Samsung's K20D twin, GX-20, announced

Coming on the heels of Pentax's K20D announcement and in light of a pre-release leak on a Norwegian website several weeks ago, Samsung's release of their latest GX-20 14.6 megapixel DSLR yesterday is hardly breaking news.

Though there has been debate with previous Pentax/Samsung over just how closely related the two brands' offerings are, the general consensus at this point holds that Samsung DSLR are, technologically, rebranded Pentax models with slight cosmetic and interface/JPEG processing modifications.

Spec sheets for the GX-20 seem to bear this out, with the new model advertising a very familiar sounding imaging pipeline: in case you need a refresher on the K20D already, we're talking 14.6 megapixel Samsung-made CMOS sensor, 14-bit RAW capture, and ISO to 6400. Sensor-shifting image stabilization – what Samsung dubs Optical Image Stabilization in spite of the fact, as sticklers have pointed out, that it's a body-based rather than a lens (that is, optics) based system – shows up as well.

A 2.7-inch LCD with live view functionality allows on-screen image composition. Rounding out the hardware specs, the GX-20 brings an 11-point wide-area AF system, 16-segment metering, and 3 frames-per-second shooting in a body that, like its twin, is weather and dust sealed.

In addition to Samsung's rebadged Pentax offerings, the GX-20 has, as far as we know, the flexibility to use the full range of Pentax K-mount glass as well.

According to the official announcement from Samsung, the GX-20 should be available in April. Interestingly, the advertised price is $100 more than the K20D. No word from Samsung on which lens(es) this kit includes, but assuming the GX-20 ships in kit form only with the standard 18-55mm (as is the case with the K20D), offering essentially the same camera at a higher price is an interesting choice for a product differentiation method.

Samsung GX-20 specifications: