Pentax *istD

*istD
Year introduced 2003	Mount Crippled KAF	Meter range 1 to 21.5 EV	Meter pattern m (16 segments) c s
ISO range (expanded) 200 - 3200	Expanded dynamic range No	Exposure modes Green, HyP, Av, Tv, HyM, B	Exposure compensation +/-3 EV
Exposure lock Yes	Shutter speeds (auto) 30 - 1/4000s	Shutter speeds (manual) 30 - 1/4000s	Self timer Yes
Mirror lock-up Yes	Continuos shooting 2.6 fps up to 5 frames		Auto bracketing Yes
HDR mode No	Multiple exposures Yes	Built-in flash Yes, GN 15.6 (ISO 200)	TTL flash Yes
P-TTL flash Yes	Sync speed 1/150s	Flash exposure comp No	Autofocus Yes (11 points)
Autofocus sensitivity 0 to 19 EV	Autofocus with SDM No	AF Assist Yes, stroboscopic flash	Front/Back focus corr No
Power zoom No	Lens correction No	Viewfinder 0.95x, 95%	Viewfinder type Pentaprism
Diopter adjustment -2.5 to +1.5	AF Points in viewfinder Yes	Exchangeable screen Yes	Depth of field preview Yes
Digital preview No	Live view No	Movie No	Sound No
Camera controls 2 control wheels. Many dedicated buttons	Custom Functions 22	Shake reduction No	Dust removal / alert No
Pixel mapping No	Image size 16 x 24 mm	Sensor 6.1 MP CCD	File format PEF, TIF, JPG
Memory card type CF Type I/II	Back LCD 1.8 in. 118,000 pix	Top LCD Yes	Weather resistant No
Battery 4 x AA	Battery grip Yes, D-BG1 with 4x AA	Size (W x H x D) 129 x 94.5 x 60 mm	Weight 550 g
Comment Program modes: Normal, Action, Depth of field, MTF. Extra flash functions: Wireless, High-Speed, Contrast control. The *istD and DS/DS2 are the only Pentax DSLR's with support for TTL flash. TTL flash works where P-TTL doesn't: With M and K lenses, bellows, manual extension tubes. Exposure modes with M and K lenses restricted to Av (with aperture always wide open) and M

[AlexD]

Ratings (1 = Bad / 5 = Good)
Performance (i.e speed) rating: 3/5
Overall rating: 4/5
Value Rating: 5/5
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The *ist D lacks many of the modern “gimmicky” features, such as live view, face detection, AF tracking, smile shutter, etc. But it retains all of the essential ones – like viewfinder, sensor, and image processor.

My overall experience with the *ist D is mixed. I came from shooting with a Panasonic FZ7K for a little over two years, and the *ist D is my second camera ever, which I received as a gift in November 2008.

Here are the three interchangeable lenses which I currently use, also a TC and an external flash:

• Takumar-A ZOOM f3.5-4.5 28-80mm lens.
• SMCP-A 50mm F1.7 lens.
• PENTAX SMC PENTAX-F f2.8 100mm MACRO lens.
• SMC PENTAX-A* f4 300mm lens.
• 2X MC7 TAMRON-F AF tele-converter.
• PENTAX AF-330FTZ flash.

First off, handling: Excellent! The grip is actually quite ergonomic, matching the natural curves of the hand and fingers. However, if you have large hands, then you will not be comfortable holding this camera for long, as the grip is somewhat “shallow”. For small/medium-handed persons, the grip will be just fine, and allows room for the “pinky finger” – unlike my FZ7K.

I only wish that there was more room between the grip side and the lens mount. I find myself at times "digging in" to try to get a better hold. The grip surface isn't exactly glamourous either – thin, crinkly, plasticy/rubbery material. No big deal, though.

Body finish is nice and durable-feeling. Another thing worth noting is that the *ist D has a fair amount of levers/dials/switches on the body's exterior. Film SLR users might like it, kind of an "old fashioned" feel.

Menus and ease-of-use are OK. There is only 1 main menu page, but several “custom pages”, where the user can configure camera settings and preferences to suit his/her style of photography. I am impressed with the number of custom features available – there are so many, more than everything the main menu contains. You can set prefences like EV compensation steps of 1/2 or 1/3. Even stuff like pixel dimensions of the smallest file are customizable, and shutter release enable/disable without CF card inserted. Great job on the custom functions number, PENTAX!

But… all these great menu items are browsed by means of a flat, four-way contoller on the camera’s back. The contoller isn’t very predictable in which way it will go when pressed, and can be frighteningly possible to accidentally format the CF card while trying to set a custom number. Not a good design.

Burst mode is respectable, though not hyper fast. More like a steady “slap-slap-slap-slap-slap”, you can actually count along. Faster shutter-speeds increase burst speed, but this still isn’t an ideal camera for action photography. Also when using burst mode, I find that the camera will often "choke up" after a few shots, squeeze off a few more, pause, let loose a rapid sequence, freeze up temporarily, resume shooting, etc.. Not an issue-free burst sequence.

Image quality is definetely a big step up from any compact-digital. Pictures are perfectly useable all the way up to IS0 1600. ISO 3200 shows a moderate amount of noise. You will not be disappointed with the *ist D’s image quality, so long as you use good lenses and hold steady, since there is no "shake-reduction" mechanism.

Battery life is reasonably long, when you use rechargeables. Alkaine batteries will die very fast.

Image write times are rather slow. Even with a Lexar 133x speed professional CF card. TIFFS and RAW files are even slower to transfer. Browsing photos in "playback mode" is also quite slow.

