Pentax *istD Digital SLR Camera
Written: Jul 26 '04 (Updated Aug 02 '05)
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Pros: Solidly built, SLR, easy manual zooming/focusing, TIFF/RAW, picture quality
Cons: No 640x480 resolution, no ISO100 setting, slow image writing, solid disc for menu control
The Bottom Line: I am very impressed with this camera. Its ease of manually focusing and zooming...
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| dkozin's Full Review: Pentax *ist D Digital Camera |
I had a chance to use the Pentax *istD Digital SLR camera over the last weekend. It is owned by a relative of mine, who has been using it in the full auto mode.
The camera uses an APS-sized CCD, which is larger than consumer digital cameras and lets you control depth of field much better than the aforementioned digital cameras with small CCDs (because if the CCD is smaller, you have to use lenses with shorter focal length to get the same angle of view).
What I mean here is that the larger the CCD, the longer the focal length needed to produce the image with the same view angle (a.k.a. 35mm-equivalent focal length). The longer focal length produces the shorter DOF (same aperture and distance).
Thus, a camera with smaller CCD will have greater DOF at the same agle of view. A camera with a larger CCD will let you blur the background, if you want. The smaller the CCD, the shorter the focal lenght of the lens to get the same view angle (the same equivalent focal length), the greater the DOF with the same aperture.
In other words, it is more difficult to obtain shallower DOF with cameras that have physically smaller CCDs (you have to use larger apertures, if they are available or move further away).
From http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/dof.shtml :
"A common complaint about digital cameras is that when using one it's not possible to get nice out-of-focus backgrounds. Why therefore do digital cameras have greater Depth of Field? The reason for this is that the imaging chips on most consumer digitals is very small, around the size of ones smallest finger nail. This means that a normal lens for a format that small is as short as 15mm. A 15mm lens at f/5.6 has Depth Of Field from about 2.5 feet to infinity. Not too much opportunity for selective focus, is there?
This is one of the unspoken drawbacks of low-end digital cameras. Only expensive SLRs like the Nikon D1x, Canon 1D and their ilk have chips close to the size of a 35mm frame, and therefore offer enough DOF to allow creative control over out-of-focus backgrounds."
This Pentax does, indeed, have its chip close in size to the 35mm frame.
Another benefit of the physically larger CCD is the fact that it produces less noise at the same ISO setting in comparison to the physically smaller CCD. The CCD of this camera has resolution of 6.1 megapixels and the camera can save pictures in JPEG, TIFF or RAW format.
The camera can save pictures in several resolutions. I have to mention that the menu system is slightly convoluted and the resolution can be changed by going to the menu item called “Custom Function”. Intuitive, isn’t it? The available resolutions are 3008x2008, 2400x1600, 1152x768 and 960x640.
Do you see a little problem here? There is no VGA resolution (640x480) as my relative discovered. Unfortunately, he uses the camera primarily to take pictures of items he then sells on eBay. As such, he needs them to be in 640x480 resolution and thus has to resize every photo in Photoshop. Morale of this story is – do your research before buying an expensive piece of equipment that you are intending to use largely for the purpose that much simpler device could do.
I cannot blame Pentax for not including the lower resolution, as it is not the camera’s purpose to take low-res pictures. But it still would have been nice to have that option. The 960x640 resolution is good for displaying on the computer screen since many people have computers with 1024x768, 1200x1024 and higher resolutions.
Ergonomics and Usability
The camera is relatively light, but not overly so. It feels solid. There is a mode dial on the top deck on the right side of the camera, which lets you select the mode of operation. The green square is for full automatic mode, in which the camera selects all parameters for you.
There are also modes with pictograms depicting various preprogrammed modes. E.g. in the landscape mode, the aperture will be stopped down to give you deeper depth of field.
Also available are the “P” mode, in which you can control both the aperture and the shutter speed (as you change the one, the other one changes to keep the proper exposure); the aperture priority mode (you select the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed), the shutter priority mode (you set the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture) and the manual mode (you set both).
The camera has two separate thumb dials on the handgrip. One is in front and the other one in the back. One controls exposure, another - shutter speed. My relative had a slight problem with bright lit subjects. The pictures of the white car in the sunlight were dim (underexposed). He has not had time to read the manual.
I suggested that the exposure compensation be used. It was relatively easy for me to find the way to adjust exposure compensation. Of course, the full auto mode doesn’t let you do that, so he will have to use the “P” mode. The exposure compensation button is on the back of the camera and has to be pushed while rotating the front thumb dial to adjust the exposure compensation.
The display on the top deck is legible and shows all parameters in easy to read format (shutter speed, aperture, etc.). You can also see them in the viewfinder. The red marker appears in the viewfinder to show you where the camera is focusing.
