Reviews for Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

I had a Minolta Maxxum 5 with a couple of lens, but I still bought the Pentax *ist DS due to its size and weight. The Maxxum 7D is way bigger and heavier. I also had a bunch of SD cards, so using SD card is also a plus for me. After a couple of hundred frames, I’m a very happy user. I’d recommend you buy one if you don’t have existing heavy investment on other brands, or if you are just upgrading from P&S digicam.

Pros:

• Small and light-weight
• Good build quality
• Low noise at high ISO (even 1600 and 3200)
• Rich features with easy to access menu system
• In manual exposure mode, pressing AE lock button will automatically meter the exposure, and then you can adjust from there.
• Adjustable exposure compensation steps: 1/2 or 1/3 EV (and therefore auto bracketing increments)
• Allowing you to manually fine tune the focus after AF is set (while holding down the shuttle release button half way, you can manually turn the focus ring). However, this only works with dedicated lens (the 18-55mm kit lens works). My Sigma 28-200 doesn’t work with this feature.
• Using 4 AA batteries is convenient and low cost.

Cons:

• Its AF is slower than my Maxxum 5.
• The lowest ISO is 200, so you may need a neutral density filter under bright sunlight.
• P mode is not shiftable.
• No multiple exposure support
• 4 AA batteries are heavier than proprietary Li-Ion rechargeables. And it’s hard to measure the remaining capacity of NiMh batteries. Very often the camera tells me batteries are low or even empty, but after turning it off and then on immediately, the indicator says full again.
• It’s a bit hard to close the battery door - have to use force.
• View finder is dimmer and smaller than my Maxxum 5. This is a bit strange since the *ist DS claims to have a true pentaprism VF with 95% coverage and 0.95 magnification, whereas the Maxxum 5 has a roof-mirror VF with 90% coverage and 0.75 magnification.

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: Very easy to use, Has all the features of a point shoot and all the features of an SLR, excellent picture quality in jpeg and raw format, and best of all, it uses Secure Digital cards.

Weakness: None so far!!!

If your looking to make a switch for your point and shoot to digital SLR, look no further. *ist DS made it simple for me to jump into the realm of DSLR photography. I'm a total beginner when it comes to SLR camera's, but with *ist DS user friendly interface it gave me a feeling that other DSLR's could not, CONFIDENCE!!!. Everything on this camera from the Mode dial (which looks like the mode dial on my point and shoot. So when in doubt, AUTOMODE!!), to the view finder indicatior, and the LCD diplay makes it very easy to grab hold all the features of this camera. In less than a week and some help from www.88.com/exposure (because I did not know what a STOP was, and what exposure values were), www.dpreview.com (the Learn and Glossary section proved to be a wealth of knowledge), and sony101.com/index.jsp (the Advanced Digital Photography On-line course was extremely helpful in understanding what you can do with DSLR, in which I had no idea!!) I am now taking amazing photographs. I have not been so excited about taking pictures in all my life. Now my own photos look just as good as the Pros do!! (with a little help from Photoshop Elements 3.0 of course). Do yourself a favor and go to the Pentax web site and down load the *ist DS User Manual. See for yourself how easy this camera is. Really the only thing I don't know how to do with this camera is how to pronounce it's name!!! Thank you Pentax for making a great camera.

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: SLR (you get what you see) Light weight, easy to use, friendly menu

Weakness: Color is a bit on the cold side, especially when used indoors. Flash is too strong when used closed to the object.

This is a great product. I only have it for 10 days but I'm loving it. This is the first SLR digital camera for me so all the thrills I got is probably just because of that. I have owned many point and shoot digital cameras and the first one I had was bought in 1997. That should tell you how hard I have tried with point and shoot and hope for something that would make me happy. 8 years later I gave up and decided to buy a SLR. It turned out to be a very good decision. My last point and shoot cameras are: Sony F717, Sony P41, Sony U20, etc. None of them can match the Pentax *ist DS I have now. I also have a Pentax SLR film camera with Sigma lenses (28mm-80mm and 50mm-300mm). I can use the 28mm-80mm lens on this ist DS but I still prefer the 18mm-55mm lens that comes with this package.
The color turns out to be a bit cold compare to Sony but that's just the way Sony does things. Their cameras show a bit warm colors to make models look "better". I guess I just have to touch my works using Photoshop with this Pentax *ist DS.
I've compared this with Canon similar product and decided to go with this one primarily because of price and the fact that I had Pentax film camera and I love their user interface and the light weight.

