Centre-weighted metering, aperture priority and focus indication are maintained, even with adapter mounted lenses.

When using non-auto aperture lenses, a press of the AE-L button with the camera in manual mode will meter the scene and set the shutter speed.

Some non-Pentax K-mount lenses have been reported not to mount on the camera,[citation needed] because a plate protecting the aperture stop-down lever is slightly deeper.

This allows the photographer to use cheaper TTL flashes rather than the current offerings from Pentax and Samsung with 'pre-flash' operation, which can cause some subjects to blink.

Introduced in 2005, the Pentax *ist DS2 is a minor upgrade to the original model that increased the size of the rear LCD from 2.0" to 2.5".