Pentax *ist D User Reviews

Been using film cameras since the 50's as a student. Have owned Leicas, Nikons, Canons, Olympuses. Been using Pentaxes since the late 80s. Had the PZ-1 for 10 years before switching over the *ist D when it first came out. I have always like smaller-sized SLRs and for that reason, been steering away from the Nikons and Canons since Olympus first came out with their OMs. With the advent of auto-focus SLRs, I switched over to Pentax. The *ist D was the smallest DSLR made at the time of its ...

I've used Pentax SLR's since my first ME Super SE, with the diagonal split-focusing screen--more on that later!--and I waited a while to buy the *ist D, but then bought sight-unseen 'cause I knew it would be right. I'm glad it was. I can echo so many of the things that all of you have said. It just FEELS right, it FITS perfectly in my hand (like the ME Super!), everything on it is EXACTLY where it should be, and it feels very substantial and solid even though it's rather small. I could ...

I just recently bought mine, 300 euros used (1700 shots) with Katz-Eye focusing screen. I needed a camera for my manual focus lenses and *ist D is perfect for that. I own also *ist DL as a second body. Autofocus is a bit faster in *ist D than in DL. The build quality of this camera is excellent far above the DL. It really feels solid and robust. Image quality is very good as I expected. Not as easy to use as DL, but much better controls. Ergonomics is among the best I´ve encountered this far ...

I've had my *ist D since late October 2004, some 14554 photos ago. It's had pretty solid use, sustained three drops, and only needed one repair. (That was when the mode dial would not operate: settings were stuck as I had last selected. It was due to a broken brush in the workings.) It takes the wide range of K-mount lenses, including the manual-focus, and I've managed to buy some beaut lenses second-hand. I find the *ist D produces beaut images. About the only feature I theoretically miss, ...

first digital i have owned, had pentax in the past and love the quality. The SMC lenses are also a perfect match for this camera. I reccomend it to photographers of all levels. the image quality is superb and size and weight wise its perfect especially with the battery grip accessory. i like it way more than the D70s i have used in the past. Problems: cant do long bursts. only up to 5 images, slow compression of shots with long exposure time

I´m Loving it.....

The only feature I would like to see (in new firmware) is instant histogram. The wrong compact flash orientation can be fixed with a small pieace of scotch tape on the CF to remove the CF without dropping it. The 16-45 DA is perfect. I do see some purple fringing in high contrast area's like trees.

Speaking for myself, I am a self confessed, long term Nikon user, but out of curiosity I was delighted when offered the opportunity to borrow an *istD for the weekend – a day in the country, snapping my brains out. The first thing which became apparent, was how solid this camera feels and how well everything you actually need falls to hand - I have to say, this is really an excellent, intuitive, well balanced, well finished and well built camera. Instead of fiddling interminably with the ...

The colors and images are true to what I see through the excellent viewfinder. It is just what I need - a reliably predictable tool. Viewfinder quality encourages cropping in the viewfinedere and picture quality enables me to crop to a more interesting presentation that I later decided upon. From day one it worked intuitively as I needed (coming from other Pentax film SLRs helped). There is nothing about this camera about which I had to become adjusted. The hyper modes work just as I would ...

Generally an excellent camera. I've had this camera about a couple months now, so far I’m very happy with it. I mainly bought this rather than any other brand because of my Pentax lenses but I truly do think this is a good camera. I'd be interested in seeing how Canon and Nikon compare but so far I’m not that bothered. Good points. This camera is so easy to use. An SLR user could pick it up without looking at the manual and pretty much be shooting pictures properly in 20-30 mins. It's ...