Disappointed

JinDesu · 03-26-2012, 03:55 PM

Originally posted by Better Image

A few more test shots coming in a few, but something I just now noticed. When I autofocus at 16mm at what should be infinity, it doesn't focus at infinity. When I am at 50mm it will autofocus to infinity.

Try this - zoom to 50, focus on something that will get it to infinity, keep the shutter button half-pressed to recompose and zoom out to 16.

cmohr · 03-26-2012, 04:04 PM

What exactly were you focused on??? There's 11 AF points and if you just pressed the button and let it get AF somewhere? and took the shot its going to be pretty hard to really know whats going on. I suggest making sure its set to centre spot focus and point the camera at something, confirm with you eye that its in focus then take the pic.

Better Image · 03-26-2012, 04:05 PM

Originally posted by cmohr

What exactly were you focused on??? There's 11 AF points and if you just pressed the button and let it get AF somewhere? and took the shot its going to be pretty hard to really know whats going on. I suggest making sure its set to centre spot focus and point the camera at something, confirm with you eye that its in focus then take the pic.

Again, I will remind everyone, I am an experienced photographer, and know how to check for focusing issues. It is set on center focus.

cmohr · 03-26-2012, 04:13 PM

Originally posted by Better Image

Again, I will remind everyone, I am an experienced photographer, and know how to check for focusing issues. It is set on center focus.

OK, no need to get snippy, an experience photographer may have metioned that he did set to centre spot in his original posting, you did not, when people ask questions in an attempt to help out, it often pays not to be offended or be offending back. Your on your own chum.

Better Image · 03-26-2012, 04:15 PM

Originally posted by cmohr

OK, no need to get snippy, an experience photographer may have metioned that he did set to centre spot in his original posting, you did not, when people ask questions in an attempt to help out, it often pays not to be offended or be offending back. Your on your own chum.

I did not mean to offend, but you can understand how frustrating this is.

**jatrax** · 03-26-2012, 04:21 PM

I think this was mentioned early, but as a non-Pentax shooter you may not have noticed the significance. When focusing, you must get both the green hexagon (indicating a focus lock) AND the green hand must come on (indicating that SR has stabilized). Without the green hand showing you can often get some weird focus. Hence, the recommendation by some to turn it off. I personally have no problems with it but my style of shooting is slow enough that it does not bother me. It tends to really bug some folks and can cause problems waiting the second or two for it to lock on.

I have the 16-50 and it is my most used lens, it may not be the best lens Pentax ever made but you should not be getting soft or OOF images with it. Either you have a bad copy or your unfamiliarity with Pentax is causing you some issues. Try a fixed test, on a tripod with good light to see if you can get a good image, if you cannot in that situation I would send the lens back for another copy.

Also, note that you can adjust the AF on the k-5 on a per lens basis so you may need to calibrate the camera to match the lens. Not saying you need to but you might want to check it.

Best,
John

Parallax · 03-26-2012, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by Better Image

I did not mean to offend, but you can understand how frustrating this is.

Almost as frustrating as trying help people figure out what's wrong with their pictures without being able to see the pictures.

Better Image · 03-26-2012, 04:40 PM

Originally posted by Parallax

Almost as frustrating as trying help people figure out what's wrong with their pictures without being able to see the pictures.

Aaaaand that was no help.

Thank you very much for the support

Ubuntu_user · 03-26-2012, 04:43 PM

SR is not slow at all. In fact, I never ever have to wait on it with my K-5 (with the K-7 that was a different story). But sure, turning things off like SR help us eliminate potential issues.

krebsy75 · 03-26-2012, 04:49 PM

I rented the 16-50 once and found it much too soft wide open. Perhaps this is part of the problem.

It's possible to capture great shots with this lens. It's just going to require more experimentation to find its sweet spot. It's no "L" zoom, that's for sure.

joe.penn · 03-26-2012, 05:08 PM

Originally posted by krebsy97

I rented the 16-50 once and found it much too soft wide open. Perhaps this is part of the problem.

Well, MFT charts shows it being pretty sharp wide open and gets a lot sharper @ f/4 and f/5.6 (at 16 and 24mm) - HOWEVER, the same chart does show it soft @ 50mm wide open and a little soft @ f/4 and f/5.6 - 24mm seems to be the "focal-of-performance" for this lens. These charts are from photozone using the 10mp sensor test.

krebsy75 · 03-26-2012, 05:17 PM

I was using it for portraits and had it locked at 50mm. To the best of my memory I ended up shooting at f/8.

