*ist D revisited

[Arnold Stark]

Thanks to a good Pentax contact and to a very kind invitation I was 
today able to inspect a pre-production *ist D which has just arrived in 
Germany. This "pre-production"camera body is believed to be not a 
prototype anymore but equivalent to the final model except for some last 
software modifications. Also there was an *ist that I could compare the 
*ist D to. I brough FA, A, K and screw mount lenses to try them all.

The good news (some of it may be old news, though):
- the *ist D is solid - much more solid than the *ist, and also heavier, 
but not heavy. The body seems to be made of magnesium alloy or something 
like that.
- the body of the *ist D is small but its grip is big enough to hold the 
body comfortably.
- the user interface is very clear and owes much to the (P)Z1 family 
(hyper modes, 2 wheels etc...)
- the CCD sensor is protected by a glass just in front of it.
- when compared to the *ist, the 11 focus sensors of the *ist D cover a 
larger relative area.
- Focus sensor selection is easy, and AF speed seems to be quite fast.
- 2s mirror prefire self-timer
- Everything works fine with lenses in "A" position.

The not-so-good news
- like the pototype shown at the CeBit, this *ist D does not feature an 
aperture simulator, so there is no mechanical transfer of information 
about the aperture selected on the lens
- With a lens not in "A" position the body fires only if this is enabled 
by the according custom function
- In aperture priority mode, with a K-mount lens not in "A" position, 
the camera chooses the shutter speed as if the lens was set at open 
aperture. And really, the aperture stays open during exposure, no matter 
what aperture is set on the lens, as the lens's aperture lever is not 
released by the camera but stays pressed down, so that the aperture 
stays open. I guess the same is true for the *ist.
- In aperture priority mode, with a K-mount lens not in "A" position, 
DOF preview can be operated, and the operation can be heard, too, 
however, the aperture stays open all the same. Well, this is logical, as 
the aperture really will stay open during exposure.
- In manual mode, with a lens not in "A" position, the meter does not 
work, but DOF preview does, just like with the *ist. This really is a 
shame. Why do the programmers of the camera not just turn the meter ON 
with DOF preview activated for manual mode?
- In aperture priority mode, the camera and its meter work correctly 
with manual aperture lenses like K28/f3.5 Shift, K500/f4.5, K1000/f8, 
and Srew Mount lenses with K-mount adaptor.
-the batteries do not last long

Let's hope (never stop hoping) that the compatibilty issue will be 
bettered in a software update or in an updated *ist D or in the 
successor of the *ist D - this could be one advatage of the short 
production cycles of the digital age.

Arnold