Published Jun 1, 2005 | dpreview staff

Phil: This information was supposed to be embargoed until later on today however both Pentax Sweden and Pentax USA appear to have now posted full details of the camera (including specifications) hence the embargo is now dead.Pentax today announced the new *ist DL. This 'new' camera is essentially the same as the *ist DS but with a few feature changes and specification reductions. We can only assume that this new model will allow Pentax to push the price of their 'most affordable' digital SLR even lower. Primary differences include Auto ISO, removal of 11-area AF, a penta-mirror viewfinder with lower magnification and a larger LCD monitor.

Summary of changes (compared to the *ist DS)

• Auto ISO
• 3-point wide AF (*ist DS was 11 area)
• Wide / spot AF
• Three level 'soft' digital filter
• Continuous shooting buffer reduced to 5 / 3 ... Read more »