[Nick Siebers]

Hi All,

Just found at my local pawn shop an *ist DS, with a nice Tamron 18-250 attached, for a mere $250. Score! Got it home, cleaned it up and all appears to work well. I have been missing the CCD "look" since I upgraded from the K100d to the K20d and I am really excited to put this camera through its paces. It feels good in the hand, and the controls are so nice and simple. Plus TTL! We'll see how that works.

Anyway, I am pumped, and no one else I know understands the find, so I thought I would share the excitement. (Wife commences eye rolling).

[pezmaker]

A fellow madison Pentaxian, good to see you!

I saw one at the west side Camera Company a few months back. Blew it off, so happy with my K200d I didn't think anything about it. Later I got thinking about it, and thought how nice it'd be to use it for the manual lenses, and went back. it was gone. DAMN! It too had a tamron 18-something, not sure though. Maybe someone bought it there (I think it was <250) and ended up pawning it later.

[Blue]

I was handling my *ist D this morning and wondering if people still had an appreciation for this genre.

[paulh]

I was handling my *ist D this morning and wondering if people still had an appreciation for this genre.

Count me in I love the small size & the way it handles manual lenses. Nice score, Nick - good price on the 18-250 and the DS as a bonus!

[wombat2go]

ist ds has been with me for past 5 years. I have not needed to upgrade to another aps-c. I use only the M lenses, camera jpgs, and srgb thru to an Eizo.
With the 40mm, It is almost as small and light as the MX. I travel carry on with it and it fits in a coat pocket. Penta prism is not quite as good as MX, but not far behind.
AF can be calibrated by user, unlike some of the later bodies.

I just saw a comment on another thread that its better to buy the highest spec body and grow into it.
But looking at many posts here by those struggling with basic issues and the often flaky replies , I disagree, and I would say its better to get an older, simpler, well designed camera like say, an MX and ISTDS and learn.

Main problems with the istds are the intermittent failure of the e- dial ( reported on later bodies too), lack of shake reduction, combined with poor signal-to-noise at iso 1600
Another problem is the old istds seems to be rather high used market price compared to even non dslr with much higher sensor specs. Otherwise I would have another one.
I just got a new micro 4/3 body for about half the price of an istds ! ??

[Blue]

I will be honest. The advantage my m4/3 bodies I have is video and they are convenient for snap shots. I can usually get a better shot with the *istD. I just have to remember that the buffer is slow and adjust the shutter speed taking into account the focal length since there is no SR.

[pacerr]

The *istDS was the first DSLR I acquired and I still have it -- dedicated to compact, M42-class Pentax lenses and a pure pleasure shooting with it.

If you leave it in in M-mode tweaked for manual focus lenses it's a kissin' cousin to the Spotmatics I used for three decades plus all the advantages of digital "film" and post processing.

It's still one of the most compact DSLR systems I know of.

H2

[Jools]

Dandy find, Nick.
A nice little machine and a Tammy to boot.
Don't have a DS but a DL and I love that little thing along with the *ist D. What a great series.
Great score. Like pacerr says "it's a kissin' cousin to the Spotmatics" if you are willing to be patient.

[Nick Siebers]

Thanks everyone! It seemed like a decent price for the lens alone, or the body, if one failed, although I am glad they haven't yet! The control wheel does seem a little balky on the *ist. Is that an easy DIY fix or a send in thing? Anyway, it seems good so far.

[WightWalker]

The *istDS was my first DSLR & it was a breath of fresh air compared to my previous prosumer cameras. However, not wishing to put a damper on your 'bargain', it was the purchase of the Tamrom 18-250mm lens that steered me towards my 1st upgrade, a K10 which provided better/faster AF.

My *istDS was traded in when I purchased the K5, but I kept the Tamron as it's a reasonable 'walk about' lens.

Happy *istDS shooting!

[jt_cph_dk]

Nice find! Really is a good DSLR. I have the DS2. Simple. The meter is particularly great with old lenses. Doesn´t have the calibration issues of the later DSLRs. The 6mp sensor is limited, but if you shoot at subjects close enough, within perhaps 5-7 meters you won´t notice it. Distant wide angle shots are not that sharp. Have fun.

Here are a couple of shots (See some more here if you like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32108329@N08/sets/72157629507756330/):

With SMC Pentax K 2.5/135


With SMC Pentax K 1.8/55


With SMC Pentax K 1.8/55

[pacerr]

but if you shoot at subjects close enough,

I have to disagree with that statement. Focusing distance has no effect on the characteristics of the sensor. Lens quality and focus calibration, personal technique and inappropriate attempts to over-enlarge or crop a 6 MPS image, yes; but distance to subject? . . . NTMK.

Grab a 28/3.5, a 50/1.7 an' a 135/3.5 an' maybe 25mm of PK/A extension from an old TC and go enjoy life with that DS.

H2

[PeterAM]

I have a DS that I bought new (5 or 6 years ago) and sometimes prefer it over my K10D, depending on circumstances. I just took it on a trip to Europe, primarily due to it's smaller size. Took one lens (35mm FA) in an attempt to keep the size/weight down and also get back to my old film shooting style; one lens & zoom with your feet. I shot jpegs with all the settings at neutral and got pretty good results. Sometimes I think that I prefer the way that the DS renders color, over the K10D; maybe that's in my head. My DS yields good, uncropped prints up to 10X15, as long as I start with a decent file. It's been/continues to be a great camera; the only issue that I have, is that the CRV3 batteries are getting hard to find.

[jt_cph_dk]

I have to disagree with that statement. Focusing distance has no effect on the characteristics of the sensor. Lens quality and focus calibration, personal technique and inappropriate attempts to over-enlarge or crop a 6 MPS image, yes; but distance to subject? . . . NTMK.

Grab a 28/3.5, a 50/1.7 an' a 135/3.5 an' maybe 25mm of PK/A extension from an old TC and go enjoy life with that DS.

H2

I would love to see a really sharp distant photo, say at 10-15M to infinity with a 28mm. WA. I have tried to make´m and not had success even with some really great lenses. Regards

[todd]

awesome score, even if it was just for the tammy! congrats