Pentax Optio M20 Review

The Optio M20 features a smc Pentax 6.3mm - 18.9mm 3x optical zoom with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 38mm - 114mm, the maximum aperture is F3.1 - F5.9. The lens is all glass and consists of 6 elements in 5 groups (1 aspherical element). When the camera is powered down the lens is retracted inside of the body and a built in shutter closes to protect the lens.

It has a 9-point auto focus system with Multi AF, Spot, and Tracking AF. The focusing range in Normal mode is 1.3 ft (0.4m) to Infinity; Macro - 4.0 in (0.1m) at 6.3mm to 2.62 ft (1.0m) at 18.9mm; Super Macro - 4.0 in (0.1m) at 6.3mm to 2.62 ft (1.0m) at 18.9mm.

On the top is the On/Off power button, the shutter release and the speaker.

The built in flash offers Auto, Flash-off, Flash-on, Red-eye reduction; Effective Range: Approx. 13 ft (4m) (6.3mm at Sensitivity Auto), Approx. 8.2 ft (2.5m) (18.9mm at Sensitivity Auto)

On the back is a large 2.5 inch LCD monitor with the clarity of approximately 115,000 pixels. The monitor is easy to see even in bright locations because of its backlight and low-reflection type. All of this means it is easier to navigate menus, make settings, compose shots and share your images.

Controls on the back: On top is the zoom control, functions as the index/magnify control in playback. Below it is the Playback button. The 4-way controller lets you navigate menus and select images during playback. In record you press "Up" to enable selftimer mode, press left to change flash mode, press right to change focus mode and press "Down" to change recording Mode. The MENU button calls up and dismisses the menus. The GREEN button quickly puts the camera into Simple Auto (point-n-shoot) mode, in playback it is the Delete button.

On the right side is the PC/AV port handles both the USB 1.1 connection for download and the audio-video output for TV display.

On the camera bottom is a tripod socket and the Imagelink terminal. By using the supplied O-DI58 dock insert the camera can be connected to a Kodak Easyshare Printer Dock to print images by simply pressing a button on the printer dock.

The Optio M20 is equipped with 22MB of internal memory and has a Secure Digital (SD) card slot on the right side for optional memory cards. It's compatible with SD cards up to 2GB and 4GB and larger SDHC memory cards. Data recorded on the internal memory can be copied to SD card.

The Optio M20 provides exceptional battery life (approximately 220 images with AA alkaline batteries,* or approximately 700 images with AA lithium batteries*) for on-the-go power. *Measured under testing conditions prescribed by CIPA standards.