Pentax *ist DSLR for $367AR

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: cmv

Originally posted by: MOCKBA1
Do you seriously consider this camera better than D50? What about RAW format? Does it support it? I'm interested in post processing images. Rebates stay until October, so there is time to think.

Um... Where did anyone say it was better than the D50? It's half the price at least so that is the attraction. With RAW you can get closer to the D50 perhaps but nobody in the thread so far has said it is better.

They're quite similar. *ist DL has many features that the D50 does not have, and the D50 has some that the *ist DL does not have.
*ist DL has a bigger and brighter viewfinder than the D50, DoF preview, mirror lockup. The D50 has faster AF(with lenses with the AF motor built into the lens), and an AF lamp for faster and more accurate nighttime AF.
The image quality is pretty much the same on the two cameras. Just make sure you set the Pentax from vivid mode to natural mode. Vivid mode applies a very strong sharpening algorithm that causes a loss of detail. Many reviewers do not turn off this mode while reviewing this camera, thus inaccurately reporting that this camera has poor image quality.

 

[GameManK]

I got the camera from willoughbys (for the $489 before rebate price ). Also got the printer from staples for $105 with tax. Got this memory card for it from newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141036
Still need to get other accessories... thanks for the good deal, but whoo big investment. Debating whether to sell the printer when I get it or use it, already have an epson r300.

 

[yhelothar]

One of the best accessories you can possibly buy for this camera is a 50mm F/1.4 lens. This is one of the best fast 50's money can buy, and shouldn't set you back for more than about $50.
Check out this link..
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic2/238813/0

 

[Steve325]

there's a couple 50 f/1.2 out there

If you want the best optical lens the 77mm f/1.8 LE is where it's at, but it comes with a hefty price tag

 

[yhelothar]

Yup, the 77mm F/1.8 limited, along with the 31mm F/1.8 are some of the best lens available. They are often regarded by many as affordable leicas.
But the old manual focus has the build quality of the limiteds, if not better, and are dirt cheap. They are an absolute steal.
This guy on luminous landscapes said a camera maker in japan told him that if they were made and sold today, they would sell for $1200-1500!

 

[dmw16]

very tempting...

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: dmw16
very tempting...

I had to jump on this deal. I've been wanted to upgrade from a 2.0MP Pentax camera for a while now and felt this a good time/price to act.

I WAS very tempted a couple days ago and when I finally decided to JUMP...I had to pay the $389 (after MIR) rather than the $367 (after MIR) due to the price increase. Oh well...I paid ~$23 "too much" but still feel I got a great price on a solid SLR camera.

 

[esquared]

Beach Camera has jacked the price up again. I guess this game is start it cheap, the more people buy, then jack it up some more. Last Sunday morning (7-9), it was $464. That night it went to $519. Tuesday, I think it went to $529. Friday (7-14), it's now $549. Up $85.00 in less than five days.

I just looked at pricegrabber.com and I see every dealer has jacked the prices up on this model. Abe's of Maine is the sheapest at 494.90 shipped with a 100.00 rebate. So it's 30.00 higher than Beach Camera was last Sunday.

 

[kami333]

Circuit City lowered their price to $527. Then there is a 10% off $199 that you can use to get it down to $470ish (tax comes out to be about $30 unless you are lucky and live somewhere without sales tax) and do an express pickup at the store. My total came out to $506 and I got it 30min after I ordered it.

 

[Mac]

I guess this game is start it cheap, the more people buy, then jack it up some more.

No. It is a combination of economics and free enterprise. The price continued to decline to less that $465 before rebate (I bought mine for $464) as Pentax began dumping product. For a DSLR of this quality at this point in time, that price combined with the $100 rebate was an incredible value and buyers jumped on it. As inventories start to dwindle, retailers start moving price back up because demand is now exceeding supply.

To put it into perspective, less than 3 years ago, Canon announced the Rebel 300D for $999 and the market went into a tizzy. The Pentax DL is a superior camera all the way around, better build quality, more features and a better lens to boot. I just checked Butterfly Photo and they still have the body at $419 and the body with kit lens for $498. If you want to save money, pick up the body only and buy some lens through ebay. Either way, this is still a great deal for someone wanting to get a quality dslr without investing a lot of money. I received mine yesterday, very satisfied with no regrets.

