Released by Pentax:
PENTAX Introduces a New Compact Digital SLR Camera
- Combining Outstanding Image Quality and Simple Operation with a Popular Price
PENTAX Corporation is pleased to announce the marketing of the PENTAX *istDS digital SLR camera. Offering a compact, lightweight body, simplified operations and an affordable price, the *istDS assures high-quality digital SLR photography, including the advantage of lens interchangeability, to photographers of all levels.
Developed as a sister model of the popular PENTAX *istD, this new camera was designed by further advancing PENTAX’s digital camera development concept of “user-friendliness,” or “a harmony between ease of use and portability.”
The *istDS is one of the smallest and lightest digital SLR cameras on the market today — even more compact and lightweight than the PENTAX *istD. Despite its compact body, it assures outstanding image quality, thanks mainly to its 6.1 effective megapixels and PENTAX-original image processing technology. It is designed to be compatible with most PENTAX interchangeable lenses — both new and old — to meet a wide range of applications and maximize freedom of visual creativity. It also offers a host of advanced and user-friendly features, including a high-magnification viewfinder, a large two-inch color LCD monitor and an LCD data panel, and the innovative Auto Picture mode for automatic selection of the proper exposure program. Offering speedy, effortless operations and great portability, the *istDS is the ideal digital SLR for all levels of photographers, including first-timer digital SLR users and families.
Major Features
1. Compact, go-anywhere design
Featuring a super-compact, ultra-lightweight body, the *istDS offers outstanding portability to accompany the user anywhere. The combination of many downsizing technologies, including a high-rigidity stainless-steel chassis, multi-layered electronic circuit boards and high-density packaging technology, resulted in this extremely portable body, measuring only 125mm wide, 92.5mm high and 66mm thick and weighing a mere 505 grams without batteries and SD memory card. In fact, it’s even smaller and lighter than the acclaimed *istD.
2. High-definition, maximum-gradation images with 6.1 effective megapixels
Thanks to its large, high-performance CCD image sensor, the *istDS offers 6.1 effective megapixels. Coupled with PENTAX's original image processing technology, it produces high-definition images rich in gradation and saturation.
3. Compatibility with PENTAX interchangeable lenses
The *istDS offers the outstanding benefit of lens interchangeability, allowing the user to take advantage of a wide selection of existing PENTAX interchangeable lenses to deal with diversified subjects and applications.**
**PENTAX K-, KA-, KAF- and KAF2-mount 35mm-format lenses can be used without an adapter or modification. PENTAX screw-mount 35mm-format lenses and PENTAX 645- and 67-system lenses can be used with an adapter. Some functions may not be available with certain lenses.
4. Bright, high-magnification pentaprism viewfinder
The *istDS comes equipped with a glass pentaprism viewfinder offering a 95% field of view and a 0.95-times magnification. It offers a large, bright viewfinder image equal in size, clarity and brightness to viewfinders incorporated in conventional 35mm-format SLRs. It makes confirmation of the subject’s focus much easier, even in manual-focus mode.
5. Large color LCD monitor
Thanks to a high-precision two-inch color LCD monitor offering approximately 210,000 pixels, the *istDS makes it quick and effortless to review recorded images and read menus.
6. Large LCD data panel
The *istDS features a large, easy-to-read LCD data panel on the top panel to allow easy, at-a-glance confirmation of the camera’s operational status and various settings.
7. User-friendly automatic operations
The *istDS is equipped to make camera operations simple and effortless for the user. Its innovative Auto Picture mode automatically and instantly selects the optimum combination of exposure settings for a given subject or situation, including shutter speed, aperture, white balance, saturation, contrast, and intensity of edges. The built-in auto flash automatically pops up in dimly lit or backlit situations.
8. Simple, accessible operation system
From the multi-function four-way controller to the responsive electronic select dial and the large, easy-to-use mode dial, all switches and dials are efficiently and functionally laid out around the *istDS’s compact body to assure smooth, fingertip control.
9. High-precision 16-segment multi-pattern metering
The *istDS incorporates an advanced 16-segment metering system to assure high-precision light measurement, even under complicated lighting conditions. Center-weighted metering and spot metering are also available to meet specialized applications.
