| Latest Review Posted | Pentax *ist D
I bought my *ist D in March of 2004, just after the price dropped by $300 from it's initial $1,600 price (about $1,550 street). I used it as my main camera for just under 8 years, until upgrading a couple years ago to a used K-7.
I had been using Pentax film SLRs; a Super Program for some time, and then more recently a ZX-L (MX-6), but was prepared to switch brands moving to digital if indicated.
The contemporary alternatives I considered at the time were the Nikon D100, Olympus E-1, and the first Canon digital Rebel. I hated the huge size and weight of the Nikon and Olympus. I liked the Canon's low price; at the time it was by far the cheapest DSLR at just under $1,000. And it wasn't as big and heavy as the Nikon and the Olympus. But I just didn't like it, and wasn't excited about the lenses.
I liked the Pentax, and liked the lenses (I had several, many of them old manual focus lenses), but boy was it pricey! I might have ended up with the Canon but then Pentax dropped the price by $300, and Adorama offered it in a kit with Pentax's first DA lens, the 16-45, which had already gotten very good reviews, for another $165 discount. That tipped the balance decisively, and I bought that Adorama kit.
That *ist D was my main camera for almost 8 years. Here's what I liked and disliked about it:
Likes:
- Small size and weight. There has still never been a DSLR with better specifications that is smaller and lighter, by a long shot. For years I waited for a real D repla... |