Overall, this might be a great camera for the beginner to advanced amateur, or someone who is upgrading from a P&S/compact digital. A great camera to learn on!!!


Strengths:
• Smallish, not too heavy either.
• Green in-focus indicator lights up when using MF. This means that all you have to do is tap the shutter-button (or press the AF button), turn the focus ring and the camera will tell you when it thinks the subject is sharpest. Of course, you can completely ignore this feature, and use eyesight to focus manually.
• Relatively easy-to-use.
• Comfortable hand-grip for small/medium-sized handed people.
• Great image quality when the body is matched with the right glass.
• Low “noise” all the way up to ISO 1600.
• Solid, sturdy build.
• Great feature set, including DOF preview.
• Huge number of custom functions. You can literally "build" your own personal version of the camera with them. (No kidding).
• Viewfinder is big, sharp, clear and bright. Better than an EVF or tiny P&S optical one.
• ON/OFF switch is conveniently located right around the shutter-button.

Weaknesses:
• No live histogram.
• Flat, joystick-style four-way controller isn’t very predictable in which direction it will go.
• CF card compartment is awkwardly placed, you need to dig in with your fingers in order to extract/insert a card. People with bigger fingers and hands will likely need tweezers.
• No SR image stabilization system. (Better hold steady or use a tripod).
• Lack of automatic sensor cleaning function.
• Minimum ISO sensitivity is only ISO 200.
• Burst speed isn’t enough for fast-action photographers, and isn't "issue-free".
• Slow buffer-clearing time.
• Trouble AF'ing in low light or on very cloudy days.
• Smallish, 1.7in LCD screen. (By today’s standards, not at camera release date).
• WB, ISO and image resolution only accesible through mode dial.
• No live view on LCD screen.


Similar Products Used:
• No other DSLRs.

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7K digital compact camera.
• Kodak C300 digital P&S camera.
• Kodak 835 Star AF 35mm-film P&S camera.

Customer Service:
• Emailed PENTAX Canada once with a few questions about my *ist D and they responded timely and politely.

[Ash]

This one came as Pentax's introduction to digital SLR camera bodies.
This is a feature-packed body with an outstanding sensor.
Being before the DA* lenses' time, it does not support SDM and AF is considerably slower than its successors, but it is a solid performer and includes the Pentax trademarks: hyperprogram and hypermanual modes.

Being top notch for its time, it retailed at US$1,700. This is a great camera.
I bought mine 3rd hand after clocking over 50,000 actuations and it has never missed a beat.
Very reliable, sturdy and solid in your hands without being too heavy or large.

The good for me:
- Sensor is excellent - 6Mp of beautiful colours and sharpness with good noise control
- Has all the important features at your fingertips - dedicated buttons for flash mode, timer/drive and WB, which become quite handy
- 2 e-dials with metering switch and focus point mode all on body - more versatility
- AA-battery powered - if that's your thing
- 5 image buffer
- TTL flash capability - useful if you have an external TTL flash
- 'sweet' sounding mirror up mechanism - quite subjective, I realise

The limitations (for me):
- front e-dial cannot be customised - would have been handy to be able to change ISO on Av/Tv modes
- slowish continuous shooting with very slow buffer dump to CF card - can be frustrating having to wait 5-6 seconds just to take another frame when buffer is full
- ISO feature seems 'out of place' on the mode dial - finnicky having to dial up ISO then dial back to Av mode all the time
- small screen - 1.5in is just about the lower limit of being able to see detail
- no instant review of histograms after frame captures - can only be viewed once images have been dumped to card and INFO button is pressed
- slow AF

Weighing all this up, this camera makes for an excellent backup body or very cheap entry to dSLR photography for a newbie wanting to experience Pentax!

Not disappointing at all for a first-generation dSLR given the caveats above.

[tigerzen]

I used this a lot when i first got it. I loved the controls on it. I bought this one for myself and the Ds for my sister. On thing that is really cool about this one is you can do wonderful LOMO shots with it. It has a realistic film softness to it and i use the hood from the 50-200 mm DA on the kit 18-55 to create a vignette. Check out the image here http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/...09b92b71_b.jpg

What i love about it is that it is simple, quick to focus and love the controls.

[Ole]

One of the reasons I'm hanging on to my *istD is the TTL flash. Unlike P-TTL, TTL allows for fully automated flash photography with any lens, extension tubes and bellows. The *istD has therefor become my digital Spotmatic, reserved for use with my Takumar screw mount lenses.
BTW, the DS and DS2 share the TTL flash feature with the D.

[Zivelot]

I've been using my *istD for a couple of years now. During these years I followed the trends in digital photography and how Pentax tries to follow it as well. I have handled some of their newer DSLR cameras, but none of them convinced me to upgrade. In fact most of them (including K10D and K20D) are a disappointment to me.

It seems that Pentax is slowly leaving behind their long lasting philosophy of producing simple, capable cameras, instead of ultra-electronised, over-featured ones. The *istD, as their first DSLR, still has the feeling of a (by modern standard) simple camera. No added, eye catching, but most of the time unused and useless features (maybe some, but not many) as trends and consumers demand (although consumers demand what they are told they need )

Concluding all these I join Ole saying that *istD is my digital Spotmatic (or rather my digital MX, as I have no Spotmatic) and I hope it will remain for long. And when it "dies"? I hope by then Pentax becomes sober again in their policy of making cameras like they used to do: simpe, easy to operate and maintaining more backward compatibility (considering here the flash system P-TTL vs. TTL and I personally would like to see a DSLR with aperture ring coupler).