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: Lightweight and very compact. Can use cheap manual lenses. Uses 4 AA batteires, easily available especially when you travel Viewfinder is big (even bigger than Canon 20D), good for MF

Weakness: AF speed is a little slower at low-light situation

Pentax *ist DS is very compact, but the grip is very comfortable to hold. LCD is very bright and big (2.0"). Viwfinder is big and easy for manual focusing. With bright and natural mode and adjustable saturation, contrast, sharpness, you can produce impressive pictures for landscape and portrait pictures. You can find cheap MF lens if you dont' want to spend too much on lens and still enjoy the happiness from interchangeable lens. Interface is freindely and easy to operate. Noise level is low, so you could get good quality picture with high ISO when no flash is allowed.
For people who are not familiar with Pentax, it's the camera manufacturer with the longest history and Pentax invented SLR type camera in 50's of last century.

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: Small, Light, SD compatible, takes standard battery types

Weakness: does eat up batteries quick

This is my first dSLR Camera. Making the switch from point and shoot to SLR is certainly is a little complicated and will take some getting used to. Fortunately, the camera comes with a thorough and detailed manual to help beginners start their dSLR shooting on the right track. The Camera is quite small and light for a SLR camera. It has one of the best LCD screen I've ever seen on a digital camera. The Pictures you take come out crystal clear on the LCD. The reason I chose the Pentax *ist Ds over the other sub-$1000 dSLRs (Nikon D70 and Canon Digital Rebel) was because the Pentax Supports SD cards (which I believe will replace compact flash for good in the future) and the Pentax supports the use of Standard AA batteries instead of a proprietary rechargeable system. (of course, I use rechargeable Nimh batteries instead of Alkalines!)

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: USB2, handy size, bright and wide viewfinder, batteries choice, build quality. Excellent battery life.

Weakness: Focusing in low light can take a couple of second, but the picture is accurate.

This camera has not let me down. I bought this product with the pentax DA 18-55mm lens. Ergonomically, this camera feels nice in the hand with an excellent grip.
Overall, the controls are good, small and handy with 15-55mm zoom lens. There is also advantage of a whole loaf of older pentax mount lenses.

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*ist DS Packs a Big 1-2 Quality Punch

Strengths: Excellent weight, balance, case; easy to use click-wheel mode selector; good quality OEM lens (18mm-55mm); uses NiMH AA rechargeable batteries; shoots RAW format; uses almost all Pentax lenses

Weakness: None

My previous SLR was a Pentax SF1-N film camera(1990), and it finally wore out its winding mechanism (not fixable), so there I was with a bevy of Sigma and Pentax lenses and no SLR. Enter the *ist DS (and what a name!) just in time. I've been using the *ist DS for more than 11 months, shooting everything from Macro subjects like coins, and butterflies, to NASCAR racing events, and the camera has always delivered the goods.

Once you get used to the Function settings, and the Menu, things go smooth. I shot some amazing action photos at the California 500 NASCAR race right after I got the camera, with a Sigma 75-300mm lens, pushing the ISO to 3200, and back to 200-400 for special effects. I try to avoid using the flash as much as possible, as it's too bright for close subjects, and doesn't fill well over 6 feet or so.

If you own the *ist DS, be sure and update your camera's firmware to v.2.0, which is available for download at the Pentax Imaging web site, for PC and Mac, as there are some great features and settings that are written into the camera's programming with the update.

For the novice digital SLR user, just choose one of the 8 automatic modes on the selector dial, and point and shoot! It's just that simple...the camera will do the rest. As for battery consumption, I've been getting about 300 shots per charge cycle, with 2300MAh NiMH rechargeable batteries, which is excellent. Don't bother trying alkaline AA cells, as you'll be throwing them away quick as a wink...they don't last long in this camera.

I prefer using my Takumar 28mm-80mm lens compared to the Pentax 18mm-55mm OEM lens, but you can't complain about the OEM lens since it's basically free candy with the camera package. For the $$$ value, there's nothing as good as this camera is, considering you can buy it with the OEM lens for less than $650 delivered now that the *ist DS2 is released. What's not to like about the *ist DS at that price?

The camera's size, ergonomics are without compare at any price. The controls are simple to get used to, and best of all it accepts almost any Pentax-compatible lens, even screw-type antiques. I've shot at least 5000 pictures with this camera since 2/2005, and I can't recommend it enough. It's in a class by itself, with features everybody can appreciate.

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: Large LCD Display, Interchangeable lenses, Can use AA batteries, 6.3 MPX are excellent, User-friendly scroll wheel for menu

Weakness: Semi-professional camera still could have been more solidly built (small rubber piece broke), Some features are hidden in the menu and can be difficult to find because there are so many features

I made the jump from the Pentax ZX-30 35mm SLR Camera because the *IST DS is compatible with most Pentax Lenses (digital or 35mm).

