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Pentax Optio V20

Digital Camera Review

Dec 17, 2008 - By Steve Morgenstern

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Optio V20 Prices

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Size / Portability (8.25)
The V20 measures 2.2" x 3.8" x 0.9" (55.8mm x 96.5mm x  22.9mm) and weighs 5.1 ounces (145g) – not the thinnest or lightest point-and-shoot available, but still very pocket-friendly.

Handling Ability (6.50)
A two-handed grip horizontal grip on the V20 is secure enough, once you learn not to let an extended middle finger cover the camera flash. Unfortunately the flash is entirely flush with the camera body, so there's no way to feel that your finger has wandered into the line of fire. The raised shiny silver strip on the left side of the camera front can be used as a rest for your middle finger, but we found this position uncomfortable when shooting horizontally. The strip does make a useful gripping point when shooting vertically, though.

If you're the type who likes to grab a shot one-handed, best of luck to you with the V20. We found the camera shifted every time we pressed the shutter with a one-handed grip.  As for the five raised dots on the far right of  the camera back, we're sure these are meant to aid in keeping the camera steady in some shooting position, but we were unable to figure out what that position might be.

Limited space around the screen makes it easy to
smudge the LCD while holding the camera.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (8.75)
All too often, compact cameras with large screens try to cram far too many controls into the limited space available, making pressing a particular button an operation requiring long fingernails and pinpoint precision. The V20 avoids this problem entirely with simple, well-marked buttons nicely separated from one another. There are only three controls on top of the camera, the power button, the shutter and the zoom control surrounding the shutter, with the on-off control inset to avoid accidental presses. The strip along the right side of the camera back provides a Face Recognition button that toggles between smile capture mode, face detection on and face detection off. Below that is the button that switches to play mode. The four-way controller offers four functions (self-timer/burst control, macro mode, flash setting and mode control), and below that are two buttons for MENU and Green Mode/Erase. Only the Green Mode button serves more than one function based on the mode you're in, making camera control that much simpler. The only control that's a bit hard to manage is the flash mode button in the four-way controller. It butts up against the raised LCD screen frame, making it hard to press unless you’re using a fingernail. This is a minor issue, though, in a generally well thought-out layout.

Controls are simple and clearly labeled.

The Green button is useful for newbies as instant access to the super-simple Green Mode, but those with more photographic ambition will also find it useful, since you can program one of several important settings to this control, via the Record menu. Your options include image size and quality settings, white balance, focus mode, metering mode, ISO setting, exposure compensation, sharpness, saturation and contrast. With several key controls, including ISO and exposure comp, accessible by navigating your way through the menu system be default, this programmable control makes shooting with the V20 significantly faster and easier.

Menu (5.75)
The division of camera controls between those you reach by pressing the MENU button and those you access by pressing the MODE button (the bottom section of the four-way controller) takes presents a speed bump in the initial learning curve, but the system works smoothly once you understand its minor quirks.

The MENU button calls two menus, one for Record Mode, the other for Settings. This is true whether you press MENU while in Record mode or during image Playback, an unusual system.

It's the MODE button that changes its function depending on what you're doing with the camera when you press it. When you're taking pictures, MODE brings up a screen of shooting mode selections.  If you're reviewing photos stored on the camera, MODE offers a selection of editing options (see the Playback Mode section for details).

The Record and Settings menus aren't especially attractive, but the typeface is clear enough for easy legibility. Each menu is three screens long, which means lots of presses on the four-way controller if you want to reach the settings on that third page. As for moving between the two menus, your cursor has to be positioned at the top a menu to switch to the other, which is inconvenient.

The Record menu includes the basic shooting settings along with customization options for the Green Mode button and a useful Memory menu that lets the user select which settings are retained when the camera is turned off and on again.

The Settings menu provides memory card formatting, date, time and language settings, USB and video input/output modes, power-saving and screen brightness controls, and the Quick Zoom setting for playback mode, which provides the option to jump to full magnification mode with a single press of the zoom control.