K20D?

I read on another forum the probable specs of the probable new Pentax -the K20D.
they are:
14MP Pentax designed CMOS APS-H sensor
Faster autofocus
better antishake
4 photos per second
3"screen
Live view.

Now I know it is all speculation at th moment, but would you buy one?
Why do we need 14Mp apart from to fill up our computers even faster?
Can someone explain APS-C to me please?
Would you use live-view?

I assume it will be priced nearer the Olympus E-3 than the Oly E-510

Live view is very, very useful when it's implemented as on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10, and a waste of time when it's done the Canon 40D way. A three inch screen is also great if the pixel count increases as well, as on the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700. And a bit of a gimmick when the pixel count is the same as a 2.5 inch screen - like the Canon 40D. The rest depends on picture quality and price!

I saw that PentaxForums and DPReview had gone a bit mental at the prospect of a new camera on January 24th...

I really couldn't care less about LiveView, the Canon version does not allow AF when it's in use....and it's not something I miss at the moment...

I'm looking forward to seeing what they bring out, whether I pounce this time let's see...

Digital SLRs have now reached the point where manufacturers are adding gimmicks rather than useful features.

I won't be buying another DSLR for a while. None of these new features are worth anything to me.

Pentax should concentrate on enlarging the lens line, producing lenses more quickly, and adding SDM to as many as possible.

G

What is APS-H and how does it affect the current lenses?

APS-H was (on APS film cameras) approx 30mm x 16mm, so a bit more 'widescreen' than the current APS-C sized sensor in the current Pentax DSLRs (24 x 16).

Dan

Thankyou for the explanantion Daniel.
I assume that current lenses are still compatible with it? What about for printing purposes? Does it mean always cropping the photo to more normal propotions? Why would Pentax decide to go for that format? I understand why they are making their own sensors, but the format change seems odd.

unlikely, since it wouldn't work with DA lenses, and you'd be cropping it to 3:2 most of the time anyway so no real resolution boost over the K10D
always nice, but hardly killer considering how fast the K10 already is
again, nice, but not killer
depending on your subject and style, this is either a step in the right direction or totally irrelevant. More people will think the latter than the former.
meh


if my K10D broke, and assuming that the K20D did everything the K10D does plus the above, I would buy a K20D as it's replacement. I certainly would not even consider the possibility of upgrading for any of the features mentioned above.

I think what it would take is something like

an extra 3 stops on the SR
5 FPS with at least 20 frame RAW buffer
ISO 1600 with noise levels similar to the K10D at 400, ISO 6400 maximum.
Full K mount compatibility, that is to say, bring back the aperture ring actuator. I would settle for no metering screwups with the current system, and don't try to give me it can't be done, my *istDL2 can do it.

You sure about this, Dan?

Wikipedia seems to think it's another 3:2 format - about a 1.25 factor compared with 35mm, rather than 1.5 for APS-C.

Maybe a 4:3 aspect ratio would be good to fit in with the larger paper sizes.....

CF and SD card slots would be nice....

But I'm with George on this one....it has to be a quantum leap from the K10D to make me splash out on another body while I am happy with my K10 and *ist D....

My GF takes fabulous pics with her 300D EOS, old technology but she's spent lots on good optics... and she's a better photographer than I am.....I think that speaks volumes

Peter

This would be worth having if it also came with significantly higher, low noise ISO settings.

Otherwise it's only a marginal increase - it would have to be nearly 17 MP for it to be the same proportion more than the K10D, than the K10D is more than the K100D.

It'll also be interesting to see if the image circle really is Ok with a 1.25 crop factor and the DA lenses. If it is, then lenses will all get a bit wider, which would be quite handy in a way, if I could get my head round remembering two crop factors.

This would be worth having if it was also predictive and worked well.
This would have to be much better for it to be significant. The K10D SR is already pretty good.
Not a big deal, really.

Overall, it doesn't add up to something I'll be desperate for when it comes out. Even the 'worth havings' aren't worth having at any cost, so the price will be important.

I think Dan is correct. Canon have incorrectly described their 1D Mk 2 camera as being APS-H when it's not. This is what that Wikipaedia article is referring to. Elsewhere, it correctly describes H as being almost a 2:1 format.

I suspect Pentax will be using a sensor similar to the Canon one in size, if these rumours are true.

Most, perhaps all, DA lenses are capable of being used with a larger frame size than APS-C. It is therefore quite possible that the next top-of-the-range model will have a larger sensor but still use DA lenses.

G

30x16 is in fact about a 1.25 crop factor (actually 1.27) over 36x24 when you measure diagonaly so both are right really.

If this works with the 16-45 that gives a wide semi panoramic of about 20mm which is interesting for those of us that like landscape work. My guess is there would be a 'switch' between 'normal' APS-C (which would then be 11MP) and 'Panoramic' (at 14MP)

Ah well I guess we'll know more towards the end of January. I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy one though.

I'd like Live View, if it is done properly and doesn't nobble normal operation when you use it. I'd like the extra pixels, faster autofocus, 'better' anti-shake (better how?) and the 3" screen (again, if that means more pixels).

But things I'd like that don't require new hardware:

* to be able to adjust exposure settings while the last image is being written
* to be able to delete a whole day's worth of shots in one go
* to have compressed .dng files
* switch off pre-flash on the pop-up flash so it doesn't crap on slave flash units
* time lapse shooting

Things I'd like that do require new hardware but weren't mentioned:

* support for SDIO cards and saving images over WiFi.
* emergency power by AAs
* flash pc socket

Shouldn't it be called the K1D?

Anyway, I'd probably buy one.