PMA 2003, Live: Yesterday we got our hands on the very early prototype Pentax *ist D digital SLR which is being shown at the Pentax stand. This is a bit of a 'me too' article as we note that several other sites have also posted their own images of this camera. At this stage the camera is still in an early form, although does power up. The first thing that strikes you about this camera is its size and weight, it's noticeably smaller than the current digital SLR's (Canon EOS-D60 / 10D, Nikon D100), it's also clear that although loosely based on the *ist film SLR this body and control layout has been design to be digital from day one. We're looking forward to testing the *ist D, and hope that it can proove to be some real competition to the Canon and Nikon offerings. We also heard a rumour (not at the Pentax stand) that it will have a street price of US$1,600.

Click here for our previous coverage of the Pentax *ist D

Pentax *ist D pictures from the show floor

Phil: Apologies for the relatively poor quality of these images (compared to our norm), as you can imagine available lighting is limited.