Pentax Announces New K20D dSLR!
I have been a Pentax K10D dSLR owner since the camera was released. I actually pre-ordered it with only having seen a couple of sample images. I have had my fair share of issues with Pentax, including…
Pentax’s habit of announcing ship dates for products only to have those dates pass and then not make any type of announcement about a new ship date or why there is a delay.
I have had issues with their choice of in camera sharpening (detail, instead of edge sharpening like nearly all other cameras) and their decision to not offer the second more useful form of sharpening in a firmware update.
I have always felt that Pentax had a lot to offer the digital camera world but with the whole shipping date issue leaving the door open for rampant speculation, rumors and other such customer scaring things that only server to keep people unsure of Pentax’s future and their ability to compete with the two main players in dSLR cameras one has to wonder about the people that control such things.
Pentax’s market share is rather small compared to Canon and Nikon and with these kinds of marketing issues I fear that it could stay that way. It could ultimately kill Pentax. Pentax needs to be more up front with their customers show their customers that they are going to keep you informed. It isn’t like suggesting they preannounce all of their new technology, I am talking about keep people in formed when an announced ship date has been missed. Explain why and when they think it will ship. Ship dates are missed all of the time, but to keep silent or give vague worthless answers only serves to hurt a company. This customer communication is even more important when a company like Pentax is expecting people for hand over $1000 dollar or more in a camera body and lenses and lock them selves in to a long term investment with the company.
The K10D is an incredible camera and offers a lot of advanced features for a camera in its price range. However, Pentax has just announced the new Pentax K20D dSLR camera and it not only blows the K10D out of the water in most respects it is perhaps the most innovative camera to come out in nearly a decade.
Many professional photographers swear by Canon and Nikon however if you look at what these two companies have released in new cameras over the last 10 years you will see that Canon has been the only one to offer something innovative and that was simply because they released the Canon Digital Rebel, the first dSLR camera for under $1000. Beyond that the rest of the releases have been less than stellar. Both companies seem to care more about more resolution than offering features and technology that is truly innovative.
To be fare most people stick with the brand they started with because you have a large investment in lenses and other brand specific accessories like flash units and the like. The only time it makes financial sense to switch brands is when the lenses and other accessories you have will no longer work on the new camera you want to buy. Even in this regard Pentax is better. You can use Pentax lenses going back to 1960’s or earlier with their new dSLR cameras. Not so with Canon and Nikon. Resolution is nice, it enables you to do extreme cropping while still having enough image data for a good size quality print, but resolution is not the be all and end all and it looks like Pentax more than any other company understands that.
Pentax right now may have the smaller market share but they are the innovators and the new Pentax K20D proves it. What you got for $1000 with the K10D was remarkable and still is. However, what you get with the K20D for $1299 is nothing short of amazing. A new sensor designed exclusively for the K20D that gives you ISO 6400 (through a custom setting) that is as clean as the K10D’s ISO 1600. ISO 1600 and 3200 that look like an ISO 400 and 800 shot from the K10D. Improved shake reduction, improved dust reduction system, better noise reduction and image processing engine. All of this with a massive resolution increase from 10.1 (K10D) to 14.6 (K20D) that is a whopping 4.5 more MP a rather large jump and given that for probably the first time in digital camera history this resolution increase has come with an improvement in image quality and less noise instead of a decrease in image quality and an increase in image noise is nothing short of astounding.
I am not going to list all of the new stuff here. There is a lot. Instead I have compiled a list of sites that have information and even sample shots from the K20D. Also, if the K20D is out of your price range you might want to consider the K200D the K20D’s new little brother.
Pentax Imaging Press Release
http://www.pentaximaging.com/footer/news_media_article?ArticleId=10507458
Popular Photography Coverage
http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/5049/first-look-pentax-k20d.html
If you click on the photo of the camera you will get a popup with sample photos including some high ISO shots.
Pentax 18-250 Lens Finally Came In…
Well, I decided that I wanted a lens for my Pentax K10D that spanned the 18 to 200 or better range and I wanted good quality. Having been told that Pentax was releasing the 18-250 at the end of October I placed my order for it Mid-October. Well as usually Pentax wasn’t close to shipping on time, but finally they got it out and Amazon.com got it shipped and I got it today. I have taken a couple of test run shots with it and I can say like with my other Pentax lenses (I only own Pentax brand lenses as I have had too much trouble with other brands and their Q.C. issues) it is a winner. Surprisingly good for a lens that covers this range. It looks like my 18-55 kit lens and 50-200 will be going in to semi-retirement.
Here is one shot. They are full sized from DNG files, Saved as JPG using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.3.
Sorry for the lapse in posts…
Sorry folks for the lapse in posting. I have been dealing with some major medical problems with my mom. She has been on dialysis for a few months now, going 6 days a week. A couple of weeks ago I picked her up and got her home. She got really sick and I called an ambulance. By the time they got her in the ambulance her heart had stopped. She was technically dead for almost 30 seconds. They shocked her and got her back and she spent 9 days in the hospital. It turns out she had a blood clot from the dialysis catheter and it was infected. We got all that cleared up and then she had to go in for surgery to raise a vein in her arm closer to the surface so they can do the dialysis using it and she can get rid of the dialysis catheter. So I have been dealing with all of this plus taking care of the house, paying her bills, taking care of the animals and trying to get my own work done.
I think things will start to normalize now and hope to get back to posting here.
Thanks,
Robert
