Pentax K20D
The Pentax K20D is a digital single lens reflex camera from the Japanese manufacturer Pentax , which was introduced in January 2008 as the successor to the Pentax K10D and which came onto the market in spring 2008. The central component is the CMOS image sensor developed jointly with Samsung . It offers an effective resolution of 14.6 million pixels on 365 mm² and a maximum image size of 4672 × 3120 pixels. The K20D is also Pentax 'first digital SLR camera with live view functionality. Numerous other innovations concern the camera software.
The company Samsung offers a largely identical model under the name GX-20 .
important characteristics
The sensor format 23.4 mm × 15.6 mm ( APS-C ) corresponds to an extension factor for lenses of around 1.54 compared to the 35mm format. The function for expanding the image dynamics results in an aperture value. The noise suppression works on a hardware and software basis. Defective image points of the sensor are automatically deactivated and interpolated by pixel mapping. The sensor is protected against dust in 4 stages (Dust Reduction) through the repellent coating of the low-pass filter, through the possibility of making the sensor vibrate, an adhesive strip in the housing to catch the dust and detection of dust particles on the sensor and Display on the monitor. The Shake Reduction image stabilization system is effective up to 4 EV . The stabilizer is built into the housing and therefore works with all lenses.
The power supply with the rechargeable lithium-ion battery of the type D-LI50 is compatible with the type NP-400. The housing is sealed against splash water and dust. The weight without battery and memory card is 715 g, ready for use 800 g. The dimensions of the camera are 141.5 mm × 101 mm × 70 mm (W × H × D). The battery grip, which is already available as an accessory for the K10D, also fits the K20D.
Bayonet and lenses
The K AF2 bayonet is backwards compatible with all K bayonet lenses that have been built since 1975. Contacts for controlling lenses with focusing by ultrasonic motor are available. In addition, the K20D has an autofocus motor inside the housing, which drives Pentax AF lenses without their own motor. The dimming option is used for the depth of field preview. For the digital image preview, a test picture is displayed on the monitor and can be saved. The 11-point autofocus system (SAFOX VIII) is equipped with 9 cross sensors . With AF adjustment, front or back focus problems of individual lenses can be eliminated by fine adjustment.
technical description
Many control elements on the housing simplify operation, e.g. B. There are 2 dials for exposure values and a button for switching to RAW format. There is an interval timer and the Custom Image function with 4 profiles for color characteristics in JPG format. Exposure series with three or five images are possible. In addition, you can make extended bracketing and multiple exposures. The serial speed is approx. 3 images / second (Hi) or 2.3 images / second (Lo) . With the Hi setting , image series of up to 38 images in JPG format and approx. 16 images in RAW format can be recorded; with the setting Lo JPG unlimited or approx. 16 images in RAW format. It depends on the memory card speed. The new burst mode works with 20 images / second (with the mirror folded up) with a resolution of 1.6 MP and a maximum of 115 images. Shutter speeds from 1/4000 to 30 seconds can be set, plus long exposure (B) and flash sync speed (X) 1/180 second. The light sensitivity can be set manually or automatically from ISO 100 to ISO 6400, with intermediate values in half or third steps being possible. The mirror lock-up works in conjunction with the 2s self-timer and the 3s infrared release. There is an ISO automatic with selectable maximum and minimum values. The RAW files can be saved in Pentax's own PEF format as well as in the universal DNG format. A camera-internal conversion of RAW files into JPG format with now 4 quality levels is possible. The pentaprism viewfinder features a 0.95-times magnification and 95% field of view. The A / D converter works with 14 bit color depth. There is a fine correction of the white balance presets as well as several memory locations for manual white balance. The user program is used to save and quickly call up a camera configuration. The LC display has a size of 2.7 "(instead of 2.5" for the K10D), a resolution of 230,000 pixels and a viewing angle of up to 170 °. Live view can be viewed on the monitor , but without autofocus. The monitor can be calibrated in 49 steps. An external flash can be controlled wirelessly using the built-in flash. There is still an X synchronous contact for flash systems (one of the few external differences to the K10D). Flash can be used on the second shutter curtain (with the internal flash and with certain system flash units). As with the Pentax * is DL and in contrast to the Pentax * is D and the Pentax * is Ds , the K20D and later models no longer support analog TTL flash units.
Memory cards
The Pentax K20D uses SDHC cards up to 32 GB. However, there are problems with writing to SDXC cards on cameras with older firmware. This problem can be eliminated by installing firmware 1.04.
