Samsung GX-20 DSLR gets official in the UK

Samsung's GX-20 DSLR has taken a rather roundabout route on the way to release -- first getting leaked on a Norwegian website and then getting official in Korea -- but it looks like things are really pickup up now, with Samsung announcing the camera for the UK and, thankfully, providing all the details this time around. As we knew before, the DSLR is a 14.6-megapixel number, with a 2.7-inch live view LCD, RAW and JPEG modes, sensor-based image stabilization, and ISO settings up to 3200, among other equally impressive specs. What's new this time around is the all-important price (£699, or just under $1,400), and some of the finer details, including word of two new lenses for the camera. What's more, as Digital Photography Review points out, this announcement also confirms that the GX-20 is, in fact, essentially the same camera as Pentax's just-announced K20D, with the Samsung boasting only a few minor cosmetic changes and, according the company, its own JPEG processing.

[paragraph @ Jan 25th 2008 1:58PM]

Well, this and the K20D ARE the same camera. Pentax has been making the samsung DSLRs as long as i could recall... the samsung is usually has a more rugged body, and appeals better to consumers than Pentax, because if you ask anyone on the street who Pentax is, they probably wouldn't know.

Either way, this is great news, because i'm in the market for a GX-10 / K10D :P drive those prices down for me my pretties!

[mike @ Jan 25th 2008 5:09PM]

Well, I'd clarify by saying the Samsung bodies may seem more ruggedly styled to some people. They aren't actually designed to be or tested to indicate that they are in any way functionally superior to the Pentax bodies.
Simply some slight aesthetic differences between the two generally.

- Mike

[Joe Templeman @ Jan 25th 2008 2:31PM]

Its amazing how every post the stupidly high ISO is mentioned. Having an ISO of 3200 would produce a stupidly grainy image.

It'd be much more interesting to know whether its a CMOS or CCD sensor, how many frames per second it will do and what the crop factor on the sensor is.

I though engadget where getting new writers...cant happen quick enough.

[The Pepto Pimp @ Jan 25th 2008 2:39PM]

Joe, here's what you're looking for.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012411samsunggx20.asp

Enjoy.

[Yem @ Jan 25th 2008 3:11PM]

Ahem. Mentioning the ISO range isn't stupid - some cameras in this range peak at 1600. Yes, 3200 is noisy - so what. At least it's there if you really need it in a pinch.

I'm guessing the full specs aren't listed because they are virtually identical to the K20D (linked). For the record, CMOS, 3 and 1.5.

The most interesting part of THIS story is that they claim to have their own JPEG encoding firmware. Since Pentax have been (rightly) knocked for their JPEG output, a comparison would be quite interesting.

[mike @ Jan 25th 2008 5:06PM]

Well, the real question is... Will the 3200 ISO be noisy or not?
I haven't gone through it all yet; but, if memory serves from quick run through of info on dpreview, we are into a whole new beast here.
Apparently the imager is a CMOS device built by Samsung. That makes the whole Samsung/Pentax marriage a much more evenly sided affair, and the general DSLR market itself a much more diverse and interesting place. ;-)
I am very interested to see some thorough reviews of this one.

- Mike

[Joe_Templeman @ Jan 25th 2008 9:46PM]

Well it depends on how good you want the quality of your photos. If you are using it for "snaps" then high ISO's may be OK, but if you are using it for any decent use (and for a £699 you really should be), anything higher than 800 (1600 in extreme circumstances) is useless.

Oh and mike, ISO 3200 WILL be noisy. If I'm taking decent photos, albeit with a CCD sensor (Nikon D70s), I wont shoot at anything higher than ISO 400, 640 at a push.

[mike @ Jan 25th 2008 10:29PM]

Oh, I don't know, Joe. You've certainly got a point in general theory. ISO 3200 will almost positively be noisy to some noticeable degree in contrast to the lower ISO settings.
And, except for a minor artsy few, noise is usually considered a weakness in a photo.
So, all things being controllable, a high ISO is never what a photographer would set up for a decent photo if he/she has the opportunity to make those decisions.
However, if you're shooting a D70 then you've most likely been around enough to know that it is not only noise which makes/breaks a 'decent' photo.
I shoot at 800 quite a bit with my Pentax K100d, and while I'm not all that serious about it and 99% of my pics go no further than snaps, I have taken some extremely nice unstaged pics of our dog or my friends little girl at that ISO. More than one of those has made it to larger framing and display. And while I'm sure an experience pixel peeper could detect some noise in most of those shots, they are quite decent photos. If I do say so myself... ;-)
All that aside...
Surely, if not now then some day, they will be producing digital photos which will be amazingly noise free at amazingly high ISO settings.
For today though, the question is whether the new Samsung imager has perhaps made it to a step that somebody with your mindset might say they would never shoot over 800 or 3200 in an extreme circumstance.
Now, I don't know at all if they have. That is what I would like to know.
I hope they have, as it would bolster their position in the market and a competitive market is good for everybody.

- Mike

[Dankoozy @ Jan 26th 2008 8:23AM]

another fucking DSLR that only takes shitty, evil SD cards!! gah!!