Quality & Size Options

The number of available file sizes is limited to just three. There are also three JPEG quality settings, Best, Better and Good. When shooting uncompressed RAW files there is a choice of two file formats, Pentax’s own PEF files or the standard DNG RAW file format. RAW images can be saved on their own, or with a simultaneous JPEG copy.

Dynamic Range (8.62)

The Pentax 2000 performed well in our dynamic range testing. Four out of five cameras in our comparison suite scored within a hair’s breadth of one another in this test and, while the Pentax was statistically the lowest of these four, the difference is inconsequential in real-world effect.

Our tests for dynamic range are conducted by shooting a standard 20-patch Kodak Gray Scale chart under controlled 3000-lux illumination, shooting at each available ISO at a range of aperture settings. The resulting images are analyzed using Imatest software to determine how well the tested camera can maintain detail in dark areas and reproduce highlights without blowing them out.

Dynamic range inevitably decreases as ISO settings increase, but for the K2000 the effect is smooth and gradual. The camera starts out at ISO 100 with over seven stops of dynamic range, barely dips below 6 stops at ISO 400 and still produces a respectable result into the noisy realm of ISO 3200 shooting. More on how we test dynamic range.

Aside from the Olympus, the others all display very similar dynamic range performance at ISO 200.

The Olympus had noise problems across the board, and at extreme ISOs produced photos which were simply unusable, which explains its poor performance. The scores each camera received in each section are shown below; a longer bar indicates a higher score.

Image Stabilization (4.64)

The Pentax K2000, like Olympus and Sony SLRs, has image stabilization built in to the body of the camera. This contrasts with the approach taken by Nikon and Canon, who build image stabilization into individual lenses, which are more expensive than similar lenses without stabilization. The benefit of the Pentax approach is that any lens you mount on the camera can take advantage of image stabilization… when there is an advantage. In our lab testing, we discovered that the Pentax system offers modest improvement where it counts the most, when shooting at shutter speeds of 1/30 second or lower. At higher shutter speeds, though, the results are hit-and-miss. In many instances, engaging the image stabilization system produced blurrier photos than turning it off.

Our image stabilization testing is conducted using a custom-made rig that precisely shakes the camera in a pre-determined pattern, under computer control. With the test subject mounted in the device, we shoot at two different levels of shake, taking multiple images at all shutter speeds between 1/500 and 1/8 second. Horizontal and vertical shake are tested separately. The resulting photos are processed using Imatest to determine image sharpness, and these results statistically analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the image stabilization system. More on how we test image stabilization.

When subjected to a modest level of shake — roughly what we’d expect from an individual when holding the camera steady with two hands — we found that horizontal shake improvement was negligible at shutter speeds below 1/30 second. In the vertical direction, image stabilization offered an improvement at the fastest 1/500 second speed tested, but caused a loss of sharpness for the remaining range until we reach 1/15 second, where some advantage kicks in.

The second phase of our test increases the level of shake until it represents what you’d experience when trying to grab a shot one-handed, or when walking. Here we see a similar pattern to our low-shake test. At the highest shutter speed the sharpness is better with image stabilization turned on, but from that point on it’s causing a dip in image quality until we get to the 1/30 second level.

Bottom line, the Pentax K2000 image stabilization system is consistently inconsistent: that is, it sometimes improves sharpness, sometimes detracts from it, but in roughly the same pattern whether you are fairly steady or moving around quite a bit, and on both the horizontal and vertical axes. Our recommendation: turn the system on if you’re shooting indoors without flash or at night, but leave it off otherwise.

Image Stabilization Comparison Table			Expand
	Low Shake IS Off	Low Shake IS On	High Shake IS Off	High Shake IS On
1/500
1/250
1/125
1/60
1/30
1/15
1/8