I'm checking out the ist Ds and comparing it to my ist D. Just in case anyone is considering both cameras, here are my impressions:
At first glance, the deeper handle seems odd, kind of holding a Canon. Although I think it could grow on me, I'm just too used to the ist D. The display is gorgeous comapred to my ist D. The increase in resolution is noticeable. Size too. The font used in the menues seems a bit crummy and badly rendered, though. The side door (for usb, power and remote) is much better than the clumsy rubber business of the ist D. The little joystick is usable, as opposed to the one on the ist D (which, as I said already, might as well be painted in, it would make little difference.) Changing settings through the main display and the "fn" button is easier than I thought it would be. It's a Pentax after all, ergonomics are above average. Shutter sounds different. Maybe a little bit louder, maybe a little bit less smooth or more plasticky. Maybe that's the sound of $400... Hyper program would be great, but the Av and Tv modes are easy to set and use, I don't think that's a big problem. The 18-55 is what it is, a little consumer zoom. Seems OK as a first SLR lens, but I expect my gf will outgrow it at some point. All in all, it seems like a really nice camera. I'm happy with the istD, but I'd probably get an istDs if I were shopping today. BTW, she's putting black tape on it, she says my istD looks much better with it... :-) j -- Juan Buhler http://www.jbuhler.com blog at http://www.jbuhler.com/blog
