Pentax *ist

[Billi Plancarte]

ThePentax *ist DL was my first digital SLR, purchased in 2005 to augment or replace my Pentax *ist. Confused? Cool. In 2003, Pentax released two cameras: their last film-based camera called the *ist and their first digital camera called the *ist D. Nearly same body, two completely different cameras. I bought the *ist as my first autofocus film camera during my senior year of high school in 2003. When the lower-cost *ist DL was released in 2005 I snapped it up since I already had Pentax lenses and was familiar with the body style. Neato, right?

Overall I was very impressed, with ISO 200, 400, and 800 shots being useable. ISO 1600 shots worked well with higher noise reduction, and I even made away with a couple at ISO 3200 (the highest it will go) with stronger corrections applied. The images below are at ISO 200, 400, 800, and 1600 with only color noise reduction applied. You can see graininess in the lens of the ISO 1600 image but it is otherwise usable.

I finished my analysis by taking a few more studio photos of some colored water and then took the camera out the next day to grab some daylight shots at ISO 200 which should represent the best photos it can take. While the kit lenses I own for my Pentax are not nearly as sharp or contrasty as my collection for Nikon, they did produce pretty good images, ones that I would proudly call favorites.

Nostalgia aside these have a tendency to pack it in unceremoniously, but the real reason is that I am pivoting towards AF 35mm film cameras recently. I like carrying film cameras with me to document proceedings and this usually involves my family. AF allows me to snap and move on more efficiently while not having my family on stand by as I frame and focus the shot.

The other thing that brought the SA-7N to mind was what they have in common. A broad feature set for not a lot of money. From here on out I will cut and paste the feature section from the SA-7N post with text and photo edits where needed.

Last time around with the SA-7N I ended with some crazy talk by comparing the SA-7N to some big hitters. But in retrospect that was the SIGMA Art glass talking. Still a valid argument here, but I will cool it off a bit this time around.

Strip away the vaunted brand names, Titanium and other unobtanium materials, and outlandish specs with the right lens affixed there is no film camera I have or have used that is capable of creating a better image. In addition, most of those cameras have some of the features that this camera has, but none have all of them.

Still true here. Even moreso because this camera askes even fewer compromises aesthetic and lens availability wise. Strictly subjective. But one could do worse than the Pentax-y-ist of Pentax cameras, the Pentax *ist, for a whole lot more money.

PENTAX *ist DS is a digital SLR camera produced by Pentax. The *ist DS produces a 6.1 megapixel resolution image. The *ist DS was a lower-prices follow-on to the Pentax *ist D. In September 2005 the Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA), a worldwide organization of collaborating websites, announced that Pentax had received their first DIWA Award for a DSLR camera. The *ist DS model was awarded with a Silver medal for outstanding test results.

As with other Pentax DSLRs, the *ist DS uses the Pentax KAF bayonet mount and can use older lenses using the KA-mount without limitations. Original K mount lenses and, with adapter also M42 screw-mount lenses, can be used in manual mode by selecting a menu option. Centre-weighted metering, aperture priority and focus indication are maintained, even with adapter mounted lenses. When using non-auto aperture lenses, a press of the AE-L button with the camera in manual mode will meter the scene and set the shutter speed. Some non-Pentax K-mount lenses have been reported not to mount on the camera,[citation needed] because a plate protecting the aperture stop-down lever is slightly deeper.[citation needed]

Along with the other D-series Pentax DSLRs, the Pentax *ist DS, Pentax *ist DS2, and Pentax *ist D have TTL-mode (not only P-TTL) for external flash. This allows the photographer to use cheaper TTL flashes rather than the current offerings from Pentax and Samsung with 'pre-flash' operation, which can cause some subjects to blink. Unlike red-eye reduction pre-flash, the P-TTL pre-flash for metering purposes fires only a brief moment before the main flash. Looking through the viewfinder, it can be seen before the mirror flips up.

The *ist is a 35mm autofocus SLR camera from Pentax introduced in 2003. This is the last film SLR camera by Pentax and an almost identical camera *ist D heralded the beginning of the Pentax DSLRs. A small camera, with lightweight (335g) and had many interesting features. This camera had a lukewarm reception, mostly because the public was moving towards digital.