The colors are as vibrant as film. Manual lenses capability and extra features (like night mode) make taking pictures in low-light situations easy. Also, it takes consecutive shots as well as my ZX-30.

It has only been a few weeks, but you can get lost in the menus because there are so many extra features. Thankfully, Pentax packs an excellent manual for first-time users. I was disappointed that Pentax doesn't include the AC Adapter (which is over $60 MSRP), when my digital video camera came with one and a battery. Oh well, it's an excellent camera for a great price. I chose it over the Rebel and Olympus Evolt because of price and affordability in expanding/upgrading lenses in the future.

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PENTAX 1ST DS

Strengths: COMPACT. SOLID. COMFORTABLE. BIG VIWFINDER. CLEAR LCD. USE ALL PENTAX OLD LENSES. FEELS RIGHT IN THE HAND

Weakness: THE 18-55 PENTAX LENS IS NOT AS SHARP AS IT COULD BE. none the less a bargain at the price

I really love this camera. I had an old ME Super but had used Nikon F3 / FE2 for years. However I much prefered the feel of this to the Nikon ( too bulky) and the viewfinder was so much clearer.
The back is clear but you do need to find your way around the menus. There have been comments about JPEGs being less good. Not in my opinion.
Through the bundled lens the camera occasionally underexposes. This is prefereable to overexposure / blowout. i have also found it is not the case with either of my old pentax prime lenses or my Sigma 180-200 lens. THis is such a beautiful camera. the D70 uses the same sensor but the viewfinder is awful. the Canon 350 is great but doesn't feel good. At the end of the day... don't go on what i or anyone else says. Go and try this out for yourself!
Great camera. Go for it!

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: The *ist DS is lightweigh and well balanced. The automatic functions work surprisingly well, often better than the manual settings.

Weakness: Some of the settings that I would want to set shot-by-shot are buried deep in the menus, others are fairly easy to access. Cannot use the LCD Monitor while shooting pictures.

The *ist DS (awkward name, that) is easy to use for the novice although the number of settings and skimpy documentation can lead the hobbyist to become a bit overwhelmed. Menu items are not all aranged in a logical way which makes me look here... then there and then here again for he setting that I need. The fact that some of MY preferred settings - such as sharpness, color saturation, and contrast - are not used when 'AUTOPICT' (fully automatic mode) is engaged was initially bewildering. These setting choices DO stay active when the MODE is set to 'P' programmed AE/AV.

The lack of a preview screen is disappointing but not tragic - that automatic settings work so well that it is OK for now... I am certain to miss this feature later on down the road.

The *ist DS does NOT work very well with my older Pentax lenses, even those with "A" apeture settings - the camera seems very reluctant to take the photos when I want it to and hence I have missed some great (I had hoped) photos.

The weight and balance of the camera is great. The flash does seem a bit too bright when close but, as I've never liked flashes anyway, I have kept my expectations low.

The autobracketing is fantastic especially when I use uncompensated as the first of the three (0av, -av, +av)which allows me to leave bracketing on all the time.

The batteries (still original) seem to hold out well. I've taken (and deleted and transferred to my PC) over 500 imaged, many using flash and with lots of reviewing time on-camera and the batteries still read full strength.

If you shop around you can find the body and lens Kit for under $900 including shipping from a brick & mortar store in NYC.

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A well balanced camera

Strengths: Battery time, Price, Weight

Weakness: Uses SD (prefer CF), seems slower that other DSLRs

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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PENTAX Does Not Honor Their Warranty

Strengths: Forgot

Weakness: The Worst Customer Sevice EVER

Last March I bought the ist ds kit on line from J&R. I bought it from them because I have bought electronics from them for over 20 years. I loved this camera--The images were breathtaking. I was so happy, all my old pentax lenses worked perfectly. In June 2005, I set up the tripod and started to take close ups of flowers on the patio. The pictures were the best yet, all of a sudden the camera started to act up, all the lights, bell and whistles started to go on and off. I shut the camera off, and the problem continued. I took out the batteries, put them back in and the problem continued. I shipped the camera back to Pentax in Colorado since it was still under warranty. After 6 weeks in the last days of August, the camera came back still broke. Pentax said they found either water or motor oil or sticky substance in the camera, when they opened it up. It could not be fixed, the warranty was void. I was floored, I never opened the camera. Why would any one open an 800.00 digital camera still under warranty. I called several times with no luck. The camera still looks brand new. I checked the front where the lens and mirror are and I could not find any substance.

