| Author: | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2015 Location: Hampshire Posts: 892
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 31, 2018 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Easy to use, good to hold, nice colours from sensor. | | Cons: | *1st generation DSLR features, no SR | | Ergonomics: 10
Build Quality: 10
User Interface: 10
Autofocus: 7
Features: 7
Value: 10
Image Quality: 9
Noise: 9
New or Used: Used
| |
I have given this camera body a 10 for an overall rating which seems pretty stupid of me but as a starter DSLR I much prefer it to the Canon EOS 350D, even with the smaller mp sensor. Ergonomics are great.
I bought this camera complete with a Pentax DA 50-200mm F:4-5.6 ED zoom for US $50, in spares and repairs. It looks immaculate (the body) and has had just over 2k actuations so barely used.
Starting up the body with fresh lithium batteries was a long job as it refused to see any power. Having had the same problem on the k100Ds after not using it for months I performed the same process as had worked for me before.
Remove the batteries, clean the contacts on both body and batteries, try again. Remove the batteries, re-fit and try again. Leave switched on for a few minutes, try again. Eventually there was an icon for the battery, turning off and on again a few more times and the camera powered up, asked me to set the date and time and was good to go.
Maybe there is a capacitor in camera that holds a charge to maintain the memory between uses that discharges itself and needs to be re-charged before the body recognises it is able to function.
If I were coming to a DSLR from film and this was my first purchase, I would have been happy. Indeed my first DSLR was a K100D Super which is a better body because of the SR, but much the same in most ways. I have it still.
Great for the novice to learn digital with or the average 35mm film user to move to. Not great once the realisation that the newer bodies have so much more to offer, but a good starter.
| | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: August, 2009 Location: Wandering the Streets Posts: 1,411 | | Review Date: November 24, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | CCD Sensor, K-Mount lenses, Small body size, very easy to use, Still going strong. | | Cons: | Viewfinder not as bright as I would like sometimes. | | Years Owned: 13 years
Ergonomics: 10
Build Quality: 9
User Interface: 9
Autofocus: 8
Features: 8
Value: 10
Image Quality: 10
Noise: 9
New or Used: Used
| |
I picked up this camera back in 2010 as my first digital camera. I thought the price was right and the size was definitely right. I had been looking for something that I could use to take family photos and I did not want to carry around a monster camera (sorry Nikon fans). When I did my research and looked at the photographs I was very impressed with the tonal and color output of these Pentax cameras.
This little Pentax has been terrific and it still takes great photos. Out of curiosity I did a check of the number of shutter actuations the other day. I was absolutely blown away when I realized that I had used this camera to take the equivalent of over 200 36 exposure rolls of film. I had no idea that I had used this little camera that much in the last 13 years. And you would never guess it by looking at the appearance. It still looks brand new.
Though I use this camera quite a bit I can no longer say that it is my primary digital camera, though it was for a number of years. Since I bought this camera I have obviously bought and owned a number of other digital cameras, and several with far more features then this one has. Right now along with this DL2 and a DS, I own and frequently use a K5iiS and a Q7, both of which are terrific Pentax cameras in their own right. But this DL2 still gets used a lot, in large part because it is so easy to work with. It fits my hand almost perfectly, slap just about any Pentax lens on it and you can go out and get pretty decent pictures anytime you want. Right now my little SMC Pentax-F 35-70 zoom lens pretty much has a permanent place of honor on this camera's versatile K-Mount lens mount. Obviously, if you check the lens reviews on this forum you will find that this little zoom, though not horrible, is not considered the top of the line in anyone's book. But on this camera, with this little 6 megapixel CCD sensor, that pedestrian little zoom turns in one great photographic performance after another. Along with good pictures the combo is very handy and easy to use.
