Pentax ist* DS DSLR

Does anyone own/use one of these cameras? I was looking into one

yesterday because of the price at a local store. Thing is...I use a

Nikon D70 for work and up until yeterday, I was just about dead set on

getting a Nikon. I also own an N55, so as you can tell, I love my

Nikons. Does anyone know how these compare? I have looked online at

reviews and stuff, but I wanted to get more opinions. I still want to

go to the store and hold it and feel how it is and use it a little,

but I would still like to hear some opinions. Thanks.

Excuse me, Joyce, but maybe you are on the wrong forum. Most of us had been Pentax users for ages and collected some lenses. During the 1st DSLR wave we thought we couldn't afford to switch to whatever, dumping all the good glass we already had. Then Pentax brought out the *istD - something less than the 10D, but good enough. A few of us bought one. The *istDS was a follow up, moderate priced, so more of us bought one. So I suppose very few of the Pentax forum readers ever compared it in depth with the competitors. I don't know it well, although I've been rather interested in it, because I'd like to avoid a 2nd DSLR purchase and especially switching to 2 kinds of memory cards.

 

My *istD works. The viewfinder seems good enough for me. I can use my manual focus lenses with it, although in very dim light rangefinders are surely preferable. The AF is convenient; I repurchased al my focal length above 35mm in AF mount, keeping the manual ones for film bodys.

 

Considering a purchase you should make up your mind about the power source. My NiMh charger is bulky and maybe you'd prefer proprietary LiIon batterys? - A good topic to start a religious war again... - I don't know much about your N55, last Nikons I borrowed were F2 and F5 - but well the *istDs is designed as a beginners camera, but more capable of being used in manual mode than bottom level Canons. It's very light, no burden to carry and should fit well in glove size 9 or smaller hands, as long as you use rather light lenses - I prefer 80-200 f2.8s on motorized Nikons.

 

A last thought: Pentax high ISO seems a bit noisy to me, so maybe you should take the Konica-Minolta into consideration too? - I myself am impressed by it and during pixelpeeping I fell in love with the idea of having the Antishake, but while handling it I knew it was less probable to be carried anwhere & everytime than a Pentax because of its weight.

 

www.dpreview.com

 

has some tests comparing image quality and so on, so I believe you should read them before you purchase anything. Mike Johnstons article "The digital K1000" finds plenty of positive words about the *istDS.

Since you already own a bunch of Nikon lense (I assume with your two cameras) you should probably just stick with Nikon.

 

That being said.. The Pentax DSLR's have better viewfinders than all but the top of the line Canon and Nikon DSLR. This, coupled with Pentax's excellent backwards lens compatability makes the Pentax DSLR's the best cameras for use with older MF lenses (Only Nikon Professional DSLR's can use some of Nikon's older MF lenses) . Pentax also makes some truely excellent lenses.

 

The negetive (other than you already owning Nikon lenses). While covering all focal lenghts Pentax does not offer as complete a lens lineup as Nikon. It might not matter to you, but Pentax also does not offer image stabilization (VR in Nikon speak). And the biggie to me, in the US you can not generally rent lenses.

 

Image quality wise, the istDS uses the same chip as the D70 so dont expect any noticable difference.

 

That's about it.

I think a major selling point for the Pentax *ist DS has been camera size and weight. The *ist DS is a petit 3.6" x 4.9" x 2.6" (93mm x 125mm x 66mm) (HxWxD) and weighs 17.8 oz. (505g). The closest Nikon comes to that size/weight is the soon-to-be-released D50 at 4.0 x 5.2 x 3.0" (102 x 133 x 76mm) (HxWxD) and 19 oz. (540g).

 

If size is an issue then wait for the release of the D50 and use your Nikon lenses. If size is REALLY an issue then consider the *ist DS.

If you would like an ultra-compact digital SLR then consider the *ist DS with the new <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=366728&is=USA" target="_blank">smc PENTAX-DA 40mmF2.8 Limited Lense</a><br>

I have both. I've used a D70 since last October and a DS for two days. I prefer the DS.

 

The D70 in RAW mode has more detail than the DS in RAW. While the sensors are the same, Nikon does less filtering, allowing more detail, but in some situations leaving you with moire. The DS however is not sorely lacking in detail. Just slightly compared with the D70 and 20D.

 

Why did I get the DS? I do street photography, and I found the D70 big and awkward, and after several hours walking the streets my hand would be stiff. So more often than not it stayed at home once there was light after work and I could use a digicam. (In the winter when it's dark here after 4pm, a digicam is next to useless for street photography. That has changed since the Fuji F10 arrived, but that's a story for another day.)

