On Mon, 7 Jun 2004 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > -at least 4MP. I'd expect the same 6MP sony sensor as the *istD. If > there's a better sensor availible Pentax would be wise to upgrade the > *istD with it and put the cheap, well-understood sony one in the baby. > Nobody seems to be jumping on the Foveon sensor. > I'd expect image quality to be at least *istD quality. Hopefully, > experience will make it better as the *istD is arguably the worst > of the DSLRs in image sharpness.
The sharpness is all software. It is the same sensor as the D100 and I think the D70. Too much sharpness makes it hard to do processing later on (and it increases noise), too little and people complain. > -easily accessible manual exposure and metering. In the name of > user-friendliness the current baby DSLRs are a bit weak here. I wouldn't > be surprised if Pentax is too, on the theory that the average $900 DSLR > buyer won't want manual anything. I expect that it will have the *ist (not *ist D) controls. One control wheel instead of two. > -at least as much old-lens compatability as the *istD. I'm not sure > that metering a $900 camera with a handheld meter because I have a > screwmount or K lens on it would be acceptable. I expect that it won't have the "Green button" solution that the *ist D has for metering with K/M lenses. > -reasonable ISO range. Assuming the standard Sony sensor, I'd expect > about the same as the *istD has, perhaps less at the top end. I've got > no need for ISO 50 or 100 unless they are coupled with higher quality > as they are in film. I wouldn't be too surprised if they dropped ISO 3200 just as Canon did in the D-Rebel. > -something new cosmetically, such as a new color or the slanted top > of the MZ-S. Pentax is still a leader in such things. Consider > that Hasselblads now come in primary colors--why not DSLRs? > Nikons are resolutely black, and the Canon 300D has hijacked that Pentax > chrome/titanium color. Maybe gold-tone? Ugh, I hope not. The color of the 300D makes it look really cheap. I like the *ist D black. I was fine with the MZ-5n silver/black. > -An upgraded *istD at the same time. Pentax COULD still do something > aggressive and improve it's "$1500" price-point DSLR to be superior > in some noticeable way to its Nikon, Canon, and Sigma rivals. > I'd expect Nikon to get there first, now that the D70 has basically > taken over from the D100 (Nikon D70/D100 > Canon 300D/10D, in terms > of relative quality of siblings). Realistically, the baby-D is going > to have to be quite cheap or pretty competitive with the *istD to > make it competitive with the D70. I'd expect Pentax brand-loyalty > to be a less-important factor in baby-D sales than *istD sales. Common sense would say that the *ist D would need to be rev'd pretty quickly since it isn't that much more expensive (25%) and on paper will probably have many of the same features. On the other hand Canon still seems to be selling the 10D and has waited a while to rev it even though the same is true for the 10D and 300D. I think Pentax is stuck with what Sony or other companies are doing for APS sized DSLR sensors. I haven't read of anything being available better than the 6mp sensor being used now. alex
