DSLRUsers.com

Pentax ist*D Take this post apart.

1. Viewpoint of not having allot of money (sub $3k)
2. Not being a professional photographer, enthusiast.
3. Own a Spotmatic SP1000, with 8 or so lense's with an adaptor I can use them manually (with metering)

Please keep those two points in mind.

Ok from your experiance what is wrong with this camera?

Features I like,

6 megapixel

iso200

spot metering

whitebalance control, custom and preset

Flash Sync only 1/180th vs 1/500th

use's SD cards? Negative here.

Wide range of lense's back to the 70's good for the budget (meter's with manual lense's)

OK so now take this camera apart list what you don't like about and what you do.

It strikes me as more of a toy than professional like the D70, however if you compare spec's side by side on paper they are very similair.

Please, please post at least one paragraph of constructive information (citing sources if you can), no "I love D70, Pentax arn't any good".

Thanks to everyone.

Regards
Luke

Luke - do you mean the ist* D not the newly released DS? I'll assume you DO mean the D not the DS since the DS has CF not SD.

If so then have a look at this (slightly dated) review http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxistd/ which compares this to various other models. I'll leave it for the more expert members to give detailed responses to you.

Luke,

I think Pentax stopped making decent cameras in the 70s, about the time they introduced the K mount.

That said, there's a very inexpensive entry level model of this camera that I think you can pick up, with a couple of Stigma Coke bottles, for around PP1500.

That could be the start of a somewhat usable kit.

I don't really see the use of SD cards as a disadvantage; The media cost is only slightly greater than CF cards, and capacity is only a short way behind too. I think we're going to see the major manufacturers switch to SD from CF cards over the next few years.

I would not give the availability/usability of existing glass much real credence at all. Look at those of us with truly usable Nikkor glass, but have simply gone out and bought fresh glass because of the newer and better technology and quality.

I suspect that using the old glass will prove to be a frustrating and disappointing experience.

That said, I don't really think the camera is a good one, and for around PP2K, one can probably source a D70 plus kit lens plus plus 70-300 plus a few other bits and pieces.

Luke...

a friend of mine owns this camera.... and he's very happy with it... he has been a film shooter for many many years and has a lot of pentax lenses etc etc, hence the decision for him was very easy to stick with pentax.

it uses cf cards... not sd as previously mentioned.

cheers

Thank you for the quick reply,

I would like nothing more than to jump ship and get the D70, perhaps with the 24-120VR and a 70-300.

I agree old glass could prove frustrating, however I have been using it for many years and have some great shots, as you've probably guessed the spotmatic is completely manual.

I just really want to scope out the other options before I do, I've dismissed the 300D, and after using a film F5 several times I really do love nikon.

When you say you don't like it what do you find about the D70 that allows you to get better photo's? The image quality would seem to be similair between the two. What has the D70 got that the Ist does not?

Your reply was great, you didn't once mention the 70-200VR or 12-24 which are both out of the realms of possibility at the momment, comparing the mid range glass to each other is much more realistic for me.

I am willing to spend the money if I have it on the D70, if I do not I am simply trying to figure out if the Ist is going to be acceptable? or should I continue saving for the D70 and what I really want?

Luke,

To be perfectly honest, I've never even considered it.

Your Spotmatic isn't simply a good camera, I'd rate it as one of the all-time greats. Sadly, as a camera manufacturer., Pentax is but a shadow of its former self, having, a long time ago, dumped any semblance of developing serious cameras in favour of the marketing of VolksCameras.

Nothing that Pentax have made since the mid to late 70s comes even close, and what the hell were they thinking when they gave this poor camera its name?

Pity the poor bloody camera walking home from school and having all they other cameras laughing at it because of its cruel parents!

Seriously, understand that I'm biased, and readily acknowledge that.

But look at the underlying build quality; is it up to that of the Nikon? How do you think it would stand up to the 1.5 metre drop test?

What about the future? What lenses could you buy for this camera next year? Where is the expandability of the camera, as a basis of a usable system?

