Pentax Announces ‘Budget-Priced’ DSLR

: Pentax has unveiled a new digital SLR camera, the *istDS, which combines a compact, lightweight body with an ‘affordable’ price and will be a ‘sister’ model to the current Pentax *istD.

The *istDS, which measures 125 x 92.5 x 66 mm and weighs only 505 grams (without batteriues and SD card) is one of the smallest and lightest DSLR s available. It sports a 23.5 x 15.7 mm CCD sensor with 6.1-megapixel resolution. Only one card slot is provided – for Secure Digital cards and image data can be captured in either RAW or JPEG format (but not TIFF). The new model can accept a wide range of Pentax lenses, including K-, KA-, KAF- and KAF2 mounts, which can be fitted without adaptors and require an LMF of 1.5x. Other lenses require adaptors and some functions may be limited with certain lenses.
User-friendliness is a key feature of the *istDS, which has a glass pentaprism viewfinder that covers 95% of the field of view, a 2-inch LCD monitor and a large, easy-to-read LCD data panel. Its innovative Auto Picture mode automatically selects the correct settings for a wide range of subjects and conditions, while an advanced 16-segment metering system – with centre-weighted and spot metering – ensures correct exposures. The new camera’s SAFOX VIII AF system has 11 AF sensors, nine of them arranged in a wide-area grid in the centre of the filed of view. Individual sensors can be selected manually to meet specific image composition requirements and selected sensors are highlighted in red in the viewfinder for easy visual confirmation. The burst mode captures up to eight shots at 2.8 frames/second and the camera includes 18 programmable functions. Noise reduction is available for long exposures and playback functions include 12x zoom playback and nine-shot index display. The camera can be powered by four AA batteries or two CR-V3 lithium cells.
Released concurrently with the *istDS is a new smc PENTAX-DA Zoom 18mm-55mm F3.5-F5.6 AL lens, which is designed specifically for Pentax DSLR cameras and offers an angle of view equivalent to 27.5-84mm on a 35mm camera. The new lens includes aspherical elements, which make it light and efficient. Its aperture range extends to f22 at 18mm and f38 at 55mm and it weighs only 225 grams.