Reviews for Pentax DL 6.1 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only

Pretty good SLR camera

Strengths: good value, easy to use for beginners, good presets, nice software

Weakness: weak focusing

A good SLR camera for beginners, it is easy to use and produces good quality pictures. However, the focusing is weak no matter what focusing scheme you choose and there is no 'quick button' for changing focus and meter settings.

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Nice camera for the beginning SLR user

Strengths: Affordable, easy to use

Weakness: Pictures not as sharp as the Canon Rebel XT

I really like this camera. It is far easier for me to grip as compared to the Canon Rebel XT I owned for a short time. The pictures aren't as sharp but with the lower MP sensor and much lower price I'm not really complaining. The fact you can buy many older lenses (read - cheap) and you get a winning combination for the person that wants to step up to a D-SLR camera from a point & shoot (like me)

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Good entry level dSLR camera

Strengths: Light, Fits well in the hand, Support old Pentax legacy lenses, can use AA batteries.

Weakness: Raw image size is not compressed, no direct picture on LCD screen while shooting

Good dSLR camera for entry step into this market. As I said it is light and fits in the hands quite nicely. Support of old Pentax lenses is quite good and it can use AA batteries. You need to make sure that you know about settings enough (RTFM) and check some forums for useful tips and tricks with this camera. So far I like it.

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A superb starting DSLR

Strengths: Cheap! easy for newbies to get used to, many lens available.

This is a great camera, especially with a low price around 400 after rebate. The picture quality is much better than those point and shoot cameras. Especially when shoot under dim light.

There are many lens available. do some research and you are bound to shoot some professional pictures.

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Very good

Strengths: Well built, compact, very good pictures

Weakness: None

Got the camera with $100 Pentax rebate. I visited local store. DL is smaller and better built than Canon, and less expensive than Canon. The pictures taken using even auto are much better than PS camera. No delay between pushing the button and shutter like most PS camera. Highly recommended especially at such a low price.

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Great entry level DSLR

Strengths: Super value for a entry level DSLR,Easy to use,Great picture quality,

Weakness: It has some limitations, especially when trying to focus in low light or sporting siutuations. Theautofocus is too slow for these types of events.

This camera is superb for an entry level camera. It has features that allow beginners to pros to produce rich sharp pictures in just about every situation. I would recommend getting another lens and some Lithium batteries. The 18-55mm kit lens is good, but very limited. I use a 28-210mm lens that covers everything I will need it for. The great thing is that the camera can use AA batteries, but regular alkaline batteries drain fast. Get CRV3 or Lithium batteries.

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Great starter DSLR

Strengths: Surprisingly simple and intuitive LCD menu,Great feel of handling,Super value for a entry level DSLR.Old Pentax lenses can be used with this camera.

Weakness: None.....

The Pentax *ist DL delivers everything that the Nikon D50/D70 and other cameras in its class do, and for hundreds of dollars less. The camera's functions are intelligently laid out so that you can begin shooting great photos right away, and the manual is well-written and organized, making it easy to learn when you're ready to explore everything the camera can do. The kit lens is better than what ships with some competitors, and the camera is compatible with most older Pentax lenses, making it possible to save hundreds by buying used lenses rather than having to sink money into new digital lenses. Another great feature is that the camera runs on AA batteries, unlike some cameras which use proprietary batteries.

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Review for Pentax *ist DL Camera - Compact, Value...

Strengths: compact, light weight, great design, down compatibility to older lens, good automatic operations

Weakness: simpler functions as compared to other DSLR cameras, only good for beginning photographer. Color appears to be soft, not as sharp as pictures taken by nikon.

Overall this is a great DSLR camera for beginning photographers with user-friendly manuals and automatic operations. It's cheap and small, with the comparable price and size with those point and shoot cameras. It uses 4 AA batteries, not those proprietary ones. Its downward compatibility makes those older manual lens usable on this model. All those above makes it great value for money, and a good choice for those who are interested in photography.

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Pentax *ist DL SLR digital camera

Strengths: Very good camera. Best price/performance rate.

Weakness: Use AA batteries

This is a very nice camera for a starter. Price is the lowest comparing to the similar products in the market. It has a big LCD screen. It uses SD card where other SLR camera usually uses CF cards. SD cards are cheaper and smaller. Very very good picture quality. Highly recommend!

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First step for my DSLR life

Strengths: Light weight,Metal body, colorful,large LCD, compact size, Spot meter, wide ISO range, easy to use, cheap price

Weakness: autofocus is not so good if the light is not strong enough

This is my first DSLR camera. the price is good, pictures are nice, light , easy to handle although i am a newbie.
I strongly recommend this for the newbie in DSLR.
But if you have money, maybe you can chose a better one.

