Pentax Optio M20 Digital Camera Review

by James Murray
Published on December 20, 2006

Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance
Physical Tour	Components
Design / Layout	Modes
Control Options	Image Parameters
Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions
Conclusion	Specs / Ratings

 

Included with the purchase of the Pentax Optio M20 is ACDSee for Pentax software for PC and Macintosh computers. The program is more of an image viewer and less of an image editing platform. This software was easy to install. The interface isn’t necessarily the most intuitive, and it has minimal options and an overall mid-nineties aesthetic reminiscent of Tetris. It is possible to auto adjust image levels with varied success, and rotation of images occurs from the Image option in the toolbar. Other than these basic options and the slideshow feature, there are no other image manipulation possibilities. 

 

There are three locations for jacks, ports and plugs on the Pentax Optio M20. On the right face of the camera body, near the top of the camera and aligned with the back edge of this side, is a small light gray rubber port cover that flips open from the back edge. This cover is hinged along the bottom and moves easily out of the way to allow access to the AV/PC port of the camera. This port allows direct connection to television monitor, personal computer or printer. This cover has an embossed label on its surface and is fairly easy to locate. 

 

The second location for ports is located on the bottom of the camera body. The cover for both the SD memory card and AA batteries can be opened by pressing in slightly while sliding the cover to the right to reveal the battery and memory card slots beneath. The slight bulging on the front of the camera’s right side allows room for the AA batteries to reside. As mentioned in several other places in the review, a small rubber flap can be found on the right side of the camera that flips open to reveal the AA batteries which lay directly on the other side. This is an odd design flaw because of how easily moisture can pass through the flap when open even slightly. It popped open when swapping batteries and was only noticed after nearly an hour of handling.  When the box was first opened upon receiving the product, the flap was slightly set out of the camera body in a position that would allow for water or other moisture to enter the battery and memory card slots and wreak havoc on electronic components as well corrode the batteries.

 

The third and final port can be located on the bottom of the Pentax Optio M20 to the left of the battery and memory card port cover.  This uncovered port allows the camera to be directly connected to an ImageLink printer without cables or other accessory devices.  This is certainly helpful and hassle-free when compared to the somewhat preposterous cabling requirements found on some older digital cameras.

 

The direct print options for this camera are two-fold: PictBridge and ImageLink systems are compatible. The Pentax Optio M20 has a port that connects directly to ImageLink printers, but it also has a USB port to connect to PictBridge printers via the included cable. Before printing, users may find that it’s necessary to switch the USB mode in the setup menu from the default PC option to the PictBridge setting. This slows down the initial printing and if the manual isn’t read; it could cause a few minutes of consternation and rehashing of favorite obscenities.  Once connected to a printer, the camera must be powered on and a new display system appears.  This allows users to select between printing all images, select images, or DPOF images.  When selecting images, users can adjust the number of copies, paper size, type, quality, as well as border status.  This display system is easy to move through without strain.

 

The Pentax Optio M20 comes with two alkaline AA batteries, but consumers may want to consider purchasing rechargeable AAs. Otherwise, alkaline models must be purchased constantly. The rechargeable battery option is a great way of getting around the pricey and short-lived single-use AA battery, and it will definitely  minimize the environmental impact of using this powering option. The camera has a reported maximum battery life of 640 shots if using AA lithium batteries, but when factoring in review time, imaget effects, and shooting mishaps, the battery life becomes drastically shorter.  It’s a wise idea to carry a couple extra batteries in a back pocket when shooting for the day or during an extended period.

 

The memory options on the Pentax Optio M20 include both an internal memory storage medium as well as SD memory card.  The Optio M20 comes with 21.9 MB of internal memory that allows for six images captured at 7 MP in the best quality to be captured.  Users of the M20 would be wise to purchase an additional memory card.  The Optio M20 accepts SD cards in the memory card slot located beneath a port cover on the bottom of the camera body.  This slot is easy to access, and the position of this cover and slot is far enough away from the tripod socket that users will be able to swap out both memory cards and batteries without having to remove the camera from the tripod and possibly ruin a framed shot. 

 

Green Button – The green button located in the lower right corner of the M20’s back has a default control of activating the uber-auto Green shooting mode.  If the Green mode is no longer useful, it can be changed to access a handful of image and manual controls.  The control options provided within the green button sub-menu of the setup menu provide choices that include recorded pixels, quality level, white balance, focusing area, ISO sensitivity, EV compensation, sharpness, saturation and contrast.

 

Frame Composite – This option is listed in both playback and shooting modes and applies a graphic frame on top of still images.  Options of frames include choices like a frilly lace heart, a ring of bright red roses or a small pseudo-animated creature that has a speaking bubble that says “Happy.”  This is a tacky feature that likely will only be used by people still ordering from the kids’ menu.

 

Blur Reduction Shooting Mode – This preset shooting mode employs a higher sensitivity level in order to reduce blur. In addition to raising the sensitivity, this mode will set the shutter speed to remain faster than 1/15th of a second in order to further battle camera shake and blur reduction. Unfortunately, the battle with noise and image quality will still rage on.