Question about the Pentax *ist D

I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have
used Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D
seems to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I
love, but want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing
birds. I also like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc
terminal for studio work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp
image and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not
bother me as long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo
Paint. What is the experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to
lose the use of my present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.

Thank you for your advice.

Frank

The D will do everything you want to do and then some, however it may be
worth waiting for the D replacement later this year. BTW the Ds will prwtty
much do what you want as well including tethered.

"Frank Calidonna" wrote in message
...
I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have used
Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D seems
to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I love, but
want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing birds. I also
like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc terminal for studio
work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp image
and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not bother me as
long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo Paint. What is the
experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to lose the use of my
present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.

Thank you for your advice.

Frank

Frank Calidonna wrote:
That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp
image and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not

JPEG generated in-camera is little soft, but very few advanced users
users need it - most will just use RAW, as with any other semi-pro DSLR
camera. RAW is as sharp as your lens permits - and some Pentax lenses
are very sharp indeed. And obviously noise reduction works much, much
better on RAW image.


B.

Frank Calidonna wrote:

I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have
used Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D
seems to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I
love, but want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing
birds. I also like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc
terminal for studio work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp
image and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not
bother me as long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo
Paint. What is the experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to
lose the use of my present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.

Get the *ist D and be happy. As Pentax use Sony sensors there is a good
chance that they'll adopt the same 10 Mpix sensor that's in the Nikon
D200. Don't worry about reviews. You should expect images as sharp as
the following link if you use a lens as good as the lens used for this shot:
(Maxxum 7D at ISO 100, flash, 100 f/2.8 macro lens).
2.5 MB, be sure to view it at 100% zoom.

Cheers,
Alan

--
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-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch.

"Frank Calidonna" wrote in message
...
I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have used
Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D seems
to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I love, but
want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing birds. I also
like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc terminal for studio
work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp image
and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not bother me as
long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo Paint. What is the
experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to lose the use of my
present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.

Thank you for your advice.

Frank

OK, I own a 'D', and the reported image softness was one of my original
concerns.

Compared to a Nikon D70, jpg's from the D are not as obviously 'sharp' out
of the camera - which is to say, the D does not apply large amounts of
in-camera processing a la Nikon.

I found that, compared to the D70, the *ist D made a better job of images -
not being hampered by the D70's tendency to introduce artefacts,
particularly in the case of text. With the D70, every fifth or sixth letter
on a printed page was rendered blue or red due to the aggressive firmware
sharpening. With the *ist D, text was perfectly clear - and, after modest
use of PP sharpening, was equally as sharp (minus the artefacts)

When it comes to RAW, the *ist D comes into its own - images are excellent.

The D is better built than the subsequent DS & DL models - all of which are
reduced price variants of the original model. The D was made to a
specification, while the others were made to a price.

Shutter mechanism, AF speed, features, and build quality are all better/much
better on the D. - plus, the D offers a battery grip which transforms the
ergonomics of the camera.

HTH

Frank Calidonna wrote:

I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have
used Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D
seems to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I
love, but want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing
birds. I also like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc
terminal for studio work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp
image and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not
bother me as long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo
Paint. What is the experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to
lose the use of my present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.


The *ist D is an excellent camera, especially considering the fact it
is a couple of years old now. It uses basically the same Sony CCD
sensor as in the Nikon D100, D70, D70s and D50 and Konica Minolta 7D
and 5D and provides better image quality than all except the later
Nikon D70s and D50.

To get the best out of the *ist D you need to shoot RAW rather than
let the camera shoot JPEGs. You also need to ensure the firmware is
kept up to date. There were some problems with flash actuation on
some early models but these were mostly sorted under warranty.

The compatibility with Pentax autofocus and manual focus K bayonet
lenses and M42 screw mount Takumars is excellent.

The later *ist DS, DL, DS2 and DL2 produce slightly better image
quality but the differences are small. The *ist D is no longer
available new, so if you want a new model you must buy one of these
later variants. They lack the PC flash socket and the DL models have
a cheaper, slightly dim viewfinder thanks to using a "pentamirror"
rather than a pentaprism. The later models also have only one control
dial - the twin dials on the *ist D can be very useful, allowing
shutter speed to be adjusted on one dial and lens aperture on the
other.

I would not hesitate to recommend the *ist D, but for the fact that
Pentax have announced that a 10 MP replacement, using the same Sony
sensor as in the Nikon D200, will be available Q4/2006. If the extra
MP is important to you, I think it would be wise to wait for that
model.