10. High-accuracy 11-point AF sensor
The *istDS features the sophisticated SAFOX VIII AF system incorporating 11 AF sensors (nine of them constituting a cross-type wide-area sensor grid in the middle). It not only offers accurate, pinpoint autofocusing, but also allows the user to select one of the sensors to accommodate a specific image composition.
11. Superimposed AF sensor point indication
The selected AF sensor point is highlighted in red in the viewfinder for easy visual confirmation.
12. 1/4000-second high-speed shutter
The *istDS features a high-speed shutter unit with a top speed of 1/4000 second and a top synchronization speed of 1/180 second to assure greater visual creativity.
13. High-speed consecutive shooting
The *istDS records up to 8 images consecutively at a speed of approximately 2.8 frames per second, allowing the user to capture a series of the subject’s action or movement.
14. SD memory card compatibility
The *istDS uses the widely available SD memory card as its storage media, not only assuring high-speed recording and readout of image data, but also contributing to the downsizing of the camera body.
15. Other features
1) 18 user-programmable custom functions to personalize camera operations to
the user’s preferences
2) Noise-reduction system to minimize annoying digital noise during extended
exposures
3) Dual power source, with a choice of two CR-V3 lithium batteries or four
AA-size batteries
4) Effortless data uploading to a PC using the included USB cable
5) Functional playback functions, including 12X zoom display and nine-image
thumbnail display
6) A choice of image format between JPEG (Best, Better or Good) or RAW
7) Interchangeable Natural-Bright-Matte focusing screen (AF Frame Matte
screen included as standard; AF Split-Image Matte and AF Scale Matte
screens available as optional accessories)
8) PENTAX PHOTO Laboratory 2.0 RAW-data processing software and
PENTAX PHOTO Browser 2.0 browser software included
9) PictBridge compatibility
PENTAX, smc PETNAX, *ist, PENTAX PHOTO Browser and PENTAX PHOTO Labratory are trademarks of PENTAX Corporation
All other brands or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
This product supports PRINT Image Matching III. PRINT Image Matching enabled digital still cameras, printers and software help photographers to produce images more faithful to their intentions. Some functions are not available on printers that are not PRINT Image Matching III compliant
Copyright 2001 Seiko Epson Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Print Image Matching is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
The PRINT Image Matching logo is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation..
Design and Specifications is subject to change without notice
www.pentax.co.uk
Specifications
|
Type | | TTL autofocus, auto-exposure digital SLR digital-still camera with built-in retractable P-TTL auto flash
|
| Effective Pixels | | 6.1 megapixels
|
| Sensor | Total pixels | 6.31 megapixels
Interline interlace CCD with a primary color filter
23.5mm x 15.7mm
|
| Color Depth | | 8 bit (JPEG) or 12 bit (RAW)
|
| Recorded Pixels | | JPEG: [6M] 3008 x 2008, [4M] 2400 x 1600, [1.5M] 1536 x 1024
RAW: [6M] 3008 x 2008
|
| Sensitivity | | 200/400/800/1600/3200 (Standard Output Sensitivity)
|
| Recording Formats | | JPEG (Exif 2.21), RAW, DCF (Design rule of Camera File system), DPOF (Digital Print Order Form), PRINT Image Matching III
|
| Image Formats | | Compressed: JPEG - Baseline (???: Best , ??: Better, ?: Good)
Non-compressed: RAW
|
| Storage Media | | SD memory card
|
| Lens Mount | | PENTAX KAF bayonet mount (by using AF adapter)
|
| Usable Lens | | PENTAX KAF2-, KAF-, and KA-mount lenses.
* Power zoom function not available. K-mount lenses usable with restrictions. S-mount lenses usable with adapter.
