A Quick but Full ISO Test by a New K20D User (Vs K10D too)

A Hong Kong Pentax user has acquired a new K20D at the street of Hong Kong and he has immediately carried out a quick test for checking the image quality and camera performance (variations) at all different ISO speeds and here is his post:-

http://www.dchome.net/viewthread.php?tid=470500&extra=page%3D1&page=5

(Text in Traditional Chinese, use Babelfish to translate if needed. Btw, the captions in the posted test images are self-explanatory and are in English.)

The first thing to note is that the K20D image starts to appear grainy/noisy at ISO 800 and in my opinion ISO 1600 is already very marginally usable. But if you compare the K10D images which are shot at the same time for the same object with the same setup, the ISO 400 image is somewhat more or less the same as the ISO 800 image of the K20D, which means that there is a considerably obvious improvement in the noise performance of the K20D when it is compared to the K10D, especially considering that it has nearly 50% more pixels than the K10D. Having said that, it should be noted that the ISO 400 noise performance of the K10D is in fact sub-par, which is also quite some K10D users and I have been talking about for a while now.

The second thing is that the user reported that the (Auto) White Balance is far more accurate than the K10D, even under tungsten lighting. The reproduced color balance is more faithful to the original subjects as he could see so far (way better than the K10D, as reported). Well, it might be that it is really true or it is just that he is still enjoying his honey moon period with his new toy, anyway.

But the third thing which I can observe is the dark and gloomy pictures, which actually nearly becomes an unshakeable symbol or even icon for Pentax DSLRs, *can* *still* be seen. The K20D pictures look just a little bit brighter, though (but it still looks dark, muddy and dull).

Last but not least, since he purchased his K20D body (only) at near HK$11,000 (about US$1,400), which I would consider simply too expensive to consider objectively as the much more stronger (in specifications) and faster (for its true camera performance, e.g., AF and shutter lag, etc.) Nikon D300 is also selling just at a price which is dearer by very little bucks.

Do note that Nikon's system is undoubtedly more comprehensive and complete than the Pentax's one and Nikon's flash system is renowned to be the most accurate and versatile one, too, whereas Pentax's P-TTL has been reported from time to time rather frequently on the Internet for its inaccuracy and inconsistency. Although the K20D can be different but I have no high hope as long as exposure accuracy department is concerned for the Pentax DSLRs, judging from the past experiences of the Pentax DSLR users (and now the new samples published by the beta and production K20D so far). Besides, as long as the AF system of the K20D is yet the SAFOX VIII (at least as it is called), which is infamous for unsatisfactory low light performance and accuracy, I don't think choosing the K20D is a wise choice when one can actually get a far superior and better Nikon D300 at nearly the same price.

In fact, I have just tried a D300 yesterday (not at shop, one of my friends has purchased his new D300 so that I could try it out at the field), the mirror action is so gentle but yet crisp and I am really amazed with its lightning fast short shutter lag which is noticeably even shorter than my Canon 5D (around 78 ms as measured by CAPA Japan and the Imaging Resource, best timing) which is again noticeably faster than my MZ-S (which is again just faster than *any* Pentax AF DSLRs ever made!). So, I just wonder except the old Pentax DSLR user base who are particularly eager to replace their old Pentax DSLRs (which the users might be rather unsatisfied with something), for those who are new, WHO will really choose the K20D in view of the comparatively poorer price/performance ratio? So, here is my bet: Unless the price of the K20D goes down significantly, the product and Pentax won't succeed. Or, people just go to get the Samsung GX-20 which should be (much?) cheaper and with the original SilkyPix RAW software package (and better user interface than the Pentax Photo Lab), too.