*ist D

Kim C's post about the 18-35 lens going for £80 prompted me to look for the lowest prices on the *ist D, and, lo and behold, the camera can now be had for £649 with the 18-35 at Empire Direct, and for £600 body-only at Park. The DS, a slightly less flexible camera, now costs more than the D.

At these prices, the camera represents amazing value. It's very well made, produces superb quality images large enough for anybody but a large format landscape photographer, and is unlikely to be bettered (I think) in the near future.

OK, it doesn't offer IS, and it is a bit slow in RAW mode for those who like to shoot continuously. That probably rules it out for about 10% of photographers. For the rest of us, it's a great buy, and I am considering getting a second body because soon it won't be there.

It's interesting to speculate what the future will bring. In terms of electronic wizardry, cameras have already gone about as far as they are likely to go. The MZ-S (2001) was a sturdier camera than the Z1-P (1994), but had fewer facilities except for better flash control.

The only significant improvements we can expect in future Pentax digital cameras (IMHO) are IS, write speed, and perhaps a larger sensor. The first and last of these will add a lot more to the cost, though no doubt cameras without them will continue to be available.

So to sum up, I reckon any future camera at an affordable price is unlikely to offer much more than the *ist D. Furthermore, quality is likely to be compromised in order to compete with Canon, and, like the MX, I think the *ist D will come to be seen in retrospect as a classic, with high production values and all the features one actually needs, as opposed to all the features the marketing people think we need.

George

Very well put, George, and I think sound thinking and sound advice.

Sue and I now both have *istDS bodies, with the 18-55mm lenses, but lots of other pentax optics, making Pentax the obvious choice for DSLRs for us.

The only other real competition quality-wise IMHO is the Nikon D70, at this price level anyway!

Hi, If anyone really wants to go cutthroat, Bristol have the body only for £580. http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/page11.htm

Kim

Either that or have a really good chat with your dealer - 3 weeks ago mine managed to get me an A-Grade *istD direct from Pentax, 12 months G'tee, all the manuals, software cables etc - just without the normal box and all for the princely sum of £499! God bless the guys at SRS in Watford!

Will

You can by online from Canada, the *ist DS kit with (18-55mm lens) for £550. This includes postage, insurance, and VAT.
C

Recently bought an *ist DS in the US. Used a Dynax SLR for the past ten years or so and also a Nikon digital more recently for limited snapshots.

Have been waiting for a while to buy a digital SLR and they have now reached a point where they are affordable and of decent spec for the money.

Have to say that the *ist DS is superb in terms of picture quality, flexibility and ease of use.

Nikon D-70 and Canon EOS-300/350 are also good, but the Pentax is smaller and the picture quality is excellent.

Very happy with this camera and would highly recommend it.