Pentax *istDS2 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

by Pentax

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 4.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AZ1W3Y
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,450 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The *istDS2 has been developed as the sister model of the popular *istDS, which was introduced to the international market in 2004. Inheriting all the outstanding features of its predecessor, it offers the extra benefit of a large 2.5-inch, 210,000-pixel color LCD monitor to enhance image confirmation and on-screen operations. Coupled with the high-magnification glass pentaprism viewfinder, which was well-received by the *istDS users, it assures a large, clear view of the subject at every stage of digital photography, from shooting to playback and editing.

With its enhanced operability and maneuverability, the new *istDS2 assures high-quality digital SLR photography to photographers of all levels.

Major Features:

Large, high-resolution color LCD monitor
The *istDS2 incorporates a high-precision 2.5-inch color LCD monitor with approximately 210,000 pixels, making post-shooting image confirmation much easier. Recorded images can be magnified up to 12 times during playback for a closer examination of subject focus and image details. In addition, on-screen menus are displayed with large, easy-to-read letters and digits to facilitate user operations.

Compact, go-anywhere design
Thanks to a host of advanced size reducing developments, including a high-rigidity stainless-steel chassis, multi-layered electronic circuit boards and high-density packaging technology, the *istDS2 is designed extremely compact and lightweight--measuring only 125mm (4.9 inches) wide, 92.5mm (3.6 inches) high, and 67mm (2.6 inches) thick and weighing a mere 505 grams (17.8 ounces) without batteries and an SD memory card. As a result, it assures outstanding portability and maneuverability for anyone and in all applications.

Bright, high-magnification pentaprism viewfinder
The *istDS2 comes equipped with a glass pentaprism viewfinder offering a 95% field of view and a 0.95-times magnification. It offers a large, bright viewfinder image equal in size, clarity and brightness to those incorporated in conventional 35mm-format SLRs. It also makes confirmation of the subject's focus much easier, even in manual-focus mode.

High-definition, maximum-gradation images with 6.1 effective megapixels
Thanks to its large, high-performance CCD image sensor measuring .93 by .62 inches (23.5 by 15.7 millimeters), the *istDS2 offers 6.1 effective megapixels. Coupled with Pentax's original image processing technology, it produces high-definition images rich in gradation and saturation. It also offers a choice of finishing touch between "Bright" and "Natural" to reflect the photographer's creative intention.

Auto sensitivity setting
Like many digital compact cameras, the *istDS2 features an "AUTO" position for sensitivity setting. In this position, the camera's sensitivity is automatically set by the camera, based on such factors as subject brightness and lens focal length, while the user can randomly select the upper limit of sensitivity between the standard output of 400 and 3200. This position is extremely useful to avoid camera shake in poorly lit locations and to prevent sensitivity resetting failures by the photographer.

Compatibility with Pentax interchangeable lenses
The *istDS2 offers the outstanding benefit of lens interchangeability, allowing the user to take advantage of a wide selection of existing Pentax interchangeable lenses to deal with diversified subjects and applications.(Pentax K-, KA-, KAF- and KAF2-mount 35mm-format lenses can be used without an adapter or modification. Pentax screw-mount 35mm-format lenses and Pentax 645- and 67-system lenses can be used with an adapter. Some functions may not be available with certain lenses.)

User-friendly function guidance
Taking full advantage of its large LCD monitor, the *istDS2 offers convenient and informative function guidance, which not only provides a detailed explanation of shooting, drive and flash modes and white-balance settings using text and pictures, but also displays a comprehensive list of current camera settings for at-a-glance confirmation.

User-friendly automatic operations
The *istDS2 is equipped to make camera operations simple and effortless for the user. Its innovative Auto Picture Mode automatically and instantly selects the optimum combination of exposure settings for a given subject or situation, including shutter speed, aperture, white balance, saturation, contrast, and intensity of edges. The built-in auto flash automatically pops up in dimly lit or backlit situations.

