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Pentax *ist DS Digital SLR Camera Body Only (6.1MP, 3008x2008 - MPN: 18996)
Description: The *ist DS defies convention. Weighing less than 18 ounces, this super-light, ultra-compact marvel boasts one of the world?s smallest camera bodies yet houses an impressive array of features for astonishing image clarity and performance. A.... Read More Description: The *ist DS defies convention. Weighing less than 18 ounces, this super-light, ultra-compact marvel boasts one of the world?s smallest camera bodies yet houses an impressive array of features for astonishing image clarity and performance. A 6.1 megapixel CCD with advanced processing technology for high-definition images rich in gradation and saturation. Interchangeability with a wide selection of existing PENTAX lenses for convenience and versatility. An 11-point autofocus with SAFOX VIII for quick and accurate focus. And a host of user-friendly features including a high-magnification viewfinder, a large two-inch LCD monitor and data panel, and an innovative Auto Picture mode for fast and effortless operation. All packed into an attractive, sturdy casing. The perfect blend of portability and performance, the *ist DS is the ideal traveling companion for beginners and advanced photographers of every level. Minimize |
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| Date Reviewed: 05/03/2005 |
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Strengths: Build Quality, Size, AA Batteries, LCD, Ease of Use, View Finder, Lens Selection
Weaknesses: No Autofocus Assist, No RAW+JPEG, No rechargables included, lens selection.
Summary: This is a great camera to grow with. I researched this heavily and while it would have been nice to go with canon just because of the huge accessory and lens selection available, i just really preferred this body over the Rebel XT.
This camera comes with a two CRV3 lithiums but can take 4 AAs which is great, especially for emergencies. I immediately threw the CRV3s in my camera bag and went straight for some rechargables. The CRV3s dont discharge in storage so they're great backups. Other dSLRs come with a proprietary battery and a charger which is a bit of a tradeoff. Yeah you get the first battery and charger for free but a spare OEM battery is usually much spendier than 8 AAs and a charger. You'll need AAs for an addon flash anyway, so why not keep things uniform?
The viewfinder on this camera is HUGE compared to the competition. Hands down winner if this is important to you.
The lens selection is a plus and a minus. There isnt the variety that canon has but there are some great lenses available that help make the selection easier. Another advantage is that you can use almost any lens ever designed for any pentax camera with a modestly priced adapter. I see this as a inexpensive option to allow me to grow and experiment with this camera.
Ergonomically, this camera is tiny but comfortable to hold. The shutter doesnt fall quite as nicely as the 20D did for me, but its lightyears better than the Rebel XT.
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| Date Reviewed: 09/18/2005 |
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Strengths: Very solid, light as a feather, and feels perfectly natural in you hands. The controls are all placed right where you want them. The price is also right.
Weaknesses: A little difficult to get under the built in flash to switch lenses to manual aperture, but not a huge problem. Other than that...just the camera's name.
Summary: This is my forth Pentax and my third Pentax SLR. These folks are still keeping me happy. I can use all my lenses, including some great old Takumar glass (with a screw mount adapter). The camera is so light, I've been able to get some great shots, hand led, with a 28-300mm Tamron zoom.
Sure, it's taking a little while to find my way around the settings and finer points of shooting with the *ist DS, but hey, if I wanted basic I'd be using a point and shoot. I'm doing most of my work using Raw format, so the fine tuning is done on the PC anyway.
The viewfinder is big and the diopter works well enough that I can manually focus with or without my prescription glasses. The lcd screen is also big, so reviewing images, even with the histogram displayed is easy.
The ability to use NiMh AA batteries is a huge plus. I've filled a 1gb card about 6 times in the last 6 days, and I don't appear to have put a dent in the charge of 1 set of 2500 mA batteries.
So far, I'm very impressed with the camera and have no second thoughts about my purchase. I'm comfortable recommending the *ist DS to anyone. If you already own Pentax lenses, this is definitely the way to go.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/24/2005 |
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Strengths: Straight-forward, no-nonsense design... feels just right in my hands!
Weaknesses: Continuous focus is not available in most modes. A bit petty of me, but the included neck strap is absolutely horrible.