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Super value for a entry level DSLR

Strengths: Price, Quality, Easy to handle

Weakness: Image shapeness, ISO

I have thought about getting into Digital SLR for quite a while. I used to be a point and shoot user and get hooked on Nikon for their outstanding design and vivid pictures. Starting from Nikon 3100, 4600, eventually a 8700, I have tried to shoot in various circumstances and tried to convince myself that a PS camera is good enough. However, I never felt satisfied.

Before actually purchase the *1st, I have also kept an eye on Nikon D70s, Canon Rebel XT, and even D50. Tried all the models in Circuitcity and BestBuy but didn't feel they were the types I was looking for. I felt strongly against Canon since their covers and rubs felt cheap and the silver color always remind me of the point and shoot cameras.

I eventually decided to purchase the *1st when Pentax offered a $[...] rebate on the camera body. The operatons of the camera is extremely identical to a film SLR camera, and the camera takes in most AF and K mount lens, which actually save a leg while upgrading the system. I purchased a old lens (28-200mm) from ebay for less than $[...]and it worked with the *1st without any problems.

Another good thing is the AA batteries used on the camera. You can purchase 4 AA rechargable Energizer batteries on Amazon for less than $[...]. The camera fits my hand very well and the original 18-55mm lens came with the camera also meet general photograph needs.

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Great first dSLR

Strengths: Features, battery life, picture quality

Weakness: Size

Well this is my first dSLR. Its a big upgrade (feature wise) from my point and shoot digitals. I still need time to figure out how to use all these advanced features. What I could say is that it is easy from someone not familiar with dSLR's to use. Just set it to auto and your good to go. It will focus and shoot way quicker then any point and shoot. The 2.5" screen is great. Nice and clear. Picture quality is outstanding. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to get into the dSLR game, just be aware, it is alot heavier and larger then your little camera now. But it is super solid as far as construction. No skimping here. I think you will be happy at the price point of the Pentax as well. I would buy again!

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Great camera for the value

Strengths: Compatible with Film SLR Lenses, Nice sized LCD, Easy to use

Weakness: Can't use the LCD for focusing

This is the first digital camera that I have bought. I previously owned a Canon EOS Rebel SLR camera and a Pentax.

The thing I liked about this camera is the ability to reuse the Pentax lens from my film SLR. This camera is the best value, and I like the ability to see whether or not the pictures are in focus immediately.

Personally, I don't really like the software that came with the camera, which I viewed could be improved.

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Excellent choice for DSLR

Strengths: Light weight, compact size, full featured DSLR, compatible with older Pentax lenses, excellent imaging

Weakness: LCD can't be used for picture taking

This camera is an excellent choice for DSLR users, especially people looking to move up from point and shoot cameras to a more advanced model or experienced photographers who own additional older Pentax mount lenses as the camera can be used with many older Pentax mounts (more info at www.steves-digicams.co...). This camera is one of the lightest and smallest available and the price is also extremely competitive. Pentax sells a 40mm pancake lens that is only about 1/2 inch long. Together, this camera would not be too much larger than most of the full featured point and shoot cameras and it may even be lighter. Meanwhile, I've found all the features and menus to be very intuitive and easy to use. Despite all the extra features, this camera is lighter and easier to use than the point and shoot Canon G3 I had been using for everyday situations. I do find it's a little difficult getting used to having to use the viewfinder all the time as the LCD is only for displaying menus and reviewing pictures. Other than that, this camera is highly recommended.

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Great for the price

Strengths: Cheap (point&shoot price for a dSLR), lightweight but still solid built, low image noise in high ISO, shutter lag is nice for me. You can also cheap lens for pentax. fairly easy to use

Weakness: Image is not sharp enough. And I had expected the LCD to be working as a viewfinder as well since it's a 2006 model - Olympus already did that...

Great camera for the price. I just played around but failed to get the sharpest image quality as you can get from a Canon (I did it in manual mode). It's But I am still very happy with it since it's my first dSLR and it's cheap after $100 rebate. Overall I love this little thing and am now looking for some cheap lens for it

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Excellent camera

Strengths: Big 2.5in. LCD, nice finish, elegant look, easy to read menus, support for High ISO

Weakness: maximum SD card size is 2 GB only

It is the first DSLR I bought. Takes great pictures. Haven't explored all the menus. does not need a learning curve as most of the things are very simple. Underlow light takes some time to auto focus. I had tele converter and couple of film-slr lenses and all works fine in the fully auto mode.

