Open ACDSee, go to Tools > Options > RAW. Here you can decide:
Pentax shooters are notoriously practical. We don’t chase trends; we chase results. Here’s why ACDSee outperforms Adobe for the Pentax 20 shooter: acdsee for pentax 20
Pentax 20 cameras shoot in either proprietary PEF (Pentax Electronic File) or universal DNG (Digital Negative) raw formats. ACDSee reads both instantly—without needing a separate raw converter or import queue. Open ACDSee, go to Tools > Options > RAW
"With Lightroom, I was forced to import into a catalog just to preview my shots. With ACDSee, I browse my Pentax K-20D’s folder directly, view the RAW thumbnails instantly, and rate them on the spot."
— Mark T., outdoor photographer "With Lightroom, I was forced to import into
This direct browsing respects your existing folder structure (e.g., 2025-10-11_Pentax_K-20), a blessing for photographers who prefer file-system organization over proprietary catalogs.
ACDSee includes a "Camera Profile" dropdown in the Color tab. Select "Pentax KP" or "Pentax K-70" to match the camera’s JPEG engine. From there, you can boost the Vibrance to +15 and Saturation to +2 for that classic "Pentax pop."
| Feature | ACDSee Photo Studio | Adobe Lightroom | Capture One (Sony/Nikon focused) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Pentax PEF Support | Native & Fast | Native but Slow | Limited (requires conversion) | | Pixel Shift Merge | Yes (Auto) | No (Plugin needed) | No | | License Model | Perpetual | Subscription | Subscription/Perpetual (expensive) | | Catalog Speed | Very fast for 20MP files | Moderate | Heavy | | Best for Pentax 20 | ✅ Excellent | ✅ Good | ❌ Not recommended |