Pentax *ist D Review

Good Points
Nicely compact Digital SLR, controls familiar to Pentax users, works with older Pentax and compatible lenses.

Bad Points
Undercut by Canon prices, so fewer about and probably less accesories available.

General Comments
The *ist D is the more sophisticated of Pentax's two digital SLR's and designed to fill the same niche as the Canon 10D. It is surprisingly compact compared to Canon's rather elephantine models. Without the need for film transport mechanisms digital SLR's should be getting smaller but some makes just grow!



There is a downside to smaller dimensions. Although my stubby fingers manage quite well with the controls, the space between the right hand grip and the lens housing is rather too tight to get the fingers in. This makes holding the camera without the strap a slightly uncertain experience although I haven't dropped it yet.



The *ist D has a six megapixel CCD giving excellent results. Images can be blown up to A3 before starting to look a little soft. I store my images as jpegs, and can find little wrong with them, but more faithful formats can be selected (raw etc.) and various levels of image quality can be chosen to save on compact flash card space. The card is slightly fiddly to get out of the right hand bay because the eject button does not push it out very far and the cover flap gets in the way. However, the camera has the option of being plugged straight to the computer, with a supplied lead, and downloads quite quickly (I have been using Sandisk Ultra II 256Mb cards).



The *ist D comes with all the expected metering modes (two programs, TV, AV manual etc.) and has pattern and spot metering. There's exposure compensation, an ISO range between 200-1600 and shutter speeds between . The autofocus is also multimode (pattern, selective and spot), not that I ever bother tweaking it. The autofocus is definitely more noisy than Canon's but much quicker than early 1980's Pentax's. There's controls for single, multiple, delayed,IR remote control, double exposure and bracketed shooting. In fact there are more features than I would ever need as I use manual shooting a lot of the time. However, gadget freaks will enjoy the experience!



The viewfinder displays shutter, aperture, remaining shots and a +/- exposure range, if working with manual settings. The viewfinder image is bright, even with narrow aperture lenses and is said to be superior to those of other makes. Depth of field can be checked through the viewfinder as there's a stop down facility. I certainly find the bright viewfinder useful for low light and astro-photography. The eyepiece is dioptre-adjustable; excellent for occupation-induced myopics like me. There's also a display panel on the back for reviewing shots, zooming in to them, displaying exposure data, deleting them etc. It does not seem to drain the batteries significantly.



There's a built in flash which is useful in an emergency but a proper flash is really needed. To my delight, I find that my 20 year old Pentax flash works fine with this camera, giving TTL metered exposure. There's also a good old-fashioned co-axial socket on the lens housing for flashes with leads. I did have a disappointment when the built-in flash failed on the camera, just hours after purchase (a rare problem but logged on internet forums) but the replacement camera, supplied by a very helpful LCE branch in Bath, has performed fine over the subsequent 14 months.



Battery power is supplied by two disposable Li ion cells, four rechargeable NiMH AA cells or even bog standard alkaline AA's. I use NiMH's, which give me about 150 shots (it depends what you are doing) and the spare AA alkalines I keep for the flashgun can also rescue a flat battery situation with the camera: very useful. I have never felt the need for an 'add on power pack' as the cells are easy and cheap to replace.



Finally, we come to a really useful feature. Although the information is buried deep inside the manual, this camera will work (albeit with reduced metering options) with just about any Pentax or K type lens, right back to the original 1970's ones. Pentax have usually looked after their long-standing customers by making their kit backwards compatible and this camera is no exception. Even generic controls seem to stay in the same places as much older models so this camera was easy to get used to.



Nevertheless, I do recommend buying a good zoom lens to cut down on the number of lens changes. No matter how careful one is, a tiny fleck of dust can find its way onto the CCD giving a permanent spot on every subsequent image. I periodically check by imaging a plain bright surface and looking for the dots, then using an air blower to blast the dust out (hopefully). The shutter can be locked open for this process. One can properly clean the CCD but it strikes me as being the camera equivalent of open-heart surgery.



In summary, the Pentax *ist D is an excellent camera for existing Pentax SLR users who do not want to trade in all their lenses. For other purchasers, its principal strengths are a good specification and diminutive size.