in manual mode, reset settings in all modes, or perform a metering reading with manual lenses. That button is nicely positioned near the shutter release.
- Hyper program – similar to P mode except that by turning either jog dials you automatically switch to Av or Tv mode. Extremely convenient when you want to take control.
- Image stabilization - It really works and once you have tried it, it’s hard to let it go. Even my thirty years old lenses are now stabilized.
- Using old manual lenses. This is a good way to reconnect with photography, taking the time to think about your pictures. Of course, autofocus lenses have many advantages too!
- Bright viewfinder - an underrated feature for DSLRs but it makes taking pictures in low light, manual focusing, and general use much easier and more enjoyable.
- Battery life. When limiting the use of the colour LCD, battery life is really impressive.
- Good menu structure, well organized and clear.
- Fine tuning - The camera allows you to fine-tune the colour calibration of the main LCD, meaning that its colour representation can be made as accurate as possible.
- Complete control over image parameters: sharpness, colour balance, contrast, noise removal and other parameters can all be fine-tuned. White balance can also be fully tuned to your specific shooting situation, and the camera shows you the effect of your settings on the last picture taken. For users who want to use RAW (instead of JPEGs) the camera will even let you develop your RAW files in-camera.
- In P mode, the camera gives you the possibility to decide what will be optimized: sharpness, depth of field or shutter speed.
