Good to hear you like the *istD. It's a great camera. Paul On May 25, 2008, at 8:24 PM, D. Glenn Arthur Jr. wrote:
> ... and now I'm not. > > Thanks to the kindness and patience of another list member, I've > had an *ist-D in my hands for a few days now, experiencing what > digital photography _should_ be like. The contrast between the > *ist-D and my non-Pentax point-and-shoot is ... well there's no > comparison except to repeat the complaints I made earlier this > month, and at this point I'd rather just think about niftiness > of the *ist-D than concentrate on the p&s. > > So far I haven't noticed that I'm learning new things from > shooting a DSLR (hey, it's only been a few days), but I have > noticed something I thought worth mentioning: > > This fancy camera doesn't seem to be making any > of my old manual-camera skills obsolete; it just > makes applying those skills easier and quicker. > > Oh yeah, I'm shooting mostly on the 'P' setting, but when I > notice I'm in a fool-the-meter situation, or want to use a non-A > lens (I was hunting birds who were hunting insects yesterday, > and I used an old 400/6.3 preset lens to do it), or just want to > take over from the computer for a couple of shots, the controls > are there and the skills are here and I don't always > particularly notice that I'm switching gears as I do it. > > When I first read about HyperProgram and HyperManual modes here > on the mailing list, I knew they sounded like something I'd find > useful. Even so, I underestimated how much I'd like > HyperProgram (I haven't really done much with HyperManual yet; > when I've had the *ist-D in 'M' mode, I've so far just treated > it like plain old-fashioned manual-mode -- I'll get around to > it). > > It's a sweet camera. (From reading the mailing list and looking > at the B&H catalog I know there are sweeter Pentax DSRLs. > Doesn't matter. Can't afford 'em anyhow. I'm enjoying this one > a lot.) > > A friend came over last night to drop off a scavenged rack-mount > computer and share some Guinness. Of course, I had to show off > the camera. (IIRC, he shoots Minolta for film and Canon for > digital.) And he had to try it out. He had as much trouble > putting it back down as I do. Y'know, a gigabyte of storage > fills up pretty quickly when a camera is being handed back and > forth over a couple bottles of Guinness. And suddenly the 30G > hard drive in the computer he brought doesn't seem all that > large after all. > > I am so very much looking forward to shooting swordfighters with > this thing this summer. > > In the meantime, I'll have to search the list archives for clues > about how to use a 'TTL' flash from the Super Program era (as > opposed to a 'P-TTL' digital-era flash) on it, and how to make > it not get confused when I use a pinhole lens. (When I can > afford a #89 or #87 filter, I'll need to figure out whether the > metering system can see IR or not - I know the camera records > IR. I also need to get around to building the IR-LED array to > use as an IR flash, like I'd planned to do a while back.) > > The single biggest thing I like about it is admittedly something > most folks probably take for granted (and should, if shooting a > DSLR): the fact that it fires when I press the button (unless > the AF has to hunt), not a random interval later. Just like my > film cameras and in huge contrast to my digital point-and-shoot. > > My single biggest complaint about it is that, being slightly > smaller than the PZ-10, it's a little too small for my hands. > I've already been advised to try a grip strap, and I've been > contemplating how to shape a thingie that'll attach via the > tripod mount and wrap around the grip on the right-front to make > it a wee bit larger -- I have a Dremmel, scrap wood, and a chunk > of aluminum, and I'm not afraid to use them. (If it were not > for that battery comparment / handhold, the PZ-10 would be too > small for me as well; it's not as big on the *ist-D. The KX was > a good size for me.) The battery-grip accessory sounds like it > would be useful, but it also sounds like something I should > postpone looking for seriously until I've managed to pay for the > *ist-D first. > > -- Glenn > > PS: Next on this evening's agenda: an M42->K adaptor and the > bellows, because I want to shoot something that's too small for > the Sigma 50/2.8 Macro. Wheeee! > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above > and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
