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Have been using the K20D since June 08 and am very pleased with both the image quality as well as the features and functions.Controls and flexibility are outstanding with significant customization available. At 14.1 MP it is definitely a class leader in resolution.

Things I love:
- Most importantly excellent image quality (when combined with the DA*
lenses): sharp,clear and good color rendition, & dynamic range.
- Shake reduction built into the body which enables the use of any lens
in order to gain the benefit.
- Additional ability to further customize image quality for contrast,
sharpness, color, hue for 5 deferent presets. Not really necessary,
but available if you so choose.
- Ability to simultaneously shoot JPEG+RAW (pre-set or on demand)
- Intuitive controls and menus
- Excellent displays in both the main LCD screen as well as the top
LCD(excellent back lighting in the top LCD: bright green
illumination).
- Compact size for smaller hands, but good fit for larger hands when
coupled with the battery grip (I have reviewed the grip separately).
- Very quiet shutter sound
- Good fit and finish (solid build) & moisture/dust sealed

Things I wish it had:
- On demand composition grid in view finder (Advantage D300)
- Button adjustment for White Balance. The K20D requires that you get
to a menu first. Not a big issue since auto WB seems to work very
well in 99% of my usage conditions.
- Protective cover for the main LCD (Advantage D300). I currently use
an after-market product.

The K20D has been rated low in its Frame Per Second ability (3 FPS compared to the Canon at 6 FPS). If you require his FPS burst rate (i.e. sports journalism), this will be a handicap. For my usage, it is not an hinderance and therefore I discount the need for an ultra fast FPS burst rate.

I recommend the DA* series lenses to get the best out of the K20D. These lenses are a tad pricey, but still less expensive than Canon's equivalent L series lenses. The image quality of the DA* lenses is outstanding and complement the K20D very well especially with the SDM focusing (fast and quiet)and weather-sealing.

This camera is definitely for the enthusiast/prosumer. When I was shopping for a new camera, I tried both a D300 and the K20D for a good 3 week trial each. Based on my user experience, I opted for the K20D and have no regrets.

This is a well designed, and well made product. Since this is my first digital camera, I was prepared to be frequently baffled and frustrated by a steep learning curve. Not the case-- for having as many controls as it does, operating it is very intuitive and the results are impressive.

This is my first DSLR so I really can't compare from experience. I did a lot of research in advance and I'm happy to say that I got what I expected. Love this camera!

disclaimer - going to write this in an almost bullet'ed fashion to save time.

reasons why i bought this: -already have old pentax lenses. (work fine with it. 2 lens from 1960)

-14.6 megapixel. i read that its comparable to the 35mm negative in enlargement. that's true. after scanning and old negative at 1200 dpi, the lens captured the same amount of detail. it's pretty amazing.

-weatherproofing. in the past, i've always used very old manual cameras -because they're built like a tank, and will never break. and usually don't need a battery. this is about as close as you can get for under 1500$ i believe. and if i'm spending money, i don't want to buy another for many a year.

-2 knobs. as someone who's never used a camera with "modes", this is perfect. the aperture and shutter are very easy to control, so the picture comes out how you'd like it. also as a plus, the only "modes" this has are useful. aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, hyper program, and sensor priority. no fireworks, portrait, sports.... etc.

-a few plusses i wasn't expecting. double and triple exposures are possible in camera. the anti shake is amazing. i can shoot down to 1/10th of a second with almost no problem.
-when shooting in black and white, you can use in camera "filter" effects. it has an ifra red filter that while isn't a true infra red look, it does have a very high contrast, and seems to pull more tones out of any available scene.


negatives: (kindof)
-at work we use a nikon, the buttons and meter are reversed. so i have to stay used to two setups.
-the preset white balances are close, but not dead-on. the transitions are very subtle, so i don't think anyone who wasn't there will know.. but at the same time i don't mind at all. if i don't adjust the white balance, some images kind of take on a weirdly enhanced look.
-in very low light, the autofocus has a challenge. again, not a problem because it has a manual focus.
- the weatherproofing. the camera is tough as hell, but unless you use a certain lens set (i read) that water could enter where the lens meets the body. (so far i've yet to shoot in a hard rain though)

I have been really happy with this Pentax K20d, and I am impressed with the 16-45 f.4 lens that I bought to go with it. I initially upgraded from a Canon Rebel 300D to a Canon 40D, it was a nice upgrade but the new Canon wasn't bringing me enough enjoyment to be worth the near thousand dollars I paid for it, and I knew it would lead me to buying lenses that would be too heavy and expensive. I sent it back and a moth later decided to buy the K20d. I was impressed with the low price and low weight of Pentax's mid-range lenses. I honestly thought that the camera itself wouldn't be as good as the 40D but I decided to follow the mantra that lenses are what matter and thought I could sell my Canon lenses and get some great Pentax prime lenses, and a wide zoom lens.

I have had the K20d for a over a month, and it is a great camera. It takes the pictures that I want it to take. This is the first digital camera I've been really excited about using and I think it is because it allows me to get the exact exposure I want. The metering won't produce as many decent pictures on full auto as a Canon, because it will always preserve bright highlights. The reviews say that it underexposes, because if you take a picture of a person with the sky behind them, it will consistently keep the sky from blowing out - making the person too dark. At first this means more missed and underexposed shots, but it exposes the same way all the time, and after a week with the camera I found that I always knew how the camera was metering and I now get the exact exposure I want on the first shot far more often than I used to.

The camera also makes manual mode far more useable. I like finding a good exposure for the light and then sticking to that as long as I know I am in similar light. If my photos are looking a little bright or a little dark on the histogram, I change the shutter speed or aperture a click. With the green button, I can be in manual mode but have an automatic resetting any time the light changes, from full sun to shade. Anytime I know that there is a big change in light I hit the green button and get the automatic exposure setting, instead of having to spin the dials.

I like the ability to change what the dials and buttons do in many of the modes. I can customize what the control wheels do in each picture mode. Also note that many reviews say the K20d does not show ISO in the viewfinder (which was a big detractor for me since it was one feature I really liked about the 40D upgrade) but actually you can customize this and show ISO in the viewfinder instead of the number of remaining shots. You can also change ISO in any mode by holding OK while turning the finger wheel.

Negatives: The K20d does produce more noise over ISO 800 than the Canon, but I like that it keeps more detail and I like the grain of the noise far better. However sometimes in very high ISO shots there can be too much chroma noise (colored noise) to do anything but convert to BW, and in two or three pictures I have seen banding in high ISO pictures when I try to push them a stop in my raw converter. Also the auto-focus sometimes hunts in single shot mode in light that the 40D would handle, although I have found that if I put it on AF-Continuous (AI Servo in Canon) it usually finds focus. My understanding is that the Pentax AF system attempts to be more exact, and I think I have noticed that when I am in good light I have less missed pictures due to focus than with the Canon.