Pentax Optio A20 : camera

Pentax Optio A20

By: Gagan Gupta | Jan 12,2007

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Excellent Features High quality output Good manual mode Light digital noise on higher ISOs Slow shot-to-shot time

To be honest, when I got the Pentax A20 for review I expected it to be a simple point-and-shoot ultra-compact with probably a few manual exposure features, like most higher-end ultra-compacts out there. But then again, this wasn't the first time my first impressions were wrong.

Build
As I said in the introduction—by the looks of it there isn't anything on the camera that would separate it from the other ultra-compacts out there.

All the button placements are very generic, with the menu buttons, navigational keys and zoom switch located at the back of the camera and the power and shutter release located on the top. Don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the button placement, but considering the kind of features the A20 boasts, I feel it could have done with a couple more easy access buttons instead of hiding everything inside the modes and menus.

The 2.5-inch LCD display at the back looks sharp with crisp colors. With its resolution of 232,000 pixels you get a pretty good idea about the kind of details you're going to capture in the preview itself.

Overall the camera is comfortable to hold and easy to operate with one hand. But looks are not the A20's selling point; check out it's features for the real deal.