Called Pentax Monday November 14th. Finally spoke to the supervisor of Customer Service a Mr Phil Kerswill. He told me the same bull I've heard before. They found liquid in the camera, and I said I did not abuse the camera. So, it's me against Pentax. We just kept arguing back and forth. He told me there are no regional offices, only the office in Colorado.
Finally I asked for the name of his boss, and he told me he reports to the president, Jim Kast. I told him I was going to write him a letter with a cc to Popular Photography. He told me in a few words that the letter would be given to him, so why bother--I then reported this to The Denver Better Business Bureau and got nowhere. So it looks like I now have to spend around 480.00 to get the new Pentax DL body. I haven't had a digital camera since June of 2005--

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: Small, easy to hold; build quality; bright and 95% viewfinder make it easy to manual focus; able to use all old pentax lenses including screw mount ones; AA batteries; snappy operation; quality lens.

Weakness: Continous AF only available in sport mode; sometimes underexposes but can be corrected via exposure compensation.

This is a fantastic intro-level digital SLR camera which is on par with Canon & Nikon. The body is typical of Pentax: small, light weight yet solid. On the other hand, Pentax may not have as many high-end and professional lenses as Canon and Nikon but on the consumer level there are just as many good lens choices.

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Repairs needed within 24 hours of purchase

Strengths: Don't know. Have not been able to use camera.

Weakness: Needed repair within 24 hours of purchase. Warranty not honored by Pentax.

I bought this camera partly on the basis of the reviews posted here but also on my past experience with Pentax products.

On a recent trip to Singapore I bought an *ist DL camera and was looking forward to rekindling my interest in photography on my return to Indonesia, where I live.

Within 24 hours of owning camera the electronic controls and display had gone haywire and the camera was unusable.

I took the camera to the Pentax agent in Jakarta and was informed that they do not honor warranties on products bought in Singapore. They said they would repair the camera at my expense. The dealer in Singapore was equally unhelpful offering to "look at the camera" if I took it back to Singapore!

With no alternative I have left my brand new Pentax in the repair shop and await it's return. Not a very good start to my digital SLR experience!

I have tried to seek recourse from Pentax but cannot find a service or customer relations contact.

I am bitterly disappointed with Pentax and this product.

Andrew Slatter

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Pentax ist DS Digital SLR Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens

Strengths: The autofocusing is great. It produces beautiful photos. There are lots of perks with this camera.

Weakness: The only thing I don't like is how you have to push two buttons to see an enlarged version of your photo.

This is a great digital slr. All of my old lenses fit and work wonderfully with the Ds. I am still playing with the camera to see what all it can do and am still amazed at times at how good it is. I can print large prints from the SD card and they are beautiful. The natural lighting looks great on my subjects and that makes me happy. I am so glad I have it!

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Love This Camera

Strengths: Size, Price, Picture, Ease of use

Weakness: Would have liked an ISO of 100, Jpeg + Raw Feature

excellent Production Value. Backward compataible to my old Glass. Great Veiw. Overall Excellent Camera. Fun to use Great Customer Support. good solid feel. Pictures are sharp and Clean. Get the new firmware

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Pentax ist DS

Strengths: use of SD memory and 4xAA batteries, allows the use of old Pentax lenses (even manual lenses from the 70's). Great sensitivity to low-light situations (up to ISO 3200)

Weakness: Some functions are a bit difficult to use. Quite Grainy images on ISO 1600 and 3200)

Easy to use camera for those upgrading from point-and-shoot (specially if you have a point-and-shoot Pentax, as many buttons and options are the same). It presents an Auto Mode similar to the ones on point-and-shoot, easing the transition (you can leave it in auto and increasingly try new settings). I choose it over the Canon Rebel as it uses SD memory (the same as my Palm and Point-and-shoot) and AA batteries (in an emergency on the road, you can just buy new batteries). Some functions are quite hidden, and demand reading the manuals.

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*ist DS

Strengths: This is the BEST DSLR for anyone not a pro or amiture who spends a lot of his leasure time taking photos. This camera is better made, better designed, more ergonmically freindly, Than ALL others.

This little beauty JUST WORKS!! I have taken over 10,000 pictures with my *ist DS and I would not take $10,000 for them. Have used in Alaska and Fl and 28 National Parks and I know no other DSLR would have done as well for me.

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Single-Core CPUs Ain't Dead Yet

Digital single lens reflex cameras are produced in various price ranges and models by the major manufacturers, and are now being sold widely to the general public. With so much interest, it's only logical that models are appearing that are aimed at a broader market. The Nikon D50 and Pentax *istDL are two examples of SLR models that are more accessible - due both to lower price as well as greater...

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Pentax *ist DS

A no-brainer if you own Pentax lenses, this smallish camera shot well in auto mode, but its smaller-size CCD is a drawback.

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