 

I did six hours of shooting yesterday and about four today. I'm pretty certain I'm keeping the DS. It's a much more comfortable camera for me. Outdoors the D70 meters better. Indoors the DS meters better. The DS autofocus is considerably more accurate than the D70. Autofocus speed feels about the same, though I suspect the D70 may be faster by one or two tenths of a second. Write speed feels about the same. Chimping is much easier on the DS. While I read that the DS autofocus indoors with poor light is inaccurate, I didn't have any trouble in my living room, which is usually a torture test for autofocus systems. Manual focus should be easier with the DS because the viewfinder is rather a bit bigger, but I can't verify that because the used lens I picked up (24/f2) won't go into manual focus mode. Well, it does, but the viewfinder image doesn't change. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if this is a SUE.

 

Living with a Pentax system isn't easy. While I live in a v large city, and while all the camera shops stock the DS, pretty much none of them stock Pentax lenses. Every interesting lens aside from the 16-45 is a special order. But the only other lenses I'll be getting, by special order, will be the 31 and 77 limited. Unless I run across Vuk out on the streets and pinch his lens bag.

 

 

Luke

Actually I dont see how I am in the wrong forum. The reason I made this thread was to find out if anyone had experience with this camera. Where would have been a better place? You didnt even say. I asked for opinions, and I got some. I appreciate your input, but dont really see why you got harsh.

I actually dont own the D70. I use it almost daily for work purposes, but the camera is owned by the company I work for.

 

I didnt know that Pentax doesnt offer image stabilization. Its not a huge deal to me, but it would be a nice feature.

 

Thanks so much for the info and your opinions.

Oh I would absolutely love to go out a buy a D70, or even one of the newer ones that have recently come out or will be soon. But what attracted me to the *istDS was the price. I went down to that store today and found that it doesnt seem like something I would want to compromise. It doesnt seem...'up to par'. But this is comming from someone who is used to Nikons, especially the D70, since I use it so often. It almost seemed cheap and like it wasnt made very well. Maybe Im just spoiled with the D70...

 

Thanks so much for your responses. I appreciate it.

<p><i>It almost seemed cheap and like it wasnt made very well. Maybe Im just spoiled with the D70...</i></p>

 

<p>Well that's the opposite of most people conclude after handling them both, but it's your money.. Anyway it's hard to see why you would want to start over with a whole new system, if you are already happier with the D70 and your existing Nikon equipment.</p>

I do not own a D70. I wish I did. But as I said, I use it for work and I do not own it myself.

Joyce.

 

You will find that the Pentax following (especially on the net) seems to act like it is them against the world. They are as defensive as the Leica crowd if you have any of that experience. I find it bothersome but I appreciate it at the same time. The reason you are getting the answers you received is that you are asking for technical comparisons from a group that does not generally value the technology of a photographic instrament as much as the experience of taking the photo, and it's end quality. The Canon fourm this is not.

 

You would be better off listing what you like and do not like about your experience with the D70, and asking people here how the DS handles those situations. Thinks like shot to shot delay, power on delay, AF, etc.

 

By the way. You mention you use a D70 for work. What type of work do you do where they provide you with a camera, and what are you looking for with your personal camera (i.e. will it be for work or pleasure).

<I>Actually I dont see how I am in the wrong forum. The reason I made this thread was to find out if anyone had experience with this camera. Where would have been a better place? You didnt even say. I asked for opinions, and I got some. I appreciate your input, but dont really see why you got harsh.</I><P>

 

How did you construe his post as "harsh"? You specifically asked how a Nikon stacks up against an *IST DS. He simply told you (in what I thought was a very nice way) that it's not likely that many people on this forum have much experience with other makes of cameras. Then he went on to give you some thoughts on the *IST DS as well as a link to a review. A better place for a comparison of the two cameras would have been the "Digital Camera" forum.<P>

 

Alan

I don't see where Jochen's post was at all "harsh" either. Looks to me like he was trying to be very helpful. The point Jamie was trying to make was that you did say you have an N55, which would make one logically conclude you owned some Nikon lenses (and perhaps other accessories). Thus, there would be some additional expenses involved in changing systems that wouldn't apply if staying with Nikon. As for the cameras, all I can say is that I have a friend who loves his D70.

 

Bill

Hi Joyce. If you like Nikons stick with 'em. However, I own a DS and compared the D70 before I bought. I found the D70 to have an inferior "feel" compared to the DS and the ergonomics were not as good. The Pentax is smaller and has a better viewfinder. It uses the smaller SD cards and both use the same APS sensor, which would indicate that picture quality should be similar. The one friend I have who bought a D70 (early model) got rid of it because of its bulk and the back-focusing problem (supposedly cured now).