Digital Home Thoughts: Pentax K20D First Impressions

"The Pentax K20D has the highest resolution available in an APS-C sensor SLR. It is 20% higher resolution than the new Sony A700/Nikon D300 Sony sensor pair at 12.2 MP and almost 50% higher than the Canon 40D. Those are numbers that are hard to ignore. Those who wondered why Pentax entered into a partnership with Samsung a few years ago finally have their answer. Samsung wanted to play in the high-end sensor market with Sony and Panasonic; their partnership with Pentax was to develop sensors for the digital SLR market. We don't know details yet, but we have to guess the Hoya merger also plays into this scenario since Hoya is the world's largest maker of optical glass. You would be surprised to see a list of companies who buy their lens glass from Hoya (THK)."

Unbelievable! For just over $1300, you can get the highest resolution camera in its class, which is a far cry from the $8000 range or so that most of the competitors charge. More impressively, Pentax hasn't just stuffed in a bunch of extra pixels on the sensor. They have thought about how to create a better image with this chip as well. While a detailed review is not in yet, read on to find out whether this is worth following. Verdict so far looks like a yes.