DodgingCars

Pentax *IST DL Digital SLR

Body Only

With 18-55mm lens kit

You'd likely pay $300 more for the competetive entry level DSLRs right now (Nikon D50 or the Canon Rebel 350)

The mail in rebate says Body only for valid upc, but on some other forums people said that the if you buy the kit, you get a box for the camera with the body-only upc and I emailed Beach Camera to ask if the rebate was valid on the kit and they said Pentax would honor it.

DodgingCars

Update:

I contacted Pentax to confirm that the rebate worked with both the body only and the lens kit. They confirmed it will work with the lens kit too:

"Thank you for contacting Pentax.

It applies to either the body only or the body w/ lens kit. If you get the lens kit and want the rebate, you just need to use the UPC code from the body’s box, not the UPC on the kit box."

Ocelot

Is the Pentax IST a good buy? How's that compare to canon's Rebel XT? Well, price-wise it's alrerady 1/2 cheaper...

DodgingCars

Most review sites review it favorably. I believe PC Mag gave it a 4/5 and Cnet gave it 7.2 ("Very Good"). From comments I've read, people seem to think the kit lens is better than the Canon and Nikon.

Compare to: cnet's 8.0 for Rebel XT and 7.6 for the Nikon.
PC Mag's 5 star for Rebel XT and 5 star for the Nikon.

The Canon has higher megapixel. The Pentax has a larger ISO range (it can go to 3200) -- and many people think that the Pentax has the least noise at higher ISO. The Nikon and Canon are supposed to have better autofocus. The Pentax is supposed to be the slowest of the 3 (in terms of taking pictures/writing speed). The Pentax has a MUCH nicer LCD screen 2.5" 210k pixels (vs 1.8" and 2" on the Canon and Nikon with about half the pixels). The Pentax uses AA batteries (Alkaline, Nimh, or Lithium. Also takes CRV-3).

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...istdl&show=all

Also the Pentax can use virually any Pentax lens ever made.

I would say that reviews almost unanimously favor the Rebel XT and Nikon D50 over the Pentax, but at the price, you can pick up the Pentax with the kit lens and another lens like a 50-200mm for less than Rebel XT and Nikon D50 (maybe 2 extra lenses when compared to the XT)

Pentax is having rebates on their lenses too $50-100 off certain lenses.

I bought the Pentax on monday from Beach Camera. It'll be my first DSLR, though I've used film SLRs before.

Ocelot

Many thanks dogingcars, me too, in the search for the "prefect" DSLR camera (first too). was thinking about the Rebel (from Amazon, body only, $600 after rebate, free shipping and reputable retailer). The lens i want is the canon 17-85mm IS, which is $500. So, total is about $1100, with a 4gb CF card around $90 (newegg.com)

Question (little lazy here), does the Pentex camera takes Canon lens? My guess would be no... but read a few posts saying that the Pentex camera takes a great number of lens.

However, after reading your post, i guess i can save over $500... Personally, i don't think 6 mp and 8.2 mp matter much to me. I don't print everything poster size! Besides, how big do you really need? Now, what i need is speed. After i click the shutter, i want the picture taken! writing speed can depend on the card, that i know, but that's a different factor... From the reviews, i haven't really read anything on the speed, can you kindly shine some light on this?

Buford T Pusser

The Pentex AKA Pentax camera takes a great number of Pentex/Pentax lenses, not Canon/Nikon/etc.

DodgingCars

Any DSLR should give you better speed on your initial shot than a non-DSLR. I think just the comparison to the Nikon and Rebel, the Pentax is the slowest (from what I've read). I don't know how they actually compare though. The only thing I've seen numbers on is the Burst/Continous mode...

Canon = 2.8 fps/14 jpeg/4 raw
Nikon = 2.5 fps/12 jpegs
Pentax = 2.8 fps/5 jpegs/3 raw

Note, you can take more than 5 pictures in continous/burst mode on the Pentax... it will just slow down after the 5th picture. The DS (which is pretty similar to the DL) can write 3 MB/second. I've heard that anything above a 60x SD card won't improve the performance of the DL. But it's worth noting that I've heard no complaints about it's performance though -- just that in benchmarks, the Nikon and Canon performed better.

I still haven't used the camera though, other than playing with it at Circuit City. It seemed quick to me at CC though -- way quicker than my 3 year old P&S canon I have. It seemed nearly instant (Button push to shot taken) where my old P&S was probably a good 1-2 seconds lag.

If you want more informed opinions about the DL, I'd ask here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1036

It's the Pentax DLSR forum and many people there have the DL.

jrjay

Though the price is very good for the Pentax, its the additional lenses which will break your wallet. I would do some research on the major competitors in the DSLR market (ie. Pentax, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, etc). See what kind of lenses are available (new/used) and if they can meet your budget.

I really hate the format of dpreview forums so here are some good forums to visit and research. There are probably many other forums as well.

http://www.photozo.com/forum
http://www.fredmiranda.com
http://photography-on-the.net/forum

starman9000

There is a rebate for Helett Packard HP Photsmart printers as well,
get the 8250 for 12$ or the 475 for 49$.