Obviously this camera was never intended to be a professional tool, so it does have a few little issues that crop up from time to time that can create headaches. The one that has been the biggest problem for me has to be the viewfinder. I am personally very fond of nice, clear, bright viewfinders such as the one found on my Pentax LX. Sorry, this poor thing just does not qualify in the same league as the LX. Instead of the nice pentaprism viewfinder found on the D or DS, Pentax cut a few corners and put what they call a pentamirror viewfinder on it instead. The best thing we can say about this viewfinder is that it works...just barely. There have been a number of times in low light situations where I have been less than happy about what I could, or couldn't see, in that pentamirror viewfinder. It is a good thing it has autofocus because this is not the viewfinder you want with a manual focus lens, especially in the evening.
Speaking of autofocus, this is another feature that is not stellar. It is accurate, that much I will say, but it is not fast. Once the little green light in the viewfinder indicates focus has been reached you can almost always be sure that the lens is properly focused. But I have always stuck religiously with the center focus spot and reframed if necessary. At least that way I knew what was in focus without having to judge through what I could see in the viewfinder.
Another problem I dealt with from time to time was the flash control. This camera does not have TTL flash support. Being an old, dyed in the wool, film photographer I have a relatively large selection of very capable TTL electronic flashes. None of them really work as designed with this camera. Pentax does have a nice flash, the AF 360FGZ, that is purported to work very well with this camera. Unfortunately I don't own that flash and never found one at a price I was willing to pay. I usually manage to work around this because I am able to use my various flash units on manual settings but it would have been nice to be able to put my AF 280T on Auto and go fire away without any performance concerns. However, I ended up buying a very nice *ist DS at an unbelievable price that does allow me to work with TTL flash while still enjoying the wonderful output of that terrific little CCD sensor, so everything is working out ok for me. I use the DS when I need flash and the DL2 when I don't. If I do get caught in a situation where flash is needed it does have a semi-useful built-in flash on board.
The final problem is very recent and has actually become more of an issue lately. It would seem that the batteries being produced now days do not work as well as batteries used to work. I run into fairly regular situations where the camera shows brand new batteries as being dead and it sometimes takes several attempts to get them to work as they should. And then they seem to go dead much faster then it seemed they did in the past.
However those are really all very small problems and I find myself turning to this camera and my almost identical ist DS much more often then I thought I would. One of the biggest reasons for this is the awesome output of these little 6.1mp sensors. So many people seemed to run to the larger sensors as soon as they became available that I am not real sure they spent much time working with this marvelous sensor. I am aware that most people won't believe me when I say this but I get really great 8x10 prints all the time, and I can even get very good 11x14 prints from the output of these sensors. And the tones and colors are still absolutely wonderful even up to 11x14. It is so rare that I need a print larger than 11x14, or need the additional detail that more megapixels provide, that I find myself reaching for my little DL2 at least as often as my K5iiS, even though that newer camera is definitely worlds ahead of these little 6 mp cameras.
Of course there are a lot of you who already know all this, and for the rest, enjoy Pentax's larger offspring of these little cameras. They are great camera in their own right and it would be a real shame if everyone realized the bigger cameras were major overkill most of the time. I mean really folks, how many times have you taken a file from that wonderful 24 mp sensor and set your 8x10 print to 300 pixels per inch and threw half of that sensor's output right out the window? Not too mention the amount of memory space your files are hogging up on your computer?
I'm kidding, I'm kidding! At least I think I'm kidding. But I do smile a little inside once in awhile.
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2012 Posts: 678 | | Review Date: October 30, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $169.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Easy to figure out, great ergonomics | | Cons: | only 6.1 megapixels, takes older FAT16 SD cards | | Years Owned: <1
Ergonomics: 10
Build Quality: 10
User Interface: 10
Autofocus: 8
Features: 9
Value: 9
Image Quality: 10
Noise: 10
New or Used: Used
| |
Just to be clear, the camera I have is a Samsung GX-1L, which is an exact clone of the *ist DL2 except for a few very minor cosmetic differences. Compared with my dad's Nikon D50, this camera is a breeze to figure out and use effectively. I just continue to be amazed with the quality of the images I get with it. Colors are vibrant but natural looking with minimal noise. My only real complaint is that sometimes the auto-focus seems to hunt a bit longer than it should before settling in, but not enough to be disconcerting. Once focused though, the shutter is nice and fast. By comparison, my Pentax K2000 locks in the focus almost instantly.