Simple, accessible operation system
From the multi-function four-way controller to the responsive electronic AV/TV dials and the large, easy-to-use mode dial, all switches and dials are efficiently and functionally laid out around the *istDS2's compact body to assure smooth, fingertip control.

High-precision 16-segment multi-pattern metering
The *istDS2 incorporates an advanced 16-segment metering system to assure high-precision light measurement, even under complicated lighting conditions. Center-weighted metering and spot metering are also available to meet specialized applications.

High-accuracy 11-point AF sensor
The *istDS2 features the sophisticated SAFOX VIII AF system incorporating 11 AF sensors (nine of them in a cross-type wide-area sensor grid in the middle). This not only provides accurate, pinpoint autofocusing on a wide variety of subjects, but also lets the user select one of the sensors to accommodate a specific image composition. It also offers a choice of AF-single or AF-continuous AF mode to accommodate different types of requirements. (In the Auto Picture and Picture modes, AF-continuous is activated only when the Action mode is selected.)

Superimposed AF sensor point indication
The selected AF sensor point is highlighted in red in the viewfinder for easy visual confirmation.

1/4000-second high-speed shutter
The *istDS2 features a high-speed shutter unit with a top speed of 1/4000 second and a top synchronization speed of 1/180 second to assure greater visual creativity.

High-speed consecutive shooting
The *istDS2 records up to eight images (in JPEG format, at Best image format and with noise reduction off) consecutively at a speed of approximately 2.8 frames per second, allowing the user to capture a series of the subject's action or movement.

SD memory card compatibility
The *istDS2 uses the widely available SD memory card as its storage media, not only assuring high-speed recording and readout of image data, but also contributing to the compactness of the camera body.

Others

• 19 user-programmable custom functions to personalize camera operations to the user's preferences
• Noise-reduction system to minimize annoying digital noise during extended exposures
• Dual power source, with a choice of two CR-V3 lithium batteries or four AA-size batteries
• USB 2.0 high-speed compatibility for speedy data uploading to a PC
• Functional playback functions, including 12x zoom display and nine-image thumbnail display
• A choice of image format between JPEG (best, better, or good) and RAW
• Four built-in digital filters (black-and-white, sepia, slim, and three-level soft) for easy editing of recorded images
• Pentax Photo Laboratory 2.1 RAW-data processing software and Pentax Photo Browser 2.1 browser software included
• PictBridge compatibility

What's in the box
Pentax *ist DS2 body, video cable I-VC28, USB cable I-USB17, strap O-ST10, 4 AA batteries, Lithium battery CR2016, hotshoe cover FK, eyecup FN, finder cap for ME, body mount cover, software (CD ROM) S-SW43, operating manual, serial number card, service network directory

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top contender in under $1,000 DSLR class; great retro-compatibility, February 6, 2006

By 

Rudy "pain-doc" (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pentax *istDS2 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) (Electronics)

Little doubt that the Canon EOS-30D [close to $2000 if you add a decent lens and memory card] is king of the prosumer DSLR hill. If you want to spend less than half that, the Pentax DS or DS2 are right up there. Already owning a Canon Powershot, I looked at the Rebel XT. Yes, it sells with lens for under $1000, but what a sorry compromise; the body is a cheap-looking flimsy plastic, and not all that comfortable in the hand. Whereas the nice-in-hand Nikon D70 makes the price point by substituting a penta-mirror for the penta-prism. The Pentax, conversely, has a neat small yet comfortable stainless steel body and lens mount. DO spend just a bit more to get the DS (see later) or DS2 with the original one-piece solid glass pentaprism [the cheaper L-model uses penta-mirrors, which causes some light loss and thus a dimmer view; moreover, precise alignment of the mirrors might be susceptible to vibration].

Don't be fooled by the megapixel race; it's the sensor-size that counts. The Pentax, like its competitors, uses an APS-sized (24x16 mm) sensor -- rather than squeezing more but smaller pixels into the same area, the Pentax uses fewer (6 MP) but larger pixels, giving it a very wide dynamic range that captures more of a darker image, and with less electonic 'noise', than the 8 MP models. The tradeoff is a slightly lower (though not noticeable) line resolution on lab testing. It's the difference between packing trailers on a large lot, or building fewer but larger on-site family homes.