As I posted a week ago, this type of deal doesn't come around often so if you want one, you have to act on it or it will quickly go away.

 

[imported_blip]

Had to bite. Too good of a deal, and I've been wanting to get a DSLR. Was going to save up for a D50, but this is $200-300 cheaper.
Got it for $390 AR from willoughbys.com. A bit more that the original post, but still well worth it.

Question: anyone know what lenses I can use on this? Can I use older pentax lenses that weren't designed for DSLR? Thanks!

 

[Mac]

Question: anyone know what lenses I can use on this? Can I use older pentax lenses that weren't designed for DSLR?

Yes! I rec'd my camera last Thursday and finally had a chance to play around with it over the weekend. The only caveat is that some of the DL's functionality may not be supported by the older lenses meaning you have to do some things manually.

KAF and KAF2 lens (autofocus) are fully supported (except for the power zoom on KAF2).

KA is fully supported (program mode) but you will have to manually focus the lens.

K is supported for aperture priority through the "M" setting. Also, no autofocus is supported on K mount. You make a setting within the custom screen to permit manual aperture settings (one time until you deselect it). When you have composed the picture, you press the AEL button and the camera meters the shot for the aperture setting on the lens and sets the shutter speed automatically. It sounds more complicated that it is.

M42 screw mount lens are supported through a bayonet adapter. The process is the same as K mount except that, for convenience, you will probably focus the lens wide open and when ready to meter, manually stop down the lens and then press the AEL button to set the shutter speed and then shoot.

There are an estimated 24,000,000 lenses made for Pentax cameras, everything ranging from junk to classic primes and they all work. Many of the older lenses can be had for a song on Ebay or pawn shops and are every bit the optical equivalent (or better) than anything manufactured today.

 

[you2]

Is it worth getting with the zoom or is the zoom pretty crappy - aka get body alone ?

 

[marketsons1985]

Originally posted by: you2
Is it worth getting with the zoom or is the zoom pretty crappy - aka get body alone ?

The 18-55 lens that they have with it isn't bad, but it's no zoom lens. I got the camera over a week ago and have had tons and tons of fun with it. You can see some of the pics I took at here

I think it's worth the extra $60 for the lens if you haven't got any other lenses, but if you already have some KAF, KA, or K mount lenses, then skip it and use what you've got.

 

[pdo]

Originally posted by: Mac

Question: anyone know what lenses I can use on this? Can I use older pentax lenses that weren't designed for DSLR?

Yes! I rec'd my camera last Thursday and finally had a chance to play around with it over the weekend. The only caveat is that some of the DL's functionality may not be supported by the older lenses meaning you have to do some things manually.

KAF and KAF2 lens (autofocus) are fully supported (except for the power zoom on KAF2).

KA is fully supported (program mode) but you will have to manually focus the lens.

K is supported for aperture priority through the "M" setting. Also, no autofocus is supported on K mount. You make a setting within the custom screen to permit manual aperture settings (one time until you deselect it). When you have composed the picture, you press the AEL button and the camera meters the shot for the aperture setting on the lens and sets the shutter speed automatically. It sounds more complicated that it is.

M42 screw mount lens are supported through a bayonet adapter. The process is the same as K mount except that, for convenience, you will probably focus the lens wide open and when ready to meter, manually stop down the lens and then press the AEL button to set the shutter speed and then shoot.

There are an estimated 24,000,000 lenses made for Pentax cameras, everything ranging from junk to classic primes and they all work. Many of the older lenses can be had for a song on Ebay or pawn shops and are every bit the optical equivalent (or better) than anything manufactured today.

:thumbsup: Very informative post. I've had a Canon 10D for a long time and the only reason I jumped on the Pentax bandwagon is because of Pentax's Limited, and the older M42 screw mount lense. After 2 months of stalking Ebay I finally have all the lenses I need and want. And they're all excellent lenses except for the Pentax Bayonet K 135mm F/2.5 which is only OK.

