*ist D lens compatibility

I have seen the general advice that the *ist D is compatible with K-mount lenses, but I have a nagging feeling that someone somewhere has pointed out a limitation in this respect, and I have a dim recollection that it was something about not being able to use some of them in automatic mode. I have a bunch of K-mounts -- 28, 50, 85, 135, 400 -- purchased between 1975 and 1985 for use with my LX, and have been holding off going digital, hoping that Pentax would finally deliver a good product. I'd be grateful for confirmation that there are in fact no problems using such lenses with the *ist D, other than the change in perspective.

To fully use the *istD you need lenses with electrical contacts, so that means from the A series onwards. If you want autofocus, then you need autofocus lenses of any of the types Pentax have produced.

Earlier lenses from the M and K series and even S series screw thread lenses can be used, but you need the firmware update from the Pentax website and their use may not even then be so convenient.

However, this is all pretty good compatability wise and I hope you enjoy your new *istD very soon! (We are still waiting for the price to dip below £1000 in a significant way...)

Thank you, John. I found a useful page at

http://digilander.libero.it/aohc/selart18e.htm

giving a history of the K-mount series. Mine clearly pre-date the KA variants.

Is the route to the "firmware update" pretty clear?

Hi Roger

You'll find links in one of the message threads in this forum plus plenty of discussion about it - have a browse and you should find it OK.

When we do opt for an *istD (and it is ineveitably when, not if!) we will also be using all our older lenses. Looking forward to trying it all out myself...

Roger,
I’m also a recent convert from an LX (K-M series lenses ranging from 15mm to 400mm) to the *istD. My *istD arrived last week. I decided against buying just the body – and got a 24-90mm FA lens also. There were two reasons for this: I wanted to see just how good the auto-focus was and tryout other ‘new’ (to me anyway) features like aperture priority and program mode; the second more practical reason was the learning curve of something as complex as the *istD. I though it would be a good idea to have a lens designed to work with it before getting in to the slightly more fiddly operation with the old M-K lenses.
Although I believe the 18-35mm, which seems to add about £100 to the cost of the body, is not that well thought of its probably worth having at least one new lens around.

Upgrading the firmware is very easy – download it from the Pentax site. Probably better to go the US site www.pentaxusa.com as they also have the updated browser/lab software along with the remote assistant software. The cameras appear to be shipping with the original 1.0 firmware, but I would checkout the basic operation of the camera first before upgrading.

Once you have 1.11 installed on the camera using the M-K lenses is not too much of a problem – the only thing which caught me out was remembering to switch to manual focus.

So far very impressed with the *istD

Hi Roger

I've used old manual K mount lens on my *istD. The firmware upgrade is straightforward, but does give you nagging doubts of anxiety prior to loading it. Don't worry, it's OK. I used the US Pentax site to download the file.

Using these older lens does require you to switch to manual, and make a judgement about aperture setting. You then press the small green button on the top of the camera for it to take a reading, then maybe adjust the shutter speed, take the picture and then repeat the process if its too dark. Maybe I'm making hard going of it, but despite being fiddley, you can get good pictures.