One of the great things about the Pentax is that it retains full compatibility with its film predecessors; so that you can use older lenses (try eBay) and retain their auto focusing and exposure features. Because of the smaller APS sensor, there is a 1.5X focal length multiplier which is great for tele lenses, but might require a more expensive wide angle lens. A pleasant surprise too is the excellent factory software support. You can download a firmware upgrade for the DS, for instance, to turn it into a fully functional DS2 equivalent (except for smaller LCD monitor). To make that even sweeter, you can download the DS2 manual so that the instructions follow the script. On that topic, my biggest quibble is with the literal (at times even inscrutable) Japlish translation - particularly irksome when trying to figure out some murky menu abbreviation.

The software - upgradable by a simple download - is superb and even includes a PhotoShop plugin for the RAW format (not needed if you keep your PhotoShop plugins updated from the Adobe website). As I shoot a lot of RAW ('digital negative') pictures I particularly prize Pentax' PhotoLab which, in version 2.1, actually provides more accessible image control (including batch processing) than does PhotoShop. Well worth considering too are the batteries: rather than a proprietary monolith, you can use either AA or CR-V3 batteries, and in either one-use or rechargeable form.

All told, I am delighted with my purchase: solid body, high compatibility with older film components (lenses, flash, remotes, macro extenders) and georgeously rich images.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best buy for a compact D SLR with large 2.5" LCD, October 13, 2005

By 

Joseph Ogiba "jogiba21" (Hillsborough, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pentax *istDS2 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) (Electronics)

After four point and shoot digital cameras this is my first D SLR and it works great with the Pentax lenses I have for my PZ-1p and other Pentax SLR's. My first film SLR was the Canon Pellix QL in 1966 but I switched to Pentax after purchasing my first Pentax 6x7 in 1974 and have used Pentax 35mm and 6x7 film cameras ever since.

I tried the FA 50mm f1.4, Sigma AF 15mm f2.8 and Tamron AF 28-300 so far and they work perfect with the new *ist DS2. I used the Sandisk 1GB Extreme III SD card that is rated at 20mb/sec for both read and write. I also use an Epson P-2000 40GB multimedia storage viewer that works great with the 1GB SD card but not my 2GB Sandisk Ultra II SD card so I hope Epson comes out with a firmware upgrade so it can work with 2GB SD cards.

It looks like the Pentax DL and DS2 are the only D SLR's so far with 2.5" LCD and SD card slot. I have the Pentax AF500FTZ flash with the TR Power Pack II that should work great with the DS2 but the new AF540FGZ flash came out at the same time as the DS2 should work better since it has advanced P-TTL auto flash .

The shots I did so far were right on the money for exposure and reviewing the shots with up to nine images at a time on the 2.5" LCD is great.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Camera, February 18, 2006

By 

klad (Bronx, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pentax *istDS2 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) (Electronics)

I bought this two months ago and continue to be amazed at the quality of this camera. First and foremost the best thing about this camera is the quality of the view finder and and the LCD screen... which is essential after all in order to take a good photo... you have to see what you are shooting. Other camera makers seem to be oblivious to this fact. Case in point, the new Canon Rebel... I was going to buy that as it is 8 MP versus the Pentax 6 MP but after looking throught the view finder of both cards it was an easy choice to make. By the way don't be too enamored with the bigger mp numbers... remember along with the quality of the higher number comes the space requirement of your hard drive, plus making back ups of your photos takes a lot longer! The camera is a joy to hold, beautiful to look at and takes fantastic pictures especially in low light conditions... you will rarely have to use the flash on this baby. Using standard batteries is also a plus... you buy fast 15 minute charger (make sure the batteries have a high number... 2500) and away you go... the camera uses extremely low power so you are good for several days. I used this camera in Dominican republic and the pictures look amazing!

SO do yourself a favor and buy this one you won't regret it, especially if you have pentax lenses or access to them!