Built-in SR system assures greater freedom in handheld shooting

The natural expressions and unrestrained gestures of your subject — these are the moments of truth that you can only catch with casual snapshot. The K20D lets you capture such moments even in the dark without worrying about camera shake, because its sophisticated SR (Shake Reduction) system built into the body effectively compensates for camera shake and always assures sharp, fine-detailed images without the use of a tripod. In fact, it compensates camera shake equivalent to approximately 2.5 to four shutter steps,* so beautiful, blur-free images expressing the atmosphere of sunset and indoor scenes can be taken with only incident light. This lets the photographer avoid using the flash or tripod whenever desired. Since the K20D allows handheld shooting under a wide range of lighting conditions, you can react swiftly and easily to fleeting, once-in-a-lifetime shutter opportunities.

* The degree of shake reduction effect may vary, depending on the lens used and/or the photographic conditions.
Note: Users are advised to turn the SR system off when using the K20D on a tripod.

High-precision compensation of minute shake optimizes the resolving power of the image sensor and PENTAX lens

Some prints may look dull or lack sharpness, even when you didn’t notice these problems when viewing them on the camera’s LCD monitor. In most cases, these problems are caused by very minute camera shake. The K20D’s SR system not only performs superbly in slow-shutter situations, but also works effectively with faster shutter speeds by compensating an extremely slight level of camera shake that is noticeable only in large-size prints or magnified screen images. As a result, the exceptional descriptive power of the smc PENTAX interchangeable lenses and the outstanding resolving power of the 14.6-megapixel CMOS image sensor are optimized even in most demanding situations.

The combination of SR system and super-high ISO sensitivity is the key to instant, simultaneous offsetting of camera shake and subject shake for sharp, crisp images

Another factor that may reduce the sharpness and crispness of your images is subject shake caused by the subject’s movement during exposure. This problem is normally solved by a choice of a faster shutter speed. The K20D allows you to raise the sensitivity as high as ISO 3200 in the standard sensitivity mode (or even to ISO 6400 in the expanded sensitivity mode, which is selected via a custom function). By combining the SR system with this super-high sensitivity setting, you can select an faster shutter speed to freeze fast-moving subjects and preserve them as sharp, crisp images. Most memorable moments may lie in the dark. The K20D’s true value becomes more evident under such demanding lighting conditions.

PENTAX-designed SR system is the best solution to camera-shake compensation in any camera system

What is the ideal camera-shake compensation for a digital SLR camera system? PENTAX’s answer to this question is an image-sensor-shift-type compensation system, because it extends the benefits of effective camera-shake compensation to all types of lenses — from wide angle to telephoto. As a result, even owners of old manual-focus lenses can enjoy this benefit and use their treasured, longtime partners on the state-of-the-art K20D camera body. Since this system requires no special devices or mechanisms within the lens body, all new lenses can be developed with the highest attention to optical performance and descriptive power. Its remarkable benefits are even extended to unifocal lenses, which have no room for the installation of corrective optical elements. A wide variety of concept lenses, such as ultra-thin pancake lenses and super-compact zoom lenses, can be easily developed. In terms of image quality, operability and system configuration, PENTAX’s in-body SR system satisfies all the conditions required by an ideal camera-shake compensation system, and is the symbol of PENTAX’s rational, well-conceived system development approach.