Pentax Optio VS20 Pro Reviews

Great zoom range, great price, but with the compromise of variable image quality, so-so construction, below average battery life, plus a bulkier than average build. If you’ve got this sort of money to spend then Olympus’ 24x zoom SZ-14 is also worth checking out for an identical outlay and for us gives the more consistent performance of the two. We’re pretty sure though that Pentax can and will do better.

In essence the VS20 commits a few crimes against photography, the worse of which being unpredictability. Neither the lens nor white balance can be depended on from one shot to the next, making the VS20 an unknown quantity in most situations.

With this sort of model, you really do just want to point and shoot and come away with usable results most (if not all) of the time. And in that respect the Olympus SZ-14 - costing £199/$305 - is a better bet, if not perfect. The Pentax Optio VS20's unique selling point of the twin sets of controls and tripod thread also for us fell rather flat. A pity, since on the face of it and in return for that extended zoom reach the Pentax Optio VS20 suggests very good value indeed.

Once the VS20's novelty factor has worn off, all that's left is an uninspiring camera with basic image quality.

The Pentax Optio VS20 offers a lot of zoom as well as a unique dual shutter and zoom control feature, that is normally reserved for professional Digital SLRs. Another unique is the second tripod socket found on the side. However, we tend to find most tripods have a built in ability to rotate to portrait shooting, so we suspect the portrait shot mode will be used without a tripod. Apart from this, the camera is quite large in comparison to other pocket zoom cameras. The biggest issues we had with the camera were the disappointing noise performance and screen quality, this made outdoor photography difficult, with the camera further complicating assessment of images due to a poor display of photos. This meant to see the actual image quality you would have to view them on your computer. Images were also out of focus more often than expected with higher levels of chromatic abberation than we're used to seeing. Due to these issues we would suggest alternative cameras would offer a better shooting experience, even if they don't feature dual shutters.

The portrait-orientation controls are interesting but not much practical use; image quality is below par

The Pentax Optio VS20 is not quite the bargain it may initially seem. But set against a hit-and-miss performance is the fact that here we have a broad focal range that will in theory allow a wide variety of framing options without having to physically shuffle forward or back as we would with a fixed lens camera. And then there’s the price. For £199 in return for a 20x zoom and chassis that, while slightly chunky, will still fit in your pocket, you might feel able to put up with a bit of inconsistency and white balance wandering between successive frames if the camera is left to its default "auto everything" devises. However we feel the 24x zoom SZ-14 from Olympus we were testing alongside this camera is a better bet in terms of shot-to-shot reliability for the same price. In summation then, you can get decent results from the VS20, but it takes a few shots and a bit of patience. You ultimately can’t avoid the conclusion that Pentax, now partnered with Ricoh, can do (and has done) better.