Pentax K2000

Lens & Sensor

The 18-55mm kit lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 at its widest setting and f/5.6 at full zoom, making it fairly slow for low-light shooting. The camera made up for the optics, though, with good results in our long exposure tests, which are shot at shutter speeds between 1 and 30 seconds in dim 20 lux illumination. The mount on the lens is made of plastic, so it’s not going to take a lot of abuse.

Lenses mounted on the K2000 have a magnification factor of 1.5×. In other words, the 18-55mm kit lens behaves like a 27-83mm lens on a 35mm camera. That still represents decent wide-angle coverage, and a usable medium telephoto on the flip side, particularly for shooting people without getting this close. Here are three shots to illustrate the zoom range, taken at the widest, midpoint and most telephoto end of the zoom range.

Zoom Ratio Examples
18.0 mm	35.0 mm	55.0 mm

The image sensor features a dust-resistant coating, along with a dust removal system that shakes the CCD to remove errant particles.You can choose whether or not to have the dust removal system triggered automatically each time you start up the camera. There’s also an interesting Dust Alert function that displays any spots it detects on the sensor. This will prove useful if the automatic dust removal system doesn’t fully solve the problem and you’re left to clean the sensor manually.

Viewfinder (6.75)

The viewfinder encompasses approximately 96% field of view, with 0.85 magnification, a reasonable spec for an entry-level SLR. There’s a rather prominent diopter adjustment tab inset into a slot on top of the viewfinder (with a 2.5 to +1.5m-1 range). It takes fingernails and patience to adjust accurately (or, if necessary, you can remove the eyecup to get more purchase on the control), yet we managed to change the setting accidentally more than once when the camera brushed against our clothes - all in all, not the perfect control. One missing element is a cover to close the viewfinder when shooting on a tripod; leaving it open can let light leak in from behind and throw the meter reading off.

Display(s) (4.40)

The LCD is a bit scrawny by current standards, measuring 2.7 inches with 230,000-dot resolution, though this is not the worst area for cost-cutting. At least the screen is bright and displays colors accurately. The viewing angle is fairly limited, but with no Live View mode, you’re not going to be looking at the LCD from odd angles while shooting anyway.

Both the brightness and the color reproduction of the LCD can be adjusted through the menu system. There are 15 possible brightness levels, with a black-to-white gradient displayed on the setting screen so you can judge the effect of your adjustment. As for tuning the color, you can tweak the screen along the green-magenta and/or blue-amber axes, with 15 available settings on each.

When shooting, the LCD displays a full-screen settings summary, as shown below. It’s a decent screen layout, though we would have preferred to see the individual settings appear larger, even if that meant shrinking the top section (with shooting mode, shutter speed, aperture, remaining exposures and battery life). If you prefer not to have this screen displayed, it can be toggled off by pressing the INFO button (the LCD can be annoyingly bright when you hold the camera up to your eye, and there’s no automatic sensor to turn it off as you’ll find on some SLRs). The camera is kind of stubborn about this display, though: every time you depress and release the shutter button (even if it’s only to focus, without taking a shot), the screen will turn on again.

A more useful button-press is hitting the OK button, which turns the status screen into an interactive control panel. Move the cursor to highlight a setting in this mode and you can scroll through your options by turning the control dial. Or, if you prefer, press OK again and you’re taken to a menu screen listing the available settings for the options at hand.

Secondary Display

As with most inexpensive SLRs, there’s no monochrome LCD on the camera top to provide shooting information when viewed from above.

Connectivity (1.50)

There is a single port that serves for both USB computer connection and video output. The USB cable is included but, unlike most cameras we receive for review, the K2000 ships without a video out cable. It’s available as an optional accessory (cable I-VC28) for $10. You can argue that the camera price is very low, and video output isn’t used very frequently with a non-movie-enabled camera. Still, if Pentax can afford to toss the cable in the box for a $120 point-and-shoot, they should have included it here.