Any body use *ist 35mm ?

[lofgreenimages]

I am thinking of buying the 35mm flavor *ist. I know, you may be

asking "why 35mm?". I already spend waaaay to much time in front of a

computer and I shoot a canon 20D during the day. I want to upgrade

from my PZ-10 to the *ist and was wondering if anyone out there have

used it and what you thought?

<P>

D.

[pbass_wil]

Derek,

 

I don't know the *ist, but I use one of its recent ancestors, the ZX-5n (outside the US: MZ5-n). I like my ZX-5n because even thought it has fairly modern features, it has traditional, dedicated controls for the exact features I use (unlike almost any current SLR, *ist included). I can directly grab the dedicated shutter speed dial, without assigning shutter to a control dial. If I want spot meter for a tricky lighting situation, I can instantly flick the switch for it (it's 1/2" from the shutter release) without looking at anything but my composition.

 

It has a modest 2 f/sec. motor drive, graphical readout of exposure and exp. comp. in the finder, competant matrix meter mode and auto-focus, and just about the widest lens compatibility of any camera on the planet! The *ist has less lens compatibility; see here:

 

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/technology/K-mount/crippled.html

 

Don't let me cast aspersion on the *ist though. I'm a manual, direct access guy with some old lenses, who appreciates modern features like motor-drive, a grip, lots of viewfinder feedback, and focus confirmation.

 

If you don't mind the modal controls, and will primarily use auto-focus and matrix-type auto-exposure with recent lenses, I'm sure you'll be delighted with the *ist.

 

BTW: I'm also back into film after much digital use; for me it's the look of B & W film that slays me.

 

Peter Wilson

[andy_mcinroy]

Hi,

 

I've been using the *IST and can recommend it. I steer away from the programmed modes, but it has many fuctions that are useful and previously only found on the more expensive MZ-S (which I believe is now discontinued). For landscape photography I find the spot metering, auto-bracketting and mirror-lock invaluable. It also has wireless functionality with the FGZ360 flash. The depth of field preview is also worth having.

 

It is not compatible with older lenses due to the crippled mount but this is not a concern if you are using the modern autofocus or A series lenses. Some might find the camera a bit small in their hands and it certainly looks quite "dinky". However, stick a quality prime like the 28mm FA on it and the results will speak for themselves.

[chris_chow]

I have the *ist for about 2 years now. It is a good camera except perhaps the plastic body (it is plastic and really feels like plastic). Other than that, it is light, small and very capable. It has the best AF among pentax bodies.

[gav]

i'm really pleased with my *ist, but the 28-80 "j" lens really sucks!

 

you can use 'm' series lenses using a custom function, but you lose metering and stuff like that.

 

I've found the metering and focussing to be fine, and the mirror lock up (kind of, it works as a custom function on the self timer) is a real bonus.

 

wireless flash with the af360fgz is great, really improved my flash photos without having to pay for studio stuff.

 

 

unfortunatley i have no experience with canon or nikon autofocus to campare with, this was my first AF slr.

 

good luck

[lofgreenimages]

Thanks for the responses. I guess I am not clear on the FAJ lens. What exactly are these? I have two manual K mount lenses that have the A setting on the aperture ring and one K mount that doesn't. My other lens is a Tamron AF 28-200 f/3.8-5.6 LD Aspherical (171D). Will these work on the *ist?

<P>

D.

[scott loveless]

FAJ lenses are designed to be used with Pentax autofocus bodies. There is no manual aperture control on these lenses. You can adjust aperture only through the camera controls. This is how the *ist is intended to be used. However, the FAJ lenses are sold and manufactured cheaply. You're not going to find that legendary Pentax quality in an FAJ.

 

Any lenses you have with an 'A' setting will work with the *ist. Manual and autofocus lenses without the 'A' setting will require adjusting custom function 17 to allow shutter release without metering. Basically, you can use the older lenses but you'll have no light meter in camera.

 

I've been using the *ist for almost a year and have found it to be a very nice little camera. The autofocus is typically fast and accurate, the controls are easy enough to use, and the viewfinder is tops in it's class (compared to similarly priced Canons and Nikons). I would like to recommend that you consider buying the battery grip. It's a bit pricey, I think, but if you end up using the on-camera flash much, the *ist will gobble up batteries quickly. The BG-20 and a set of rechargeable AA batteries is a nice complement to this camera.

[pbass_wil]

Derek wrote: >I guess I am not clear on the FAJ lens. What exactly are these? I have two manual K mount lenses that have the A setting on the aperture ring and one K mount that doesn't. My other lens is a Tamron AF 28-200 f/3.8-5.6 LD Aspherical (171D). Will these work on the *ist?<

 

 

Boy that info on Bojidar's site is very hard to decipher, huh?! -->

 

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/technology/summary/index.html

 

http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/technology/K-mount/crippled.html

 

But I'm pretty sure I understand that the FAJ (the most recent) lenses simply don't have aperture dials; the aperture is only operable by the camera -- either in an AE mode, or a manual mode where you select ap via a control dial.

