Pentax K20D IQ

[skypacker]

Did you see the review of the 50D at DPreview?

Take a look at the comparison photos...the Pentax K20D is far better than the rest when it comes to IQ!! The amount of detail that the K20D preserves is amazing compared to the others.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/page29.asp

Goes to prove that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Enjoy the K20D, it looks like the best APS-C camera right now in terms of IQ.

[fengwei]

Originally Posted by skypacker Enjoy the K20D, it looks like the best APS-C camera right now in terms of IQ.

And in terms of value too

[art2d2]

Finally they did a review putting the K20D with the proper range of cameras instead of last time with the Canon 450D.

[Zenten]

....... so anyone wants to buy a high IQ camera from me? .......................

[billitone]

Originally Posted by Zenten ....... so anyone wants to buy a high IQ camera from me? .......................

...why would anyone sell a high IQ camera?

[scorpioh]

k20d is indeed a genius.

[Ben Loke]

Originally Posted by fengwei And in terms of value too

Thumbs up for K20D!

Found this interesting.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/page17.asp

[seefei]

Originally Posted by Ben Loke Thumbs up for K20D! Found this interesting. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/page17.asp

from the article...


"Unsurprisingly at base ISO there is not an awful lot of difference between the contestants (with the exception of the Pentax K20D which by default does not use any noise reduction, resulting in visibly and measurably noisier images at all sensitivities). "

i thought the above meant everyone is OK/Good except Pentax K20D.
From the diagram, photograph from Pentax K20D at ISO above 800 appears "noisier" than the rest.

[Ben Loke]

Originally Posted by seefei from the article... i thought the above meant everyone is OK/Good except Pentax K20D. From the diagram, photograph from Pentax K20D at ISO above 800 appears "noisier" than the rest.

This is what I concluded when I read it. Normally I used no more than ISO 800. Mostly ISO 200 or 400.

A few weeks ago, I visited a film & digital photo exhibition and in each photo came with info such as: Film ISO 100, Digital ISO 200

Do we really need high ISO at all?

[fengwei]

Originally Posted by Ben Loke Thumbs up for K20D! Found this interesting. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/page17.asp

Well, maybe K20D's results look abit noisier. But look at those photos at higher ISO, you can see that those from K20D are clearly much sharper w/ more details than the rest

[seefei]

Originally Posted by fengwei Well, maybe K20D's results look abit noisier. But look at those photos at higher ISO, you can see that those from K20D are clearly much sharper w/ more details than the rest

i concur with you, FW. although noisier, but seems the pic details are sharper. so K20D is still leading the pack by a horse nose

[Zenten]

Originally Posted by billitone ...why would anyone sell a high IQ camera?

Probably found another camera with even higher quality ...........

[creampuff]

I'm personally underwhelmed with all the discussion of high ISO picture quality.

The K20D engineers opted for detail preservation over outright noise reduction, which to me is the sensible approach. There are software solutions available for noise reduction but no software can recover detail when there aren't any details in the first place.

With digital photography, ISO control is another component in exposure determination. I dare say the K20D's sensor resolution, preservation of detail and Shake Reduction make it a formidable camera for available light photography, particularly if one doesn't want use to use or don't happen to carry a tripod or some sort of support.

I am reminded of the Canon 5D shooter on our recent Little India outing who was carrying a dinky tripod while we Pentax users were happily shooting handheld because our cameras all have Shake Reduction.

[Ben Loke]

Originally Posted by fengwei Well, maybe K20D's results look abit noisier. But look at those photos at higher ISO, you can see that those from K20D are clearly much sharper w/ more details than the rest

Right On!

Results are the proof of K20D sharpness.

[watchthewaves]

Originally Posted by seefei from the article... "Unsurprisingly at base ISO there is not an awful lot of difference between the contestants (with the exception of the Pentax K20D which by default does not use any noise reduction, resulting in visibly and measurably noisier images at all sensitivities). " i thought the above meant everyone is OK/Good except Pentax K20D. From the diagram, photograph from Pentax K20D at ISO above 800 appears "noisier" than the rest.

I don't understand the review methodology. Just because the K20D's default is NR off, they test it with NR off against others with NR on? Wouldn't it make more sense to test every camera at the same setting? Eg, all with average NR on? And if have the time, also test all at NR off and then at NR max?

[seefei]

Originally Posted by watchthewaves I don't understand the review methodology. Just because the K20D's default is NR off, they test it with NR off against others with NR on? Wouldn't it make more sense to test every camera at the same setting? Eg, all with average NR on? And if have the time, also test all at NR off and then at NR max?

I was confused initially but after some explanation from other forumers, and further re-read of the review, i gather the following.

The review is done based on image off the camera sensor without post processing. imo, there is no NR on/off function yet in any brand of camera. the NR is in-built into the sensor of the other brands, hence their image appears less noisy but missing out a few details here and there.

Noise cleaning can be done easily off camera with software like photoshop, noise ninja, neatimage etc. that said, Pentax K20D gives its users more choice in term of post processing not to mention better quality image (sharper with more details) as can be seen from the review.

[zcf]

If really want to be fair on sharpness, detail & ISO noise, then should compare on RAW conversion with same setting.

Most DSLR can chose the noise reduction level on JPG file, the test was using the default setting right out from camera. And not all users know about how to use NR (especially with so many new users nowaday), and not all users opt for details rather than noise and vice versa. So it's depend on individual preference on selecting the NR setting.