Worthy Pursuit?

My scenario is this - I have always had an interest in pictures and photography but my personal circumstances have never allowed me the luxury of purchasing a "proper" digital camera. I have now inherited a Pentax *ist D and three manual lenses - an F1.4 50mm Chinon, an F2.8 135mm and a Pentax 28-200mm zoom lens. So, am i going to be able to gain any satisfaction in getting into photography in a practical way with this equipment or am i just going to get frustrated and continue wishing i had something much better?? There is currently absolutely no chance of financing any additional equipment in the imminent future. Any advice from all you good forum users out there would be appreciated.

you can only try...
Everyone has to start somewhere and while your equipment is basic at least you've got it! Learn about the relationship between aperture, exposure time, and iso.
You will also need to learn at some stage editing be it something "grand" like photoshop or simple adjustment software.
The images will be in there and you will do your best to get them out.
Good luck

It's a perfectly good way to start out with DSLR photography. Don't worry about the equipment that came out after yours, just get going and make the most of what you have.... That's what I try and do!

Plenty of members here will have portfolios of excellent images taken with *istD cameras , the resolution of which is fine for screen purposes, and small to medium prints. In fact you'd probably be surprised how big you could print ....

The main negatives if compared to modern examples are probably a slower, less fluid feel, smaller 'screen and basic interface. Then again there's everything there you need to get going and take a wide range of image types and styles.

In the past, I made an acceptable A3 + print from an *istD camera!

How many of us even, with those with 24 or 36mp cameras, ever print that big now .. ?

We print up to 18" x 12" for competition and display purposes, but the main point is the more MP means that we can crop a bit if desired.

16MP will make a very nice A3 print, in fact it's the native size of the image the camera produces.

What's it going to cost to find out? Not film, nor processing. Nothing to lose in giving it a go.

About 2p a month charging the batteries!

Photography is all about the picture, not the camera. Look through the viewfinder and press the shutter release when you like what you see. Look at what you took on the computer, if you like it, good. If you don't, try to think why and then you can improve. Then you upload some on here and see what other people think.
I really started on photography with an Kodak Instamatic, used to process the film myself. the kit you have is loads better than that and you don't have to worry about the cost of film, processing etc. You can even download free software (FastStone Image Viewer is nice and straightforward) to improve your images on the computer for nothing! Personally I don't print many of mine, may put them up on the big telly sometimes and the quality of the kit you have will be no problem for doing that.

Worthy pursuit? I think only you can really judge that but it won't cost anything to try and there are a few around here that think so.

The lenses might be poor compared to new and the camera might be dated but you have everything you need to learn photography and the only cost you have to spend out on is a bit of electricty!


Is the *ist D 16mp, it's before my time but thought it was around 6?

Yep - 6Mp!

The *istD was 6MP

I started in digital with an *ist DS. I've still got it and it's still used. The *istD, being the prototype, is supposed to have been quite the business at the time. If you change your mind, I'd love to have a go with it.

I've still got a 6mp K100D which is similar to an *ist. I still use it and for web viewing it's fine, producing lovely, bright, sharp pictures. I'd try to add an 18-55 standard zoom, available for less than £50 second hand. This will give you more flexibility.

The main thing is to shoot RAW to make the most of the sensor's dynamic range.

Up to a point, photographers make pictures, not cameras. Of course, if you get heavily into specialist areas such as macro or fast moving sports, things become a little more demanding. And expensive.

The *istD is a cracking piece of kit. Having a CCD sensor and able to produce some excellent images. I'm not too sure about the lenses you mention other than the Pentax. Be aware of flare and use a lens hood where possible. Even the cheap rubber collapsible types are good.

Don't waste time looking at the images you've just taken on the camera screen after you've checked the first few to make sure that the histogram looks OK. That proves the cameras exposure is in the ball park.

As always, the advice comes down to go out and take pictures.

Best regards

That chinon 50mm should be a cracking lens