Pentax K20D
Encyclopedia
The Pentax K20D and its clone, the Samsung GX-20, were 14.6 megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera
Digital single-lens reflex camera
Most digital single-lens reflex cameras are digital cameras that use a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera....

s manufactured by Pentax
Pentax
Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd...

 that were announced on January 23, 2008. The K20D was available in the U.S. market from February 2008 through autumn 2009.

The K20D and GX-20 bodies were developed by Pentax
Pentax
Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd...

, while the CMOS sensor was manufactured by Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

 - a result of a partnership begun in 2005. Although both cameras share similar hardware, each camera has its own design, firmware, and image processing algorithms. The K20D is the first Pentax DSLR with a CMOS
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...

 image sensor co-developed by Pentax
Pentax
Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd...

 and Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

. Samsung's expertise in sensor design is seen as a major benefit to Pentax, which did not release its first DSLR until 2003, when most other camera manufacturers had already established themselves in the growing digital SLR market.

At the time of their release, the K20D and GX-20 had the highest resolution sensor in the APS-C
APS-C
Advanced Photo System type-C is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System "classic" size negatives...

 image sensor format
Image sensor format
In digital photography, the image sensor format is the shape and size of the image sensor.The image sensor format of a digital camera determines the angle of view of a particular lens when used with a particular camera...

 at 14.6 megapixels. In 2009, Pentax announced the K-7
Pentax K-7
The Pentax K-7 is a 14.6-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera, announced on 20 May 2009. This is the first new flagship model released by Pentax since its merger with Hoya Corporation on 31 March 2008.- Features :...

, the successor the K20D with an improved CMOS sensor, smaller design, and many new features including HD video recording.

The latest firmware release, version 1.04, was made available in April 2010. It solved issues with certain SDHC memory cards. The previous firmware update, version 1.03, was made available in April 2009 and improved Shake Reduction (SR) accuracy as well as autofocus performance in some conditions. Users can download firmware updates from the Pentax website

Features

The K20D is the successor to the well-reviewed Pentax K10D
Pentax K10D
The Pentax K10D and similar Samsung GX-10 are 10.2 megapixel digital single-lens reflex cameras launched in late 2006. They were developed in a collaboration between Pentax of Japan and Samsung of Korea....

 prosumer
Prosumer
Prosumer is a portmanteau formed by contracting either the word professional or less often, producer with the word consumer. For example, a prosumer grade digital camera is a "cross" between consumer grade and professional grade...

 DSLR. The K20D was released alongside the Pentax K200D
Pentax K200D
The Pentax K200D is a 10.2 megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera, announced on January 24, 2008 along with the higher-end K20D. It was discontinued in December 2008, giving it the distinction of being one of the shortest-lived DSLR cameras....

, a substantial upgrade of the entry-level Pentax K100D
Pentax K100D
The Pentax K100D and similar Pentax K110D are 6 megapixel digital single-lens reflex cameras, launched in the U.S. on May 22, 2006. The K100D has a maximum resolution of 3008 x 2008, and can also down-sample to 2400 x 1600 and 1536 x 1024...

. Relative to its predecessor, the K20D offers:
  • a CMOS image sensor
    Active pixel sensor
    An active-pixel sensor is an image sensor consisting of an integrated circuit containing an array of pixel sensors, each pixel containing a photodetector and an active amplifier. There are many types of active pixel sensors including the CMOS APS used most commonly in cell phone cameras, web...

     with:
    • higher resolution (14.6 megapixels vs. 10.2 megapixels for the K10D)
    • higher sensitivity, up to ISO
      Film speed
      Film speed is the measure of a photographic film's sensitivity to light, determined by sensitometry and measured on various numerical scales, the most recent being the ISO system....

       6400 equivalent (vs. ISO 1600 for the K10D)
  • a slightly larger, higher-resolution, main LCD screen with live view
    Live preview
    Live preview is a feature that allows a digital camera's display screen to be used as a viewfinder. This provides a means of previewing framing and other exposure before taking the photograph. In most such cameras, the preview is generated by means of continuously and directly projecting the image...

     and which can be color-calibrated via custom settings
  • a more versatile continuous shooting mode
    Burst mode (photography)
    Burst is a mode in a camera mostly in SLRs. In this mode, several images can be captured with one press on the shutter. This is used mainly in mixed-light conditions or when the subject is in successive motion. The photographer can then select the best image of the group or arrange them in a...