Summary: Here's some random thoughts after having used this camera for 6 months. I have a number of lenses (the included 18-55mm, a new 16-45mm f/4, smc-fa 50mm f/1.4, smc-a 70-210mm f/4, and lots of third party primes in varying mounts including M42) and have taken about 3000 pictures so far.
I have no regrets buying this camera... if it was stolen today, I'd probably get the newer DS2, though.
With respect to lens compatibility, it's true... any K mount will fit. With an adapter (costs roughly $10 on ebay, I think), you can also use screw mount lenses (M42). The caveats are worth mentioning: the default settings of the camera won't allow you to use any lens older than a KA mount (the ones with the A setting for the aperture). Of course, the custom settings required are documented in the manual... so RTFM! Also, while the viewfinder IS great, it's not that great for manual focusing... the camera helps out with its focus indicators, though.
The best advice for anyone considering this camera is to find one to physically handle for themselves...
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| Date Reviewed: 09/05/2005 |
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Strengths: You can use your old SLR lens with this camera. The *ist is light in weight, quick, easy to use once you get use to it. I have an old pentax SLR and 5 lens that I can use from that camera.
Weaknesses: Some getting use to. (about an 2 hours to play with settings in the menu as there are many many settings)
Summary: I love the quickness of being able to take a picture as fast as I can point and shoot. This type camera is a must if you have pictures you need to take right away. I have a new baby and with the old camera I would miss that " just the right shot" as it was usually the pose right after I took the first picture but was unable to snap the shot as I had to wait on the camera to be ready. My old digital camera I had to wait 4 seconds before I could take another picture.
With the *ist I can take about 2 pictures a second, much faster than you can press the shutter.
I also like how lightweight the *ist DS is. The pictures turn out great, and nice being able to shoot in raw format as well.
Being able to use my old lens from my SLR film camera is also a plus. So far I am loving my new camera. If I were to do it over again the only thing I would change is to have had the camera last Oct when my baby was born. But I am so so glad I will have it for her 1st birthday party.
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| Date Reviewed: 02/09/2005 |
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Strengths: outstanding picture quality,
best s/n ratio of all DSLR from ISO200 till ISO 600 !!
fast, small and light weight, USB2.0
can use AA type batteries or NiMh Accus
Weaknesses: no program shift
Summary: If you already own Pentax lenses this camera is a no brainer. You can use all lenses Pentax made the last 30y. Perfect build quality ( compare to 300D and you see your self).
The ist*Ds beats its more expensive sister ist*D (and a lot of the Non-Pentax rivals) in allmost all important technical aspects (Noise,Speed, Dynamic range)and shares a lot of the professional features like glass pentaprism with exchangable matte screens and a mirror release !!. The AF speed is good and the metering system is very robust. The JPEG pictures have practically no artifacts and are on the softside which is a perfect starting point for any kind of post processing with Photoshop.
Higly recommend
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| Date Reviewed: 05/02/2005 |
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Strengths: Great build quality, low image noise, just about the right size. Big, bright viewfinder. Mirror lockup. SD card. Excellent RAW files.
Weaknesses: Drive modes selection via manual. JPEG compression can be improved. Automatic white balance occasionally fooled.
Summary: I have been a long time photographer and a Pentax user. This is my 5th pentax body and first DSLR, although I have been using a dedicated film scanner for 6 years. My last two are 5n and *ist. The *ist DS appears to combine the best qualities into one. Mirror/shutter is at least as good as the 5n (better than the *ist). Exposure is accurate. Focus point selection is up to date like the *ist. Built quality is again among the best. The best part is that I can use every lens in my collection.
I am getting tired of dealing with image noise with scanned images. It is refreshing to work with images that are noise free even at ISO 800! I wish, however, that ISO 100 is available. Automatic white balance can be fooled, not as robust as my digital P&S.
Raw files give you access to extremely high quality images. I am, however, not using Pentax software but Photoshop. I am now a true believer of digital photographer.
If you have a good collection of Pnetax lenses like me, the *ist DS is an easy decision. I did try a Canon 300D, 350D and a Nikon D70. I felt that the *ist DS is on par with the 300D and the D70. But the 350D is somewhat disappointed. It is not as refined as the rest in terms of mechanical operations.