 

As for the lenses you already have, this Bojidar quote may be pertinant:

 

 

Long Quote: > [The *ist Body] allows the photographer to choose the camera's behavior. Leaving the Pentax function 17 set to its default value 0 makes the *ist behave like the MZ-30/ZX-30 and MZ-60/ZX-60. Setting the function value to 1 makes the *ist behave like the MZ-50/ZX-50 [see next paragraph]...

 

[snip...]

 

The MZ-50/ZX-50 was the first body that featured the "crippled" KAF mount. When this body detects that the lens aperture is not in the "A" setting or there isn't such a setting, it meters and exposes the film as if the lens is set to its widest aperture. This allows perfect operation also in the following cases:

 

* The selected aperture is indeed the widest possible,

* The lens has a manually operating diaphragm, [i.e., an old screw-mount, Spotmatic-era lens, via an adapter -- this is a pain!]

* The lens has a fixed aperture (for example, it is a mirror lens).

 

In all other cases, the body underexposes by as many f-stops as the difference between the currently selected f-stop and widest f-stop.<

Unquote.

 

 

[Me again:] Now as far as I can figure out, the early K-mount lenses: SMC, SMC M, and (rarer) SMC AF (N.B: not FA) will only work properly if you use them with wide-open aperture.

 

Any newer lens -- SMC A, SMC F, SMC FA, and probably your Tamron (if it's not too old, and if you know that it works in Shutter-priority automation), should work with the *ist in all modes as long as you keep the lens on "A". (SMC FAJ's work ideally with the *ist, and don't have, or need, an "A".) All that a lens requires for full compatibility with the *ist, is that it has the contacts and gearing so the camera can sense and control its diaphragm. Only the oldies listed in the last paragraph lack that.

 

CAVEAT LECTOR!! I'm no expert, and have no access to a "crippled mount" camera to test my understanding. To know for certain, you should check your understanding with someone who knows. (Once I emailed a question to Bojidar, and he replied in a couple of days.)

 

Good luck!

 

Peter Wilson

[lofgreenimages]

pbass wil,

You aren't kidding. That info was half Greek to me.

<P>

So this is what I understand about this camera an it's lens issue. If I mount my lenses to it then I need to have the aperture ring set at the A position. Then I can access the aperture settings via the body. Is that right?

<P>

D.

[Jochen_S]

Yes! (from a digital shooter, who preferes very old fashioned filmcameras, but accepts the *ist in general)

[pbass_wil]

Derek wrote >...it's lens issue. If I mount my lenses to it then I need to have the aperture ring set at the A position. Then I can access the aperture settings via the body. Is that right?<

 

It's also a meter issue, I believe; maybe Jochen can confirm this?

 

My most used lens is a great SMC M 50mm 1.4; on my ultra-compatible ZX-5n (MZ-5n) the meter works in all modes: Matrix, Center-Weighted Averaging, and Spot. If I understand correctly, an *ist wouldn't be able to meter for it except wide-open, and even then, it would only be Center-Weighted -- as it would be for any lens without an "A" setting.

 

Have I got that right Jochen?

 

Peter Wilson

[unca mikey]

I've had the *ist 35mm and love it. I wanted something very small and light -- with a

FA 50mm f1.7, the *ist is about the size of a rangefinder and can fit into a larger coat

pocket. Most of my photography is done while traveling, and I wanted a very small,

light kit -- the *ist and 3 lenses, along with other assorted bits and pieces of gear,

will fit easily into a Lowepro Nova Mini AW.

 

I sold the original FAJ 28-80 kit lens and replaced it with the FA 28-105 f3.2-4.5. I

also use the FA 50mm f1.7 and the FA J 18-35. I think the FA J lenses are better than

most people give them credit for.

 

The *ist has an incredible set of features, and will be more durable than we suspect. I

bought this kit, incidentally, to replace a Spotmatic and large set of M42 primes,

which I wasn't using very much because I got tired of lugging it around.

[derekb]

I would tend to agree with those who bemoan the end of backward compatibility. I prefer my MZ-6 (ZX-L) over the IST camera. It has almost the same feature set (with the exception of fewer autofocus points, which I do not want and turn off) but it does not have the crippled mount. I find this an important feature for 2 reasons:

 

1. It allows me to used lenses which do not have an A setting effectively

 

2. It gives me back my dual control that this camera, like a MZ-5N or MZ-S have. I simply use my lenses in the numbered F-Stop positions rather than leaving the lens on A all the time and use the single dial (actually a toggle dial) for shutter speed.

 

Or alternately you could go out and by an MZ-5n or MZ-S but they are a lot more cash than either the Ist or MZ-6.

[tim_drake]

I was looking for a small film camera to put in a small opening I had in my Ebony 4x5 camera bag and in searching discovered the Pentax ist. I mounted the 40mm DA limited pancake lens on it and was so wowed by the results and combo that I am now looking for another ist body. Outstanding image quality from a really fun to shoot camera.