Looks like an owner of KA lenses will be OK with the "ist-D. I've got screw mount and a three K-mounts lenses. I am out of luck with the Pentax DSLR.
Jim A. > From: Arnold Stark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2003 22:34:47 +0200 > To: PDML <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: *ist D revisited > Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Resent-Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2003 16:33:43 -0400 > > Thanks to a good Pentax contact and to a very kind invitation I was > today able to inspect a pre-production *ist D which has just arrived in > Germany. This "pre-production"camera body is believed to be not a > prototype anymore but equivalent to the final model except for some last > software modifications. Also there was an *ist that I could compare the > *ist D to. I brough FA, A, K and screw mount lenses to try them all. > > The good news (some of it may be old news, though): > - the *ist D is solid - much more solid than the *ist, and also heavier, > but not heavy. The body seems to be made of magnesium alloy or something > like that. > - the body of the *ist D is small but its grip is big enough to hold the > body comfortably. > - the user interface is very clear and owes much to the (P)Z1 family > (hyper modes, 2 wheels etc...) > - the CCD sensor is protected by a glass just in front of it. > - when compared to the *ist, the 11 focus sensors of the *ist D cover a > larger relative area. > - Focus sensor selection is easy, and AF speed seems to be quite fast. > - 2s mirror prefire self-timer > - Everything works fine with lenses in "A" position. > > The not-so-good news > - like the pototype shown at the CeBit, this *ist D does not feature an > aperture simulator, so there is no mechanical transfer of information > about the aperture selected on the lens > - With a lens not in "A" position the body fires only if this is enabled > by the according custom function > - In aperture priority mode, with a K-mount lens not in "A" position, > the camera chooses the shutter speed as if the lens was set at open > aperture. And really, the aperture stays open during exposure, no matter > what aperture is set on the lens, as the lens's aperture lever is not > released by the camera but stays pressed down, so that the aperture > stays open. I guess the same is true for the *ist. > - In aperture priority mode, with a K-mount lens not in "A" position, > DOF preview can be operated, and the operation can be heard, too, > however, the aperture stays open all the same. Well, this is logical, as > the aperture really will stay open during exposure. > - In manual mode, with a lens not in "A" position, the meter does not > work, but DOF preview does, just like with the *ist. This really is a > shame. Why do the programmers of the camera not just turn the meter ON > with DOF preview activated for manual mode? > - In aperture priority mode, the camera and its meter work correctly > with manual aperture lenses like K28/f3.5 Shift, K500/f4.5, K1000/f8, > and Srew Mount lenses with K-mount adaptor. > -the batteries do not last long > > Let's hope (never stop hoping) that the compatibilty issue will be > bettered in a software update or in an updated *ist D or in the > successor of the *ist D - this could be one advatage of the short > production cycles of the digital age. > > Arnold >