    , offering a choice between 3 frame/s at full resolution and 21 frame/s at 1.6 megapixel resolution.
  • the option to take a series of bracketed shots with one shutter press.
  • an improved autofocus
    Autofocus
    An autofocus optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus fully automatic or on a manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system has to be done manually until indication...

     and shake reduction system
  • a new Dust Alert feature, which scans the sensor for dust particles and highlights their locations for ease of removal
  • dynamic range
    Dynamic range
    Dynamic range, abbreviated DR or DNR, is the ratio between the largest and smallest possible values of a changeable quantity, such as in sound and light. It is measured as a ratio, or as a base-10 or base-2 logarithmic value.-Dynamic range and human perception:The human senses of sight and...

     enhancement by 1 EV
    Exposure value
    In photography, exposure value denotes all combinations of a camera's shutter speed and relative aperture that give the same exposure. In an attempt to simplify choosing among combinations of equivalent camera settings, the concept was developed by the German shutter manufacturer in the 1950s...

  • ability to adjust the AF offset to solve front/back focus problems for up to 20 individual lenses
  • an X-sync socket for studio flash control
  • a new higher-quality (and less-compressed) “★★★★” setting for JPEG images
  • selectable levels of in-camera noise reduction
    Noise reduction
    Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal.All recording devices, both analogue or digital, have traits which make them susceptible to noise...

  • a separate option for levels of edge sharpening in JPEG images, addressing a frequent complaint in reviews of the K10D
  • Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, and Monochrome image tone settings in addition to Bright and Natural
  • optional automatic fine adjustment of white balance even when the type of light source is manually selected
  • Customizable filename prefixes, allowing one to easily distinguish between files from multiple K20Ds
  • In-camera hot-pixel
    Defective pixel
    Defective pixels are pixels on a liquid crystal display that are not performing as expected. The ISO standard ISO 13406-2 distinguishes between three different types of defective pixels, while hardware companies tend to have further distinguishing types. Similar defects can also occur on CCD or...

     mapping
  • A trap-focus feature which works with some autofocus lenses (the pentax DA and FA lenses that have an MF/AF switch on the lens - see p. 112 of the K20D manual).
  • Interval shooting option allows up to 99 images to be captured at chosen intervals and at a chosen start time.


As of August 2009, the MSRP
Suggested retail price
The manufacturer's suggested retail price , list price or recommended retail price of a product is the price which the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product. The intention was to help to standardise prices among locations...

 of the K20D body in the U.S market was $629. The price with a DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens kit was $699.

Samsung GX-20

Under a partnership between Pentax and Samsung Techwin
Samsung Techwin
Samsung Techwin is a surveillance, aeronautics, optoelectronics, automations and defense company. It is a subsidiary of Samsung Group. The company employs 4720 employees and is headquartered in South Korea. Its totals sales in 2010 was 3,198 billion won....

, the K20D was also available as the Samsung GX-20. The two cameras were virtually identical with a few small differences. Button text labels used a slightly smaller font, while the buttons themselves were slightly different in shape and placement. In addition, the hand grip was a slightly different shape, meaning that the battery grip
Battery grip
A battery grip is an accessory for an SLR/DSLR , which allows the camera to hold multiple batteries to extend the battery life of the camera, and adds a vertical grip with an extra shutter release , facilitating the shooting of portrait photography.It usually attaches to the camera body through the...

 for the K20D was incompatible with the GX-20. A separate GX-20 battery grip was available.

The firmware of the Samsung GX-20 is also different, using different menus and symbols. It also lacks support for the Pentax PEF raw image format
RAW image format
A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited with a bitmap graphics editor...

. The JPEG image processing of the GX-20 is reportedly different from that of the K20D;.

External links

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