Size/weight Backward compatable lens Wireless remote SD Memory (fast and these cards are getting quite economical) Uses AA batteries (any kind will do but I have NMh) Did I mention size... ;-)

No flash synch, pro feature for the most part.

In a word...WOW! I was seriously looking at the Canon D Rebel or Nikon D70 and spent a fair bit of time evaluating these two but, as good as they are, they are bit big and clunky. The *ist DS was announced JUST as I was going to buy so I decided to wait. Very glad I did. The size is perfect, reflecting the Pentax tradition of smaller SLRs, like my ME Super before it. It is compatable with my old K mount lenses and is VERY well contructed. Been using it for a couple of weeks now and I am quite pleased with the quality of everything. Functionality is very close to the *ist D - and is more in a couple of areas. It does have mirror lock-up as well. Bonus for night sky long exposures! The AF is good and the kit 18-55 lens works well. I also bought a Sigma AF70-300 f4-5.6 so have a very wide range to work in. The DS uses the exact same Sony CCD as the Nikon D70 so it pretty much comes down to lens choice and overall size. The CMOS in the D Rebel is also good but the massive CCD in the Pentax is fast and very good res. It also uses SD Memory which fits in my MP3 player, camcorder and digital P&S camera (Minolta) so I can choose to share old cards across a number of devices. Yay! This is a prosumer level camera - and is aimed directly at the market that the D Rebel created. Pentax has always built excellent cameras and this continues the tradition.

Customer Service

Not used. I bought 2 years additional warranty so no worries.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta Pentax Nikon