DPReview have posted 25 sample images taken with the long-delayed Pentax *ist D digital SLR camera. Here’s what DPReview Editor Phil Askey has to say about the image quality from the *ist D:

“So far the *ist D is looking quite good, there are two sides to the *ist D’s image quality story. Firstly tonal balance and color response are both good, a natural color response and lifted shadow detail with highlight clipping at about the same point as most other digital SLR’s. Noise is also quite low, about the same as the Nikon D100 (which is what we’d expect as they both share the same sensor). The other side is that Pentax has clearly chosen a low sharpening approach, at 100% view most images have a soft look but do sharpen well and can be delivered sharper out of the camera by pushing up in-camera sharpening. Additionally available lenses do mean you’re more likely to be shooting ‘wide open’ and thus have less sharp images as a consequence. Overall the *ist D is looking ‘so far so good’.”

Website: DPReview - Pentax *ist D Samples