This is a consumer camera, made of plastic, which uses the venerable K mount and is compatible with KA, KAF and KAF2 mount lenses. Support for lenses of the M and K series is only possible in Av mode.It uses an electronic vertical travelling metal focal plane shutter with speeds from 30 to 1/4000 of a second plus a B mode. Exposure modes include auto, picture with (action, landscape, close-up, portrait and night scenes), Av, Tv, and M modes. The finder has a 90% field of view with a 0.7x magnification. A built-in diopter can also be used with a range of -2 to +1.0.Autofocus was good for the time, but it seems now slow and noisy. The TTL meter is based on 16 segment design with a range of 0 to 21 EV at (ASA 100), an allows for matrix, center-weighed and spot modes. It is powered by two CR2 battery or with AA batteries if the battery pack BG-20 is used.

Film speed can be set for DX-coded film speeds from 25 to 5000 ISO and manually between 6 to 6400. Exposure compensation can be adjusted 3 EV at steps. The built in flash has a GN of 11. Flash sync is at 1/125th of a sec. The motorized film transport is able to travel at up to 2.5 fps and allows for multiple exposures; timed exposures and the use of a remote trigger.

Does anyone have any tips or known tricks I could try in order to solve this problem? The camera just stopped taking images; when viewed on the camera or on the computer they are just black screens. The things I've already done-

Thanks for all of the help guys. I think I've got a dead unit on my hands (whether it's sensor or processor, I'm unsure). I can hit bulb and hold it until the cows come home and get nothing but totally black images with EXIF data recorded to the card. I'm assuming the shutter works because I can do this with the lens off and see the sensor.

I loved my *ist DL for the images it made. That 6mp Sony sensor is sweet. I am keeping my Pentax K100D until it dies, just because of that sensor. You can pick up a used K100D pretty cheap on eBay and although the newer Pentax lenses won't AF on it, you can still make great pictures using manual focus.

I'm checking back into this thread with a question. I was about to buy a K10d to replace my faulty *ist DL and thankfully found that there is a big known problem with using the old M-series lenses with the K10d-

The Pentax *ist, launched in 2003, was Pentax's last ever film camera. It was an extra-ordinarily compact and light weight entry-level SLR. The build quality is rather plasticky and it doesn't inspire confidence, but that does mean this camera has an almost unbelievable weight of just 335 grams. As befits its entry-level market position the specification in terms of things like continuous shooting speed and viewfinder size/coverage, it still has pretty much everything a creative photographer might wish for, including manual exposure mode, DOF preview, a 1/4000 sec top shutter speed, +/- 3 stops exposure compensation and exposure lock, not to mention a fair dash of style!

But the genuinely pocket size dimensions make it a great companion to a digital camera. My first thought was to maximise it's tiny dimensions by pairing it with the SMC Pentax-DA 40mm f/2.8 XS lens developed for the short-lived Pentax K-01 compact system camera. Now this is a lens designed for digital cameras with APS-C sized sensors, but it actually worked very nicely on the full-frame *ist. Vignetting was minimal and the 40mm focal length is ideal for a single lens walk-around outfit. The combined wight is around 390 grams. I wonder when a full-frame digital SLR camera with weigh as little as that. All the sample photographs on this page ere taken with this lens.

Using this camera with K mount lenses without an 'A' setting on the aperture ring is not recommended! But because the aperture can be controlled entirely from the camera body it works fine with digital lenses with no aperture ring at all.

I really like the Pentax *ist. Way more than I expected to if I am honest. And I expected to like it a lot. There is a sentimental Pentax component since my Father first taught me to use an SLR with his Pentax ME Super many years ago as a child. Pentax also makes many of my favorite lenses. Listed some in this post for KEH years ago. I have a couple of other Pentax 35mm cameras (ME Super and SF10), but this is by far my favorite. Though smaller it has the most solid feature set and has very fast and accurate autofocus. Among the best performance of any 35mm film camera I have had or currently own. On top of that, it is also a camera I purchased for about what I recently spent for a three-pack of Lomography 800 film.

While I posted 5 images from the roll every image came out in focus and properly exposed. All photos from that roll minus one are posted here. The one image I did not post was a mistimed shot due to user error. An easy and fun to use combination of camera, lens, and film.

I shoot a variety of new and old digital and film cameras. Industrial Engineer by education, IT is my vocation, and I really enjoy using, testing, and writing about cameras. All three of the latter are very therapeutic exercises for me. If you are so inclined my blog address is ewoodsphoto.com and I can be found on twitter and Instagram. All the best to you.

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