Touch-screen Optio gets a 7MP boost

Product Overview

Overall rating:

83%

Pentax Optio T20

Overall score:83%
Features:80%
Performance:80%
Value:90%
Design:85%
Image Quality:80%

Pros:

  • Touch screen, High-resolution 3in LCD. Can draw on your pictures

Cons:

  • Operating speed, High ISO noise, Loss of detail, No wideangle zoom

Product:

Pentax Optio T20 Review

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:

£160.00

The 6MP T10 brought touch-screen technology to the consumer Optio line-up, and with the T20 Pentax has upped the resolution to 7MP, using the same 37.5-112.5mm equivalent zoom upfront and program plus scene modes for point-and-shoot operation.

The ISO has also seen a boost, with the option to manually select ISO 100-800, though the auto sensitivity is ISO 100-400 as with its predecessor. However, the T20’s unique selling point isn’t its feature set, but the touch screen 3in LCD on the back that does away with a need for too many buttons (as well as a viewfinder). This allows the T20’s sleek silver metal shell to retain an incredibly minimal appearance, with the high-resolution screen giving a pleasingly large area to compose and view images on.

The touch-screen is incredibly fun to use too, not only allowing you to change settings but – using the included stylus – you can also draw onto your images, apply filter effects and even add a frame from a selection of sometimes-ghastly border effects. Yet the T20’s performance is lacklustre, with a four-second start-up and an AF system that’s steady rather than speedy. There’s also a slight delay when storing and retrieving images. While the Optio T20’s white balance and metering systems are sound, the general lack of detail is disappointing, with distant areas often becoming a featureless jumble of coloured ‘blobs and smears’. Colour noise at ISO 400-800 doesn’t help, making it look as though melted ‘hundreds and thousands’ have been spread across the image. Stick to small print sizes and/or low ISO settings for best results.

Verdict

The touch screen makes the T20 a lot of fun, but it’s generally slow to use and the image quality could be better.

Details

Weight:Refer to manufacturers website
Dimensions:Refer to manufacturers website
Power:Li-ion
Connectivity:USB 2.0
Memory Card:-
Flash Modes:4
White Balance:Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten light, Fluorescent light, Manual setting
ISO Range:-
Metering System:-
Exposure Modes:-
Shutter Speeds:-
File Formats:JPEG
LCD:-
Lens:-
Sensor:6MP
Other:-