Ocelot

Hey DogingCars, just wondering what kind of lens you're planning to get after getting the Pentax DL? I haven't check the Lens for the Pentax DL yet, but i think they are much cheaper than the Canon ones... I guess it's a brand name thing. Question, does Pentax lens have anything like Canon's IS (image stablizer) feature? Sorry for dumb questions, i'm not even a beginner yet


I have read few posts from the above links, so far i'm in favor of the DL. Well, mainly the price after rebate!

I agree that the lens will suck you in, but that goes with any DSLR camera. My plan is to play around the camera with the kit lens and read posts regarding lens upgrade and see what lens recommended for beginner+.

Initial plan is to get the Rebel with the Canon 17-85mm IS lens (save $50 on the kit len). I was pretty close on getting them, until i read DogingCars' post. Now, i have to reevaluate my plan. Hey, we're talking about $300 difference (assuming i'm still spending $500 for the "better" lens).

So far, the price difference of $300 (Pentax DL vs. Canon Rebel XT) goes to 6mp vs. 8.2mp and brand name.

Ocelot

I just read few more reviews regarding the Pentax... It got view-finder problems due to the use of pentamirror instead of pentaprism.

"
Fuzzy Viewfinder
When you look through the viewfinder of a digital SLR, you see what the
lens sees.

This is due to a solid block of reflective glass called a pentaprism,
which bends light at a 90 degree angle.

The Pentax *ist DL doesn't use a pentaprism, it uses a pentamirror: the
concept is the same, but instead of one piece of glass it reflects light
with angled mirrors.

The problem with the pentamirror is that it dims the image in the
viewfinder, and makes the viewfinder image look grainy.

This is especially true when you use the camera's depth of field preview
function which narrows the opening of the lens.

When the lens opening is narrow, the viewfinder is so dark and grainy
that it's hard to see your photographic subject.
"

Spyboy

The Fujifim FinePix E900 is rated a "Best Buy" by Consumer Reports with a price of $360. Top rated: Canon PowerShot G6, for $580. Or for the same $360, they top rated the Canon PowerShot S2IS (in the "superzoom" category).

DodgingCars

None of these are SLRs.

DodgingCars

I didn't think that the lenses were so much more than the competition (though I admit I didn't really look). However, you can use any K-mount lens on this camera.. which essentially gives you 30 years worth of lenses to choose from and if you don't mind manual focus, you can easily pick up some nice used lenses for $50. And even with their new lenses, Pentax is running a $50-100 rebate on several of their lenses -- not to mention the cheaper 3rd party lenses you could buy.

DodgingCars

I'll be using the kit lens for awhile. When I get some money, I want a 50mm lens. I'll either pick up a used one for cheap, or grab the Auto Focus f/1.4. I also want a decent zoom and am looking at the 50-200mm zoom. This would be a good comapanion to the kit lens, I think.

I haven't seen anything about image stablizers in the Pentax lenses, but then I've just started researching myself.

DodgingCars

Weird. I haven't heard that yet.. Where's that review from? But either way, no camera is without flaws... and for such a great price, I can live with some quirks.

Here's a pretty positive review by Shutterbug, btw:
http://shutterbug.com/equipmentrevie...rs/0106pentax/

shelland

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/istdl.html

DodgingCars

By the way:
"Only DA and FA J lenses and D FA/FA/F/A lenses having an "A" position on the aperture ring can be used with this camera."

is not true. You can use any K-mount lens. I believe if you use anything besides the ones listed above though, you have to make a one time setting change in the camera menu.

DodgingCars

BTW, This is how all Digital SLRs work (and all SLRs).

In the Steve's Digicams review that shelland posted. Steve said the opposite:

"The eye level viewfinder is bright and informative, although the viewfinder indicators were somewhat difficult to read in bright midday sun. The use of a lower-cost pentamirror versus the *ist DS2's pentaprism did not noticeably diminish the viewfinder's brightness or clarity. "

Ocelot

Ahhh... My research didn't include that part... Thanks for the clearification Dogingcars. I think i'm all in for the Pentax, finally, my very first DSLR

I 'll place my order tomorrow or something. In the mean times, i have to look for deals on the SD memory card.

Ocelot

I was going to say that... anyway, the newer P&S digital cameras are pretty fancy. i was thinking about the following before DSLR:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/tec...371046?ie=UTF8

You can record pictures and sounds...

Ocelot

damn, they raised the price... it's $419 after rebate now...

Ocelot

I just ordered one for $462 ($362 AFTER REBATE).

http://www.dbuys.com/product/?10153&...rt_id=10494371

The site didn't say about rebate, but you can print the the rebate form using the link Dogingcars provided on the 1st post.

Now, wish me luck... The site is reputable, but it's my first order with them and you never know.

Ocelot

Oh, i would like to point out one last thing about the Rebel XT's $100 rebate. Don't be fooled by the rebate claims from certain sites, the fine print on the rebate form says ONLY AUTHORIZED DEALER! So, if you brought it from eBay, and you obtain an "official" looking receipt, chances are it's void...

The fine print is not on the Pentax rebate, so i'm gonna bite the bullet on this one...

DodgingCars

AHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So... I already ordered mine as well. Guess what? Now a site is selling it for much less. A truly excellent price:

$290
https://www.willoughbys.com/shop/pro...000PENISTDLBNL

CRAP!

Anyway... BeachCamera doesn't appear to do price matching and they charge restocking fees... So I guess I'm stuck with paying close to $80 more than you can now find it... I can't believe this site is selling it so cheap... they are surely taking a loss.