On Apr 23, 2006, at 9:12 PM, João Moreira wrote:
... I have made some researches and, after I saw Dario's
homepage, I became a little concerned on the sharpness
of the *ist D. Is it really unsharp? If so, is it
something Photoshop can fix (I mean, do you always
have to use Photoshop to fix the sharpness of all your
photos)? By how many points (in average)?
I don't know how to rate sharpness in points.
Sharpness in a digital capture is always matter of both lens quality
AND rendering operations. Digital sharpening is part of the rendering
process, whether done in-camera or in post processing the image.
As long as the lens has captured data that's well focused and high
resolution, rendering can make it perceptually sharp. No amount of
rendering work can make unsharp data sharp.
And what about the colour rendition? It is completely
different from the *ist D to the Fujifilm and the
Canon cameras. Which one delivers the right colour?
Again, there is no such thing as "the right color", unless you're
calibrating color for matching against a standardized reference.
Color is broadly adjustable both in-camera and in post processing,
it's just another aspect of rendering.
Another question: is the *ist D worth the $600.00 over
the *ist DL? What are the extra features?
A start is to use the DPReview.com Buying Guide tools to make a
feature comparison. It's rough but shows some of the differences.
<http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?
method=sidebyside&cameras=pentax_istd%2Cpentax_istds%
2Cpentax_istdl&show=all>
This is not comprehensive: The D model has more features in several
ways, but is slower and uses CF cards. The DS and DL models use SD
cards, are smaller and lighter, and are faster, with some
simplifications to controls. The D and DS have the same viewfinder
prism and focusing screen, the DL has a less expensive pentamirror,
fewer AF focusing points. The D takes a battery grip, DL and DS do
not. The DL and DS have preset program modes, the D has multi
customizable preset modes. The list goes on ...
All can take the same quality photographs. Which is worth more to you
is up for grabs!
Godfrey