Pentax 18-55mm Kit lense:thumbsup:
SMC Takumar 28mm F/3.5 :thumbsup:
Super Takumar 35mm F/3.5 :thumbsup:
Super Takumar 50mm F/1.4 :thumbsup:
Pentax 77mm Limited :thumbsup:
Super Takumar 105mm F/2.8 :thumbsup:
Jupiter 37A 135mm F/3.5 :thumbsup:
Pentax Bayonet K 135mm F/2.5 :thumbsdown:

 

[rb56]

I've owned this camera for a couple of months and shot several thousand picutres. You can take a look at a few that I have posted here. These have been resized for the web but I think that you can see it does a pretty nice job.

Rb56

 

[9ball]

Originally posted by: rb56
I've owned this camera for a couple of months and shot several thousand picutres. You can take a look at a few that I have posted here. These have been resized for the web but I think that you can see it does a pretty nice job.

Rb56

nice pictures, is this with the kit lens, and how many of them are done with auto settings. Sorry, I am a noob when it comes to this, I just ordered the DL last night and hope to get some nice pictures on my trips, once I learn how to use it :>

 

[rb56]

All the ones in Yellowstone and the Tetons were shot in auto modes, then tweeked in Photoshop. I think that for 95% of my needs auto would be just. Most of the shots are taken with the 18-55mm/F3.5 lens. There may be a couple taken with a 50-200mm/F4.

rb56

 

[GameManK]

Got mine! Very excited.

Now two rebates to fill out and a printer to sell (who wants a photosmart 8250? )

Stupid question -- where do I find the serial number?

 

[GameManK]

Originally posted by: GameManK
Stupid question -- where do I find the serial number?

really, where is it?? is it the number at the bottom of the camera?

 

[vfrjim]

As an owner of a K1000 and ME Super, I definitely glad I found this thread, My Fuji S602 was getting kinda old and I got agrivated the other day when I tried to take many pictures in a row. I have a question to owners here, is this thing fast in recording the pictures to the card and can I take multiple in a row without a hickup?

Thanks

 

[Mac]

I have a question to owners here, is this thing fast in recording the pictures to the card and can I take multiple in a row without a hickup?

Yes and no. Startup is very fast. Focus is fairly fast compared to digicams. Shutter release has virtually no lag, especially when either manually focus or the lens is already prefocused. When shooting JPEG, the camera can shoot 2.5FPS but will only shoot about 5 frames before it slows down. Shooting raw is about 1 FPS due to the dramatically larger file sizes (about 11MB per image). Pentax intentionally reduced the buffer size and speed to differeniate the DL from the more expensive models. Still being able to fire 5 frames in less than 2 seconds beats any of my digicams.

 

[vfrjim]

Originally posted by: Mac

I have a question to owners here, is this thing fast in recording the pictures to the card and can I take multiple in a row without a hickup?

Yes and no. Startup is very fast. Focus is fairly fast compared to digicams. Shutter release has virtually no lag, especially when either manually focus or the lens is already prefocused. When shooting JPEG, the camera can shoot 2.5FPS but will only shoot about 5 frames before it slows down. Shooting raw is about 1 FPS due to the dramatically larger file sizes (about 11MB per image). Pentax intentionally reduced the buffer size and speed to differeniate the DL from the more expensive models. Still being able to fire 5 frames in less than 2 seconds beats any of my digicams.

Thanks for the info

 

[Mac]

I did a little informal testing with the camera and discovered that I had under-rated its performance for shooting RAW. It will shoot 3 pictures in rapid succession (2-3FPS) but then takes 15-20 seconds to empty and refresh the buffer so that you can begin shooting again. As mentioned previously, RAW images are approximately 11MB each. This was using a 33X card. I just rec'd a 150X card today (good deal - Outpost - Transcend 2GB $43 shipped) and haven't tested that yet. I don't expect a lot of improvement due to the shallow buffer but will post an update if it shows any major improvements.

Saying that, it is still significantly faster than any of my digicams.

 

[mdcrab]

Originally posted by: dmw16
very tempting...

ditto, but it appears http://www.willoughbys.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=1000PENISTDLBNL is the better deal right now, if you're going to get one.