*ist D worth to delay and wait?

[Tony Shen78761]

They delayed. But if the delay means a better product to the consumers, than it's worthy to delay and wait. But, I believe *ist D will not be better than S2 and SD9 because they use better sensor. And it will not be better than D100, because Nikon lens is better. And it will not be better than 10D because Canon's noise reduction and imaging processing/compress algorithm is much better.

The only thing I am expecting is it could reach a very cheap price, something like 1100 US$ or even lower. Than it could be a hot sales point together with it's portability.

Anyhow, let's see the review. Hope the miracle will happen, though by the limitation of sensor (I wonder why they don't select Fuji Super CCD --- themselve does not produce sensor so it's free to select a better one), lens, and imaging algorithm, I think it will be difficult.

Tony

 

[David Kieltyka]

They delayed. But if the delay means a better product to the
consumers, than it's worthy to delay and wait. But, I believe *ist
D will not be better than S2 and SD9 because they use better
sensor. And it will not be better than D100, because Nikon lens is
better. And it will not be better than 10D because Canon's noise
reduction and imaging processing/compress algorithm is much better.

I don't think there's much point in worrying about which D-SLR is "better" than the others. All of 'em are better cameras than most of their owners are photographers. IMO the miniscule differences that people spend so much time here fretting over aren't worth the bother.

I'd disagree that Nikon lenses are "better" too. I've used plenty of Nikon and Pentax lenses...IMO neither is better overall than the other. Nikon does have a broader selection but Pentax has the stellar Limited Editions. Horses for courses.

I like the *ist D because of its size and weight. Unless Pentax completely blows the software image quality will be fine.

-Dave-

 

[going_digital]

Plus, Pentax makes lenses for medium format, so they have to be pretty good at making lenses.

As far as digital photography technology, they have an extensive line of consumer cameras with small sensors (which is more challenging than for DSLR because they are noiser, and consumers expect right-out-of camera photos). They know what they are doing here.

Size wise, Pentax has a big differentiator. Without battery grip, it is very portable, with battery grip, it handles well with long lenses. Let's hope they don't make the buttons too small that you have to use your fingernails to flip switches. And let's hope they do a good job with battery life. 10D and D100 both have long battery life, that is a must have.

They aren't differentiated by sensor or Mpels, but size and Pentax optics and street price taken together is a pretty compelling story (all other things being comparable).

 

[Robert Holloway]

I agree that we tend to stress and worry over details that we will never use and image differential that we will never experience in the real world.

I think the main advantage of this Pentax DSLR is it's size weight spec.

Pentax will lose some of this initiative if Canon or Nikon announces a 500g small size DSLR before pentax streets.

That's the only real concern.

pentax make great cameras and their lenses, as others have said, are every bit as good as others under 99.999% of usage situations.

Rob

Plus, Pentax makes lenses for medium format, so they have to be
pretty good at making lenses.

As far as digital photography technology, they have an extensive
line of consumer cameras with small sensors (which is more
challenging than for DSLR because they are noiser, and consumers
expect right-out-of camera photos). They know what they are doing
here.

Size wise, Pentax has a big differentiator. Without battery grip,
it is very portable, with battery grip, it handles well with long
lenses. Let's hope they don't make the buttons too small that you
have to use your fingernails to flip switches. And let's hope they
do a good job with battery life. 10D and D100 both have long
battery life, that is a must have.

They aren't differentiated by sensor or Mpels, but size and Pentax
optics and street price taken together is a pretty compelling story
(all other things being comparable).

 

[rustedborg]

First of all, you can't really make a "supportable" arguement that the S2, SD9, D100 or 10D are "better" than the *istD until the *istD arrives.

Although most Nikon glass is indeed better than most Pentax glass, there are exceptions ... and there are also some third-party lenses that are superior to some lenses from both Nikon and Pentax.