I have an *ist D as a back up to a Canon EOS 5D outfit and have just
ordered a second 5D body, so I won't be waiting around for the new
model from Pentax. However, if continuing to use older Pentax lenses
is important to you, the 10MP Pentax would probably be an excellent
buy if you can wait another 8-9 months.

Or, in the meantime, buy a 6 MP *ist D and keep it as a spare body
when you upgrade to 10 MP.

Frank Calidonna wrote:

I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have used
Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D seems
to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I love, but
want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing birds. I also
like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc terminal for studio
work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp image
and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not bother me as
long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo Paint. What is the
experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to lose the use of my
present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.

The camera isn't 'soft' at all, especially if you shoot RAW. The kit
lens (18-55) is probably softer than you want it to be, and that's
probably what you're reading about in reviews. If you have your own
lenses that you like, then it won't be an issue.

I shoot RAW on an *ist DS with a variety of old-skool lenses (Pentax and
Tamron), and you can see some of what I've done he
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mile23/.

Also, an article about using older manual-focus and manual-aperture
lenses on Pentax *ist digital cameras: http://www.mile23.com/node/26

Paul Mitchum wrote:
Frank Calidonna wrote:


I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have used
Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D seems
to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I love, but
want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing birds. I also
like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc terminal for studio
work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp image
and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not bother me as
long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo Paint. What is the
experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to lose the use of my
present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.


The camera isn't 'soft' at all, especially if you shoot RAW. The kit
lens (18-55) is probably softer than you want it to be, and that's
probably what you're reading about in reviews. If you have your own
lenses that you like, then it won't be an issue.

I shoot RAW on an *ist DS with a variety of old-skool lenses (Pentax and
Tamron), and you can see some of what I've done he
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mile23/.

Also, an article about using older manual-focus and manual-aperture
lenses on Pentax *ist digital cameras: http://www.mile23.com/node/26
Thank all of you very much for your input. I'll be purchasing an * istD
soon. Thank all again.

Frank

Chimp wrote:
"Frank Calidonna" wrote in message
...

I am ready to move to a digital slr for some of my photo work. I have used
Pentax for over thirty years and have a lot of lenses so the *ist D seems
to be where I want to go. Right now I have a Canon G5 which I love, but
want to use some of my longer tele lenses for photgraphing birds. I also
like the *ist D because it has features such as a pc terminal for studio
work.

That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp image
and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not bother me as
long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo Paint. What is the
experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to lose the use of my
present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.

Thank you for your advice.

Frank


OK, I own a 'D', and the reported image softness was one of my original
concerns.

Compared to a Nikon D70, jpg's from the D are not as obviously 'sharp' out
of the camera - which is to say, the D does not apply large amounts of
in-camera processing a la Nikon.

I found that, compared to the D70, the *ist D made a better job of images -
not being hampered by the D70's tendency to introduce artefacts,
particularly in the case of text. With the D70, every fifth or sixth letter
on a printed page was rendered blue or red due to the aggressive firmware
sharpening. With the *ist D, text was perfectly clear - and, after modest
use of PP sharpening, was equally as sharp (minus the artefacts)



I think that you have identified something slightly incorrectly. There
is also with the D70 a significant difference in acuity between jpegs
produced in camera, and from images from RAW. Perhaps if there is a
"better" camera for ex-camera jpegs, it is made by Canon.

The D70 /s does not have "aggressive firmware sharpening". The primary
difference is that Nikon use very weak anti-aliasing filters compared to
other makers, which raises the possibility of introducing moire.
But the coloured text isn't exactly moire. It is the result of
inaccurate demosiacing (sp?) of the bayer pattern, most likely a result
of poor RAW conversion of images where detail is rendered at the single
pixel level, and less evident with stronger AA on other cameras. With
good RAW conversion (Nikon Capture or Pixmantic), it does not occur.
Pixel sharp images from a D70 will however produce artifacts from jpeg
compression. However, since you are talking about optimising output by
using a raw workflow, then over compressing jpegs shouldn't be a problem.

"Frank Calidonna" wrote in message
...
That said I read mixed reviews about the *ist D. I want a very sharp image
and if the camera is a bit soft to reduce noise that does not bother me as
long as it can be well corrected in PhotoShop or Photo Paint. What is the
experience of you who own the camera? I would hate to lose the use of my
present lenses, but am not sure what to do right now.

Yes, the *ist D does shoot a bit on the soft side, but you can sharpen to
your requirements easily in Photoshop. Pentax just announced that it plans
to release a 10-megapixel replacement for the *ist D this coming fall, so
you might consider waiting awhile longer.