One of the things that I've seen with this digital revolution is just how much it focusses camera users on lens quality. I've deliberately avoided mentioning the high end glass till now, but the fact remains that the glass that many of thought was good before going digital (and don't get me wrong - I have some very nice older Nikkor glass here) simply becomes no longer good enough as the higher definition that we now have available becomes almost a "must have".

I would possibly also be concerned that the camera might end up becoming an orphan. It's not been exactly a raging success, and the gods of corporate profit might be inclined to weigh in and have their say at some time; where would that leave your purchase, and its future usability?

Contrast that with the D70 (or the dribble) which has been extremely successful (and profitable) and for which a long future availability of parts and accessories is guaranteed.

yraen, interesting and good question. There are 2 cameras in their system I believe the D and the newer DS which uses SD cards and is cheaper, but really just as good a camera they needed to keep price competitive so changed a couple of little things.

Different question to film, where I could slip some ISO 25 film into my old 601, put it on a tripod and take as nice a shot as the guy next to me with an F5 as long as we are both using the same glass. Which brings me to the next point.

The camera does matter in digital, and while I believe the Pentax is fine on many detail points the D70 is better (from my extensive knowledge of one magazine article ). Let us assume the cameras are equal, for this exercise. Now count how many lenses Nikon make, then count how many Pentax make. Now count IS or VR lenses. To the best of my knowledge, only Canon and Nikon make primes of 400 2.8 and above. Which system would you rather invest in? As Gary said, many of us have old glass, I would have as much as anyone ranging from 20 2.8 through 400mm 5.6 up to my big 1000mm russian. Which glass do I use the most? My Nikon 70-200 VR, my 12-24 Sigma and equally one of my primes or the kit. As you can see, two out of the three are new, sometimes three out of three. So decide what system you wish to invest in. PS Did I mention the SB800 is a wireless (off camera ) flash? Is the Pentax? What if you wanted to purchase a big brother for it?

yraen, I stand corrected, just glanced at Pentax and they do have a current 600 f4, though at this stage that is probably not a concern. One thing I did like about the camera is the 11 point AF, with nine cross hair points and two line points outside the nine. Whole system not unlike a D2H.

Thanks to all who responded.

I understood from the start this would be a biased conversation, simply b/c of where it is posted.

The feedback has been excellent considering.

The ruggedness of the camera is an issue, being a bloke things tend to sometimes meet the floor when the shouldn't no matter how careful I am, hence the D70 has that appeal, it might actually survive being dropped.

Quality control is a big issue with the SMC lenses, so i have learned, aptly named "Stigma Coke bottle" lenses being something of a hit and miss, some produce shoots you couldn't pick from a 70-200VR others you would think came from a badly treated 70-300G. I would produce links to support this and I will when I get home from many image reviews around the globe. Do I feel lucky? This is a large negative in my books, when you invest in glass you at least expect it to be good (or at least consistant).

I agree it has a horrible name, why put a * in a camera's name when almost everything search engine on the planet takes it as a wildcard?

Ah yes about the media I believe the D uses CF and the DS use's SD. With the D being almost impossible to get I guess this thread is about the DS at the end of the day.

I know for a fact that the SB600/SB800 i-TTL blows the pentax version of TTL out of the water, there top of the line flash has similair power ratings to the SB 600, with less functionality, again this is a price issue, with the SB 800 costing $500 dollars it would want to be good.

About the only thing the iSt DS has over the D70 is the Focusing system, which is to be expected as it is a newer camera, I do like the fact it's system compare's technology wise to the D2's. 11 Point AF, spot metering, center wieghted average all nice.

So basically if i want something with less features (slower flash sync), less durability, pot luck on lense quality, and slower fps (BUT i get a better focusing system) then the ist*D is the way to go.

Oh I forget to mention the lack of upgrade path lense wise.

The only other Bonus is metering with manual/old lenses.

Well I think that about sums it up, Thanks once again for the input.

regards
Luke

The most compelling reason for buying a D70 has been missed by everyone.

NO *IstUsers.com
At least not with the kind of people you find here.