The only other shortcoming of this camera is that it only accepts SD cards up to 2GB capacity. While that is a very generous amount in that it holds almost 700 photos at full resolution, it is becoming problematic now that SDHC cards with capacities of 4GB and up are becoming the norm and the lower capacity SD cards are becoming increasingly harder to find. There's a firmware update to remedy this problem but I killed a perfectly good *ist DL trying to apply it. I've learned my lesson on that one and won't be trying it again.
I was an avid photographer for many years, but my interest waned with the death of film, but since I acquired this camera a few months ago, my love of photography has been re-awakened and I am once again seeing the world through a viewfinder.
UPDATE: I only ended up keeping this camera for about three months before gifting it to my girlfriend. I've since moved on, both from this camera and from her, but as far as I know, she still has and enjoys the camera.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2010 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 141 | | Review Date: December 9, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $900.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Simple but effective
| | Cons: | No shake reduction , 6.1 Mpix
| |
| Pros | Simple but effective | | Cons | No shake reduction , 6.1 Mpix | | Rating | 7 | | Price (U.S. Dollars) | Unsure AU$900-AU$1000-??? | | Years Owned | about 4 years |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
One of the original style Pentax DSLR's. Very good performer with the DA 18-55AL lens. Only 6.1 Mpixels. No shake reduction. Great with the older style manual lenses. Strange Japanese product name.
Camera Review
This was my first DSLR. Seems like I had it a lifetime! (only 4 years). Rugged and very usable. Still use it today as a backup and in places I want to protect my K-7 from.
Most functions accessable through assorted menu screens. Takes a bit to find sometimes. But it does keep the number of buttons on the back to a minimum. The Manual/Auto Focus button is located in a rather difficult way. Also the PC in connection is very small and hard to orientate the correct way (come on Pentax, just a little larger please!)
I find the AA batteries a bonus for this camera, not a negative like a previous reviewer. The 'Ist DL2' can be bought very cheaply now on Ebay. Eye relief of the eyepiece is good, as I can see the whole field with my spectacles on. Highly recommended for beginners on a budget.
 | | | | | | | Banned Registered: January, 2009 Posts: 9,675 | | Review Date: August 3, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $70.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | small and handy camera
| | Cons: | not yet detected
| |
| Pros | small and handy camera | | Cons | not yet detected | | Rating | 7 | | Price | 70 euro including 2 lenses | | Years Owned | 2010 |
I can recommend this camera: Yes
Value, Features, Performance & Size
For me a good deal, so never to be dissapointed.
Camera Review
I just this week bought the Samsung GX-1L wich is the clone of the Ist DL2. Great little camera. Just for snapshots for the moment. Never hada digital from those days, and it's very nice.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: September, 2006 Location: Horn Island, Torres Straits, Q Posts: 4,713 | | Review Date: May 6, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $950.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | size weight rendering of images | | Cons: | entry level functionality | |
This camera was my first foray into DSLR and is now in use by my son. While it has Program mode and all the scene modes it also allows manual, TV and Av modes which is great for learning on. I used it hard for two years for all manner of image making situations before moving to the K20D. The 6mp Sony sensor was great but with the usual Pentax bias for underexposure to avoid burnt out highlights.
The DL2 has the larger rear screen and is alleged to have a modified algorithm making better pictures from the sensor data than the DL or indeed the DS bodies. Small in size and light in weight the camera is almost pocketable with a small prime lens on. Use of AA batteries is convenient in some respects esp. with eneloops or similar but still don''t get the mileage of Lithiums.
Reasons I moved on - no shake reduction, small image size, no weather/dust sealing reduced customisation
| | |
;)
;)