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| Date Reviewed: 06/05/2005 |
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Strengths: Great size and weight, nice ergonomically. Large, easy to read screen, excellent light viewfinder. Creates RAW files.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Summary: I have owned several Pentax cameras over the years. This is my 3rd pentax camera and first digital. One of the factors in choosing this camera was the fact I can use all of my older Pentax lenses. So far they have worked flawlessly with this new Pentax. I have always been pleased with the solid build of my previous Pentax cameras, and this is no exception.
I enjoy being able to set the ISO from 200-3200, and have liked using the 3200 setting in low light. Previously, with film, I was limited to 1600 speed color film.
I have only begun to work with my photos using paint shop pro, but am very pleased with the minimal noise of the images.
This camera has many of the features found in the Canon and Nikon digital SLRs, but at a much more reasonable price. So far, this camera has lived up to the standards I have come to expect from Pentax.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/31/2004 |
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Strengths: Much faster focusing than previous Pentax models that I have owned (and there have been many). Takes an SD card, AA NiMh batteries, lots of white balance modes, choice of clarity.
Weaknesses: No manual select on auto focus without going to the menu.
Summary: I like that this camera takes AA NiMh batteries, not stupid lithium ion batteries. If you are just entering the digital SLR market, look no further, this camera is great. It gives you more features than Cannon or Nikon for the price. Just if you're interested, it has the same chip as the Nikon SLR cameras, but better software. This is the best buy on the market.
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| Date Reviewed: 08/31/2005 |
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Strengths: Battery time, Price, Weight
Weaknesses: Uses SD (prefer CF), seems slower that other DSLRs
Summary: This camera has a low learning curve but has plenty of advanced features when you need them. The size of the camera would be best suited to those with smaller hands. There is no lcd cover readily available by any 3rd party. On/off switch is well positioned as are all other buttons. Battery life is great but camera seems to eager to auto engage the flash. Also I have not been able to connect the camera via USB to either a Mac or my PC.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/19/2005 |
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Strengths: You can use 4 AA batteries.
A very bright optical viewfinder.
Construction looks very solid.
Very small profile compared to competition yet very confortable to hold.
Use of SD card for storage.
Weaknesses: Autofocus can take longer to lock under low light conditions.
LCD doesn't show ISO in use, nor does it through the viewfinder.
In camera processing a little behind the competition.
Summary: It is one of the smallest DSLRs in the market right now yet it is very confortable to hold.
You will love the bright and ample optical viewfinder, with a 95 % field of view it is very helpful while composing. It also sports a diopter correction slider so people wearing glasses should be able to take them off while shooting.
Menus are very intuitive, I was able to start using them without much manual perusing.
A single wheel allows you to change both shutter speed or aperture value depending on the shooting mode (Av or Tv) selected, I think having to wheels to perform that task is confusing in other DSLR products.
Construction of the camera looks very solid, it doesn't look plasticky, yet the body is not that heavy, although overall weight will depend on the lens mounted. Due to its size people travelling a lot will love it not being bulky.
Very short lag between fully pressing the shutter button and actually taking the picture, the way it is expected from a DSLR.
Consumer has a vast array of lenses from several manufacturers to choose from.
Very good quality of pictures taken although even better if you stick to RAW format.
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| Date Reviewed: 06/28/2006 |
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Strengths: Backwards compatibility with all K mount and screw mount manual lenses as well as older TTL flashes; Best in class viewfinder; Superb build quality and ergonomics for the money; High res 2.0" LCD
Weaknesses: Limited selection of pro grade long telephoto lenses; some of the competition has marginally faster AF and deeper buffer
Summary: This is a great student camera! I bought mine while taking a photography class at the local community college and it's been great. There are definitely some things to like about the Canon Rebel XT and Nikon D70/D50, but ultimately this camera has a better viewfinder, better LCD, offers spot metering and mirror lock up, and works with all of the older Pentax lenses and TTL flashes so you can find used accessories on the cheap. Pentax had the most popular starter camera of all time with the K1000 film SLR and now they've put out a digital SLR to match.
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