67/645 lenses usable with adapter and with restrictions.
|
| Focusing System
| Type | TTL Phase-matching 11-point autofocus system (SAFOX VIII)
|
Applicable illumination range | EV0 - EV19 (at Standard Output Sensitivity 200 with 50mm F1.4 lens)
| Mode | AF-single (with focus lock); Manual focus
AF-continuous available when you select Action mode.
| | Exposure Control
| Metering System | TTL open-aperture 16-segment metering (coupled with lens and AF information)
|
Metering Mode | (1) Multi-segment metering (2) Center-weighted metering (3) Spot metering
| Metering Range | EV 1 - 21.5 (at Standard Output Sensitivity 200 with 50mm F1.4 lens)
| Modes | (1) Auto Picture mode (2) Picture mode (3) Program AE (4) Shutter-Priority AE (5) Aperture-Priority AE (6) Metered Manual
(6) Bulb
| Picture mode | Standard, Portrait , Landscape, Macro, Action, Night scene portrait, Standard Flash-Off
| Exposure Compensation | ±2 EV (1/2EV steps or 1/3EV steps)
| Auto-bracketing | 3 frames within range of ±0.5EV, ±1.0EV, ±1.5EV (0.5EV steps) or ±0.3EV, ±0.7EV, ±1.0EV (0.3EV steps)
| | White Balance | | Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy,Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light (W, D, N), Manual setting
|
| Shutter
| Type | Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane shutter
|
Speed | 1/4000 - 30 sec. and bulb
| | Drive Modes | | Single-frame advance, continuous advance, self-timer, auto bracket and remote control
|
| Viewfinder |
Type | Pentaprism
|
Focusing screen | Natural-Bright-Matte focusing screen
| Field of view | 95%
| Magnification | 0.95X (with 50m F1.4 lens, -1m-1)
| Diopter adjustment | -2.5 - +1.5m-1
| | Viewfinder Indication | | (1) AF frame; (2) Spot AF frame; (3) Focus point indication (high lighted in red)
|
| Viewfinder LCD Indication | | (1) Flash information; (2) Picture mode (Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Action, Night scene portrait); (3) In-focus; (4) Shutter speed;
(5) Aperture value; (6) Exposure compensation factor; (7) Manual white balance; (8) Manual focus; (9) ISO sensitivity warning;
(10) Auto exposure lock signal
|
| Mode Dial Indication | | (1) Auto Picture mode; (2) Standard mode; (3) Portrait mode; (4) Landscape mode; (5) Macro mode (6) Action mode
(7) Night scene portrait mode; (8) Standard Flash-Off mode; (9) Program AE; (10) Shutter-Priority AE; (11) Aperture-Priority AE;
(12) Metered Manual; (13) Bulb
|
| External LCD Panel Indication | | (1) Shutter speed; (2) Aperture value; (3) Flash Information (Auto, Flash-On, Flash-Off, Red-eye reduction);
(4) Single frame advance/Continuouse advance; (5) Self-timer; (6) Remote control; (7) Metering Information; (8) Focus point indicator;
(9) Auto bracketing; (10) Preset/Manual white balance information; (11) Battery information; (12) Exposure compensation factor;
(13) Exposure frame number
|
| LCD Monitor | | 2.0 inch, low-temperature polysilicon TFT color LCD monitor (Approx. 210,000 pixels)
|
| Built-in Flash |
Type | Series-control retractable P-TTL pop-up flash
|
Guide number | 15.6 (Standard Output Sensitivity 200/m)
| Angle of view coverage | 28mm wide-angle (equivalent to 35mm)
| | Flash Synchronization | | With RTF and via hot shoe
Sync speed: 1/180 sec. set automatically with RTF or PENTAX dedicated flash unit at recharge completion
|
| Self-timer | | Electonically controlled type with two-second or 12-second delay. Cancellation possible.
|
| Custom Function | | 18 custom-programmable functions available
|
| Main switch | | (1) ON; (2) OFF; (3) Preview
|
| Time | World Time | 68 cities (28 time zones)
|
| Language | | English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Korean, Chinese (Traditional/Simplified), Japanese
|
| PictBridge | Print mode | Single image print, All images print, DPOF auto print
|
| Interfaces | | USB 2.0 (HI-SPEED)
|
| Video Output | | Compatible with NTSC and PAL formats
|
| Power Sources | | Four AA (lithium, alkaline, and rechargeable Ni-MH) batteries, two CR-V3 lithium batteries.
Optional AC adapter also available.
|
| Dimensions | | 125(W) x 92.5(H) x 66(D)mm (4.9 x 3.6 x 2.6 inches)
|
| Weight | | 605g (21.3oz.) loaded and ready
505g (17.8 oz.) without battery and SD memory card.
|