The interpollated Super CCD in the S2 has its fans, but it also has more than a few professionals who hate it. The SD9, with its wonderful Foveon, also has its mixed share of fans and enemies.

We don't know what the ISO sensativity of the *istD will be until Pentax makes a formal announcement. Granted, it is unlikely that the *istD will out-perform the 10D in terms of ISO, but we don't know for sure.

Also, keep in mind that the *istD has a familiar user interface and accepts the same lenses that many Pentax users have come to love.

Also, the new pentaprism viewfinder will make this camera appealing to quite a few photographers. If you need any proof of what pentaprism will bring to the table, pick up a 35mm film SLR and look through the viewfinder, then pick up a current DSLR (such as the 10D or D100) and and look through the viewfinder. DSLRs don't have the best viewfinders in the world ... compared to 35mm SLRs. The *istD might just change all that.

One more thing ... the *istD uses standard AA bateries. So no matter what country or backwater town I'm in I can find replacement batteries in an emergency.

They delayed. But if the delay means a better product to the
consumers, than it's worthy to delay and wait. But, I believe *ist
D will not be better than S2 and SD9 because they use better
sensor. And it will not be better than D100, because Nikon lens is
better. And it will not be better than 10D because Canon's noise
reduction and imaging processing/compress algorithm is much better.

The only thing I am expecting is it could reach a very cheap price,
something like 1100 US$ or even lower. Than it could be a hot sales
point together with it's portability.

Anyhow, let's see the review. Hope the miracle will happen, though
by the limitation of sensor (I wonder why they don't select Fuji
Super CCD --- themselve does not produce sensor so it's free to
select a better one), lens, and imaging algorithm, I think it will
be difficult.

Tony

 

[rustedborg]

And it will not be better than 10D because Canon's noise
reduction and imaging processing/compress algorithm is much better.

The 10D is getting a lot of attention because of the low price, high ISO and all the excitement of a "new" DSLR. However, now that the people are stepping back and taking a hard look at the camera, they are noticing some problems.

Initially, some people mentioned a problem with the focus on their 10Ds ... back focusing to be precise, but it was written off as a few buggy cameras and a few idiot owners. Now, after more professionals have used the 10D, the back focusing problem is becoming a serious issue with more than just a handful of people.

I don't know about you, but I don't consider a camera to be "better" if it can't deliver sharp focus. To me, accurate focus is more important than compression algorithms, sharpening settings or ultra-high ISO ... that's not to say that those things aren't important to me, that's just to say that accurate focus isn't something you can afford to overlook.

 

[Harvey F]

Hi,

Can someone explain exactly what a "pentraprism" viewfinder is.

I used to work in a store many years ago that sold a variety of goods along with camera's. I remember the Pentax name as Asahi Pentax.

The viewfinder at that time had a round circle in the center and you would focus until the circle lined up. It was fast and it was easy. It was also easy to see your depth of field. They were very good camera's. If the new Pentax coming out has those features it woud be a big plus.

Harvey F

And it will not be better than 10D because Canon's noise
reduction and imaging processing/compress algorithm is much better.

The 10D is getting a lot of attention because of the low price,
high ISO and all the excitement of a "new" DSLR. However, now that
the people are stepping back and taking a hard look at the camera,
they are noticing some problems.

Initially, some people mentioned a problem with the focus on their
10Ds ... back focusing to be precise, but it was written off as a
few buggy cameras and a few idiot owners. Now, after more
professionals have used the 10D, the back focusing problem is
becoming a serious issue with more than just a handful of people.

I don't know about you, but I don't consider a camera to be
"better" if it can't deliver sharp focus. To me, accurate focus is
more important than compression algorithms, sharpening settings or
ultra-high ISO ... that's not to say that those things aren't
important to me, that's just to say that accurate focus isn't
something you can afford to overlook.