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nice slr camera for its price

Strengths: great quality pictures, fairly light, adaptable with many lenses

Weakness: none so far

This is my first SLR camera and I got to say, it takes a lot better quality pictures than the regular point and shoots! Although it is a lot heavier it makes it up with its high quality photos in sports mode and at night. This is a fairly decent slr camera and I would say can be matched up to the higher end slrs. I recommend this camera overall.

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Really a great Value for money

Strengths: Price, Great PIc quality

Weakness: none

I just received the camera and I am happy that I ordered this camera. You can't get a better value for your dollar. In my opinion this is one of the best SLR( for value).The best part of this camera is you can use your old lens from your 35mm camera. I have few of them and uses them on my DSLR with no problem. The pictures I have taken has come great and would reccomend this to anyone who is looking for a beginners DSLR.

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Great DSLR!!!

Strengths: Great features and undoubtedly a 5.0 rating for value for money. Comparatively light and small, but good build quality, great and bright viewfinder, reliable autofocus. Despite the small buffer, the camera feels fast and responsive enough. Using the old m

Weakness: The kit lens (18-55 f3.5-5.6) is cheap, and you notice. Front element is so loose it actually rattles. Quite some chromatic aberration and outright horrible vignetting at the wide-angle settings - even when stopped down to f11. Somewhat better at medium f

nice little camera, great viewfinder, good ergonomics overall. Works fine with manual lenses. Tends toward underexposure. Image quality is ok but not outstanding. Image quality is quite good in RAW mode, but JPEG images right out of the camera are distinctly soft in comparison. Also, I consider the default "bright" color rendition in the several scene programmes of the DL (auto, landscape, portrait, etc) so over-saturated that I cannot use these modes. I switched to "normal" mode for P/Tv/Av/M, which results in neutral colors. In the images I shot so far, I got much more Moire than I bargained for - about 50 out of 1000 shots show noticable and annoying patterns. Exposure tends to stay "safe", which implies (arguable) underexposure on high-contrast/backlit situations and annoying underexposure on low-constrast scenes (this can be fixed in post-processing, however).

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Great Camera for a great Price

Strengths: Excellent camera for such a decent price around in the market.

Weakness: Images tend to get under exposed.

Great DSLR camera for starters on a tight budget. Need to play around with it to get the feel of the camera and its features. Images tend to get underexposed some times, you need to adjust the exposure and aperture settings with the lens you are using.

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Very good compact versatile camera!!!

Strengths: Spot meter, ISO up to 3200 natively, Big, bright, colorfully LCD, strong flash, nice camera body, good solid overall design.

Weakness: LCD is easy to smudge. Slow w/ the flash sometimes. Nothing else so far.

This is a very good camera for people who are inspiring to be artist. I'm using this camera primarily for photographs that I manipulate. I will also use this for creating 3d bit maps.

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*ist DL - excelent Digital SLR

Strengths: Metal body, large LCD, compact size, SD memory, easy to use.

Weakness: LCD can be damaged easily, Autofocus not very fast, 3-area Af may be little bit of restriction for advanced photographers. LCD screen canbot be used during shooting, only for viewing

This is my first DSLR camera. I've tried few of them but couldn't find one with balance of quality, look and feel and price. This one built sturdy and looks like bulletproof,
and at the same time it's compact, light and fits perfect to my hands. Picture quality - amazing.
AA batteries, RAW image format, compatibility with older Pentax lenses just few more pluses of this "baby".

You can get quality pictures with another brands, but you couldn't beat how it feels in hands! Bravo Pentax!

Edit:
having it for a while now, one thing I miss from point and shoot - use LCD when shooting. In some case I could've get better shot with camera on streched out hands...but that's rare need.
Overall, no regrets!!

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Nice handy digital SLR

Strengths: Light weight, Easy to use, Good quality picture

Weakness: 2.8 pictures/sec motor drive is a little slow.

I'm using *ist DL mainly for taking photos of birds. *ist DL is giving very clear and crisp pictures, and I am happy with the quality of the pictures. Also, *ist DL is very light, and it is very easy to carry around.

I've tested Pentax 80-320mm F4-F5.6 lens, Sigma 300mm F4 and 170-500mm F5.6-6.4 lenses, and Kenko 1.5X tele converter and had no problem.

It's motor drive is slightly slow, but not too slow.

Overall, I'm very happy with *ist DL.

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I Love my Pentax!

Strengths: Easy to create beautiful pictures. All controls are right where they belong, the menus are easy to navigate. Full range of functionality, I don't think they skipped any important features.

Weakness: I can find nothing to criticize with this camera.

I've been a Pentax user since my first K-1000 when I was 16. The ist DL was my first jump into digital SLR (after having a Nikon CoolPix and an older Sanyo point and shoot digital). This is my third Pentax, and I have found them to be excellent cameras for the novice photography buff.

An excellent value for the price.

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