Pentax K200D: JPEG versus RAW

Pentax K200D JPEG with Pentax DA 18-250mm		Pentax K200D RAW with Pentax DA 18-250mm
f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO

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To compare real-life performance we shot the same scene with the Pentax K200D, Canon EOS 450D / XSi and Olympus E-520 within a few moments of each other using their Aperture Priority modes, best quality JPEG and lowest ISO settings. The lenses on each camera were set to f8 and adjusted to deliver the same vertical field of view – see note below.

The E-520 was fitted with the Zuiko Digital 14-42mm, the Canon with the EF-S 18-55mm IS and the Pentax with the DA 18-250mm; note this was the only lens Pentax had available for our review.

The image above was taken with the Pentax K200D with the DA 18-250mm lens at 25mm f8 and a sensitivity of 100 ISO; the original *** 10M JPEG measured 4.12MB. The crops are taken from the upper left, centre, lower right and lower left portions of the originals and presented here at 100%.

Note: The Olympus E-520, like all Four Thirds DSLRs, captures images with a 4:3 aspect ratio that’s narrower than the 3:2 aspect ratio of most DSLRs including both the Canon and Pentax models here. In this test we adjusted each lens to deliver the same vertical field of view, so we’re not using the full width of the Canon and Pentax images. As such, the 450D / XSi and K200D are only using 10.8 and 8.9 of their total Megapixels here respectively.

Also note all three cameras were using the same 1/200 shutter speed under the same lighting conditions. This was the metered exposure for the Olympus and Canon bodies, but required +0.3 EV compensation from the K200D.

These days we often have to pixel-peep to spot much difference between cameras, but the crops below show the K200D delivering a considerably different result to the Canon 450D / XSi and the Olympus E-520 – and remember all three shared the same exposure and lighting conditions. First of all, the Pentax DA 18-250mm lens supplied for this test is performing much better than the kit lenses of the other two bodies, especially in the corners. We’d like to have tested the K200D with the more typical DA 18-55mm, but the DA 18-250mm was the only lens Pentax could supply for our review. That said, super-zooms are often optically compromised in favour of their long focal range, but there’s clearly little to complain about on this model. As also seen on our Pentax K20D review, the DA 18-250mm is capable of delivering very sharp results across the frame when other lenses can become quite soft.

Beyond superior optics though, what you’re seeing below is also the result of a quite different image processing strategy. While the Canon and Olympus bodies are being quite refrained, the K200D is going all-out to deliver punchy, consumer-friendly images with everything turned-up several notches; you might like the effect, but we’d say Pentax has arguably gone a little too far. Certainly it’s possible to achieve a similar effect with the other cameras by boosting their settings, and you can of course tone down the K200D if you prefer. But you can’t sharpen a lens which is soft in the corners, and in this respect the Pentax DA 18-250mm certainly has an advantage over the other two lens and body combinations tested here.

To see the K200D in a different light, scroll down to the bottom of the page where we’ve compared an in-camera JPEG against a RAW file. The result is far more refrained, yet more detailed. Or if you’re ready for some figures, head straight over to our studio tests in the K200D resolution page.

Pentax K200D with Pentax DA 18-250mm		Canon EOS 450D / XSi with Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS		Olympus E-520 with Zuiko Digital 14-42mm
f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO
f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO
f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO
f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO		f8, 100 ISO