 

[rustedborg]

Hi,

Can someone explain exactly what a "pentraprism" viewfinder is.
I used to work in a store many years ago that sold a variety of
goods along with camera's. I remember the Pentax name as Asahi
Pentax.
The viewfinder at that time had a round circle in the center and
you would focus until the circle lined up. It was fast and it was
easy. It was also easy to see your depth of field. They were very
good camera's. If the new Pentax coming out has those features it
woud be a big plus.

Harvey F

According to the Pentax press release:

"An optical pentaprism viewfinder was developed especially for the *ist D. This makes viewing easy with an ample 95% field of view and 0.95X magnification. There is also a superimposed display function which assists composition by illuminating the AF points in red."

Translation, the viewfinder is big and bright and displays all the info you need to determine accurate focus. I have not personally had a chance to hold the *istD in my hands or look through the new pentaprism viewfinder, but several reviewers from different websites has a chance to at PMA this year, and they have said that the viewfinder is much larger and clearer than the competition. That alone should make framing your shots a more enjoyable experience.

 

[Harvey F]

Hi rustedborg,

Thanks for your reply.

I am considering it because I like the idea of the smaller size.

I agree with your comments about an accurate focus being the most important feature in a camera. I think the *istD might surprise a lot of people.

Has there been any reports on shutter lag?

Regards,

Harvey F

Hi,

Can someone explain exactly what a "pentraprism" viewfinder is.
I used to work in a store many years ago that sold a variety of
goods along with camera's. I remember the Pentax name as Asahi
Pentax.
The viewfinder at that time had a round circle in the center and
you would focus until the circle lined up. It was fast and it was
easy. It was also easy to see your depth of field. They were very
good camera's. If the new Pentax coming out has those features it
woud be a big plus.

Harvey F

According to the Pentax press release:

"An optical pentaprism viewfinder was developed especially for the
*ist D. This makes viewing easy with an ample 95% field of view and
0.95X magnification. There is also a superimposed display function
which assists composition by illuminating the AF points in red."

Translation, the viewfinder is big and bright and displays all the
info you need to determine accurate focus. I have not personally
had a chance to hold the *istD in my hands or look through the new
pentaprism viewfinder, but several reviewers from different
websites has a chance to at PMA this year, and they have said that
the viewfinder is much larger and clearer than the competition.
That alone should make framing your shots a more enjoyable
experience.

 

[Fets]

rustedborg wrote:

 

[irehound]

Back in the late sixties it was "Asahi" in Canada and maybe some other places and "Honeywell Pentax" in the U.S. Long time ago.

Hi,
I remember the Pentax name as Asahi

--
Jim Collins

 

[David Kieltyka]

Can someone explain exactly what a "pentraprism" viewfinder is.

A pentaprism consists of a series of mirrors that redirect light coming from a lens to the viewfinder eyepiece so you can see what the lens sees. If you've ever looked down at the focusing screen of a Rolleiflex TLR, or a view camera's ground glass, you've noticed the image is upside down and flipped side to side. The pentaprism corrects this.

-Dave-

 

[austman]

Can someone explain exactly what a "pentraprism" viewfinder is.

Check out figure B at here: http://www.photozone.de/3Technology/camtec2.htm

Todd

 

[Harvey F]

Does anyoine know more about the superimposed display function that iluminates the AF points in red. Is that an exclusive feature with Pentax or do the other SLR brands have the same feature or something similar.

This post by rustedborg really has me thinking. Particulararly the part about displaying all the info to dertermine accurate focus.

Can anyone expand on this information.

Thanks,

Harvey f

According to the Pentax press release:

"An optical pentaprism viewfinder was developed especially for the
*ist D. This makes viewing easy with an ample 95% field of view and
0.95X magnification. There is also a superimposed display function
which assists composition by illuminating the AF points in red."

Translation, the viewfinder is big and bright and displays all the
info you need to determine accurate focus. I have not personally
had a chance to hold the *istD in my hands or look through the new
pentaprism viewfinder, but several reviewers from different
websites has a chance to at PMA this year, and they have said that
the viewfinder is much larger and clearer than the competition.
That alone should make framing your shots a more enjoyable
experience.