The focusing is fast, but gets slightly slower (still under a second) in the dim light. You can also focus manually by flipping a switch on the front of the camera. Since it is an SLR camera, the LCD cannot be used during the focusing, but you can use the viewfinder to focus precisely. The viewfinder is bright and I had no problem using it in dim light.
The menu control buttons are arranged in a solid disc, which I dislike – it is too easy to push in the slightly wrong direction. I almost deleted all pictures from the memory card in this manner.
Lens
The camera accepts a wide variety of lenses that use Pentax KAF mount. The K-mount lenses can be used with some restrictions. I was using the Pentax FA J 18-35 f/4-5.6 lens. The camera is sometimes sold bundled with this lens. Keep in mind that if the lens is extended all the way and you use the flash, the lower part of the picture may have a shadow of the lens – the flash simply doesn’t reach there as it is being blocked by the extended lens.
The lens feels solidly built. All rings (focus, zoom) feel precise with no play or flimsy feeling. There is no aperture ring as it is controlled from the camera body.
The outer barrel of the lens does not rotate when focusing, unlike some others. This means you can use linear polarizer if focusing and setting exposure manually instead of having to get a more expensive circular polarizer. However, for automatic focus and exposure reading to work well, you will still have to use a circular polarizer (I want to thank Howard for pointing that out).
Performance
Most pictures I took were indoors in dim light, mostly without speedlight (flash). The pictures in low light were sharp, contrasty with low noise. The camera let me blur the background slightly while keeping people’s faces sharp, something that is difficult to do with consumer-level digicams.
The 1.8-inch LCD on the back panel is sharp and worked well. Of course, it is difficult to see what is in focus and what isn’t on a screen this small. But you can see the brightness of different areas of your picture well.
The JPEG files were later downloaded to a PC using a USB connection. The camera uses USB 1.1 and with files about 2 Megabytes each (I used the highest resolution - 3008x2008), the download wasn’t fast, but bearable. I emailed the files to my email account, filling my 25 Mb storage capacity quickly. I plan on cropping some of them and printing pictures.
I have to mention that you have to wait a couple seconds after the picture is taken for the image to be written before you can see it on the LCD. It is mildly annoying. Also, navigating between pictures taken (if you view them on the LCD) introduces delays. You push a button to go to the next image and there is a momentary delay, which is not bad, but is annoying.
Features
The camera can output images to your TV over a video cable – a capability I haven’t tried. The camera has white balance control (auto and manual with presets) an ISO control in the range of 200-1600 (3200 also available in the almighty “Custom Functions”). I’d like to see at least ISO 100 at the lower end of the range.
The camera features shutter speeds between 30 seconds and 1/4,000 as well as bulb. The viewfinder has diopter adjustment. The TTL exposure meter has 16-segment metering. You can select spot metering or center-weighted metering.
The cameras features exposure compensation +/- 3EV in 1/2 EV steps and auto bracketing. The built-in flash is bright and can be disabled.
The focusing can use the 11-point AF sensor or you can use focus lock when focusing in the center of the frame.
Battery
You can use 2 CR-V3 batteries or 4 AA batteries (I strongly recommend NiMH rechargeables as alkalines will not last long). You can also connect the optional AC adaptor to the camera.
Storage
The camera uses Compact Flash media. The CF card slot is located beneath one of the numerous lids this camera has.
Bottom Line
I am very impressed with this camera. Its large CCD sensor lets you adjust depth of field and the ease of manually focusing and zooming by rotating mechanically-linked rings around the lens, combined with its overall performance is very impressive. Highly recommended!
My Reviews of Other Digital Cameras
Canon:
Canon Powershot S2 IS Digital Camera Review
Canon Powershot S1 IS Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A520 4-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot S500 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot S410 / Digital IXUS 430 Digital Camera Review
Panasonic:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 5-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 5-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ15 4-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 Digital Camera Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2 Digital Camera with 12x Leica Lens and Optical Image Stabilizer Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 Digital Camera with Optical Image Stabilizer and 12x Leica Lens Review
Olympus:
Olympus Camedia C-765 4.0-Megapixel Digital Camera with USB and ED Lens Review
Olympus Stylus 410 4-Megapixel All-Weather Digital Camera Review
Olympus Camedia D-580 / C-460 4.0-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Olympus D-565 Zoom Digital 4-Megapixel Camera Review
Olympus D-575 Zoom Digital Camera Review
Others:
Minolta DiMAGE Z2 Digital Camera Review
Pentax *istD Digital SLR Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T1 Digital Camera Review
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1300
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Solid Enough for a Professional
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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Location: California
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I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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