On Popular Photography's Pentax K20D Review

[night86mare]

Flowerpot posted someone's comments on the above review, there was someone commenting that the AF results from that very review mirrored that of the previous one EXACTLY for the K10D. A Peter Fang, I believe. In any case, he emailed Popular Photography and there was no response, but apparently on the popphoto forums people were jumping around..

Among other points mentioned across various forums was the fact that the noise reduction seemed to be turned during tests by default because of Pentax default setting (what an excuse).

And the apparent Online Technology Editor for the magazine clarified that:

Quote: Executive Technology Editor Michael J. McNamara explains: Pentax openly admits that the K20D AF system is identical to the AF system on K10D with no claims for speed or sensitivity improvements. As noted in our several stories on the K20D, there are multiple design and performance elements that are identical between the two cameras since the K20D is actually a significant upgrade to the K10D but not a totally new camera design. Our preliminary lab findings supported the similarity in AF systems, and therefore we decided to incorporate the AF results from the K10D to minimize confusion. Had there been slight variations between the two camera models (as there would be), we would have received even more complaints after claiming both AF systems were the same. However, when the test data was incorporated into the K20D Test Results graphic in print and online, it is was accidentally transposed by one place. We have since updated the chart to correct this and believe the chart to be an accurate appraisal of how the K20D AF system performs compared to other DSLRs tested in the same manner.

Read the Pop photo forums thread here

What happened to ceteris paribus (all things being equal) comparisons? You can have nice charts but if you say, compare low quality JPG versus high quality JPG then it's going to be a horrible test no matter what.

Other forum threads (for those interested) discussing the issue:
1. DP Review forums
2. Pentax Forums

Just thought I'd post it up for those who are interested in K20D, and somehow, have not heard about this. Cheers.

[flowerpot]

saw the post at another forum...anyway i only interested in getting feedbacks from actual users and seeing it in action myself...

will the march IT show have K20D to play with

[fengwei]

It's a shame that a popular review site did something like this.

"therefore we decided to incorporate the AF results from the K10D to minimize confusion. Had there been slight variations between the two camera models (as there would be), we would have received even more complaints after claiming both AF systems were the same."

Can you believe this?

Oh well, it's just a review, as many others. The best reviews are from the actual users who really have used the camera to take real photos, not testing charts.

[creampuff]

Is it any wonder I stopped subscribing to Popular Photography donkey years ago.
Too many pages of ads, re-hashed articles and the magazine is getting thinner plus there are many more interesting reads nowadays.

[Zenten]

Still clueless about how the AFC of the K20D is going to be ............ so far all the beta testers are keeping mum on this very critical feature .............

[fengwei]

Originally Posted by Zenten Still clueless about how the AFC of the K20D is going to be ............ so far all the beta testers are keeping mum on this very critical feature .............

From the actual owner's experience (or comparison), the AF on K20D is faster and more decisive than the K10D. But under low light, the difference is very little

[Zenten]

Originally Posted by fengwei From the actual owner's experience (or comparison), the AF on K20D is faster and more decisive than the K10D. But under low light, the difference is very little

The K10D in the first place wasn't really a slow camera, but honestly it wasn't accurate at all ...........

[fengwei]

Originally Posted by Zenten The K10D in the first place wasn't really a slow camera, but honestly it wasn't accurate at all ...........

Hmm, I found the AF is pretty accurate w/ my K10D and K100d. Just abit slow under low light ...

[NoMoney]

Hehe... I find that the AF of my K100D is faster than Canon 400D. Accuracy wise, it's about the same. I am not starting a war, but just a owner expereice. Just to add on, I am using kit lens on both system.

[fengwei]

Originally Posted by NoMoney Hehe... I find that the AF of my K100D is faster than Canon 400D. Accuracy wise, it's about the same. I am not starting a war, but just a owner expereice. Just to add on, I am using kit lens on both system.

How about under low light condition? Probably the Canon 400+kit lens would be faster?

As for Canon, you really need to use a USM lens to fully utilize their AF capability On the other hand, our SDM isn't much faster than our old in-body motor-driven lenses, but SDM is alot quieter.

[NoMoney]

Originally Posted by fengwei How about under low light condition? Probably the Canon 400+kit lens would be faster? As for Canon, you really need to use a USM lens to fully utilize their AF capability On the other hand, our SDM isn't much faster than our old in-body motor-driven lenses, but SDM is alot quieter.

Did not try under low light as we only have a rough feel of our camera.