 

[boldav38]

Hey, has anyone actually done a "review/preview" of the D *ist or even taken some sample photos with the camera? I've see several photographs of it, and it looked like a fully functionally camera.

 

[boldav38]

I guess I will answer my own question---Some interesting photos of the camera at PMA 2003 can be seen at: and . Here's an additional review to the one already at this site at: http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1046647288.html .

Hey, has anyone actually done a "review/preview" of the D *ist or
even taken some sample photos with the camera? I've see several
photographs of it, and it looked like a fully functionally camera.

 

[rustedborg]

Hey, has anyone actually done a "review/preview" of the D *ist or
even taken some sample photos with the camera? I've see several
photographs of it, and it looked like a fully functionally camera.

Pentax has kept a tight hold of the *istD. The photos that you can find online basically come from two sources: 1) The PMA display, in which no one (aside from Pentax employees) was supposed to be allowed to even touch the camera ... let alone take sample pictures. 2) A more private diplay of the camera to several Web reviewers prior to PMA.

Mechanically, the *istD was ready for PMA, but my understanding was that the firmware wasn't, so Pentax wasn't comfortable showing samples ... which was a good idea. A few years back I saw some pre-release image samples from the Fuji S1 that looked HORRIBLE. Granted, the S1 isn't the best camera in the world, but those pre-release samples looked NOTHING like what actual S1 images look like.

The whole point of sample images is to see what the camera is capable of capturing, but bad firmware can seriously hurt image quality. It's best that Pentax doesn't release samples until they've developed the production-quality firmware.

 

[Timothy St. Hilaire]

Yeah!

I'm a Nikon user with a D100, D1X and such, but I bought my wife a ZX-30 for Christmas a couple years ago because its such a sweet little camera. She liked it and bought a few more lenses for it, so now I know what to get her for next Christmas. I'm betting her shots with a *ist will be just as worthy for portfolio as any of my Nikon shots. Besides, the K1000 is a god among photographers who want a reliable camera, so I don't think Pentax would compromise that tradition.

--
http://www.onepointfour.com

 

[Rob Brigham]

I think the illuminated AF points is quite commonplace these days. Certainly the F80 has it, and I am sure the Canon/Nikon DSLRs do too. However, I would prefer not to have it because the overlay makes the image dimmer and I prefer centre AF point only anyway.

Pentaprism refers to the way the light coming in the camera is bent towards the eyepiece and inverted so that you see it right way up. This is generally done using a pentaprism in more expensive cameras or pentamirrors in entry level versions. The prism is far better for light preservation and pentamirror viewfinders tend to be dimmer and less sharp.

Can anyone expand on this information.

Thanks,

Harvey f

According to the Pentax press release:

"An optical pentaprism viewfinder was developed especially for the
*ist D. This makes viewing easy with an ample 95% field of view and
0.95X magnification. There is also a superimposed display function
which assists composition by illuminating the AF points in red."

Translation, the viewfinder is big and bright and displays all the
info you need to determine accurate focus. I have not personally
had a chance to hold the *istD in my hands or look through the new
pentaprism viewfinder, but several reviewers from different
websites has a chance to at PMA this year, and they have said that
the viewfinder is much larger and clearer than the competition.
That alone should make framing your shots a more enjoyable
experience.

 

[Rob Brigham]

Not quite, what you describe is actually a pentamirror, rather than a prism.

Can someone explain exactly what a "pentraprism" viewfinder is.

A pentaprism consists of a series of mirrors that redirect light
coming from a lens to the viewfinder eyepiece so you can see what
the lens sees. If you've ever looked down at the focusing screen of
a Rolleiflex TLR, or a view camera's ground glass, you've noticed
the image is upside down and flipped side to side. The pentaprism
corrects this.

-Dave-