Originally posted by joe.penn

Well, MFT charts shows it being pretty sharp wide open and gets a lot sharper @ f/4 and f/5.6 (at 16 and 24mm) - HOWEVER, the same chart does show it soft @ 50mm wide open and a little soft @ f/4 and f/5.6 - 24mm seems to be the "focal-of-performance" for this lens. These charts are from photozone using the 10mp sensor test.

reivax · 03-26-2012, 05:56 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Better Image

Aaaaand that was no help.

Thank you very much for the support

Not to pick a fight with you or anything, but you seem to be in a really big hurry to get help from people, but are alienating a lot of those people with the attitude you're presenting. If I can offer some advice, if you come to a forum to ask for help, you may want to answer all of the questions people are asking. There's a reason they're asking those questions. There's also a reason people are offering up different suggestions. You really didn't provide a lot of necessary information to get the help you need. You also haven't really provided any more pictures. You may want to be a little cooperative if you want others to be cooperative with you.

I would also suggest that you stop bringing up that you're an "experienced" photographer. "I do not think that word means what you think it means." In all seriousness, this is a really helpful forum and I'm almost positive your questions will be answered. You just need to help others help you. Good luck with your K5. That's a great camera.

DreTAX · 03-26-2012, 06:01 PM

I’m disappointed that threads start in this manner!
Your camera and or lens may be faulty, but you left yourself out of the equation and that is where the disappointed usually starts. “Is it me or what? Have a look at this picture.” Would be a better opening.
An experienced photographer would IMO:
1 Include themselves in the blame game
2 Fully read their manual whilst practicing with the new camera/lens (especially a new brand)
3 Repeat #2 until they fully understand
4 With every new lens do a complete lens focus test/adjustment, after fully understanding how to do one properly. Quick way of finding a faulty lens.
5 Go out and shoot sharp images
6 When encountering problems repeat steps 1-5 before moving to 7
7 Ask for assistance on a forum
I’ll apologise for sounding snippy, but you know how frustrating this is.
With your issue (assuming camera and lens are ok) it is hard to know without seeing a full framed image (not crop) with an appropriate test target- where the target is less likely to be confused with the background, with exif intact. At this point it looks like a shutter release error (where half press is released and the image is then taken with a full press, causing the auto focus to readjust).
I hope you find (a) resolution.

Better Image · 03-26-2012, 08:06 PM

Seriously, only a couple of people seem to understand. At 1/1250 of a second, at infinity, the picture I posted shouldn't be that blurry, at all. That is not user error, it is a problem with the lens. I tried what was suggested, framing at 50mm and focusing, then zooming out to 16mm, and the pictures are just a blurry mess. You don't need focus test charts to see when an image is oof. The one I posted doesn't even need to be cropped to see the softness.

It just sucks to wait for the lens in the mail, and now if I want to do an exchange, it will probably be up to 2 weeks before I can even try my camera and lens combo again.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Very disappointed with K 5 photos	whbroker	Pentax K-5 & K-5 II	16	02-25-2012 12:55 PM
Disappointed in the 18-135WR	Immunogirl	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	121	07-20-2011 03:11 PM
Disappointed with my last roll.	Gashog	Photographic Technique	9	09-27-2010 07:11 PM
Disappointed with Aperture 3	harmonica2	Digital Processing, Software, and Printing	15	05-26-2010 09:04 PM
Really disappointed with KEH	ChipB	General Talk	7	05-10-2010 06:44 AM

03-26-2012, 03:55 PM	#31
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	Originally posted by Better Image A few more test shots coming in a few, but something I just now noticed. When I autofocus at 16mm at what should be infinity, it doesn't focus at infinity. When I am at 50mm it will autofocus to infinity. Try this - zoom to 50, focus on something that will get it to infinity, keep the shutter button half-pressed to recompose and zoom out to 16.

03-26-2012, 04:04 PM	#32
cmohr Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Brisbane. Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,824	What exactly were you focused on??? There's 11 AF points and if you just pressed the button and let it get AF somewhere? and took the shot its going to be pretty hard to really know whats going on. I suggest making sure its set to centre spot focus and point the camera at something, confirm with you eye that its in focus then take the pic.

03-26-2012, 04:05 PM	#33
Better Image Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 22 Original Poster	Originally posted by cmohr What exactly were you focused on??? There's 11 AF points and if you just pressed the button and let it get AF somewhere? and took the shot its going to be pretty hard to really know whats going on. I suggest making sure its set to centre spot focus and point the camera at something, confirm with you eye that its in focus then take the pic. Again, I will remind everyone, I am an experienced photographer, and know how to check for focusing issues. It is set on center focus.

03-26-2012, 04:13 PM	#34
cmohr Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Brisbane. Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,824	Originally posted by Better Image Again, I will remind everyone, I am an experienced photographer, and know how to check for focusing issues. It is set on center focus. OK, no need to get snippy, an experience photographer may have metioned that he did set to centre spot in his original posting, you did not, when people ask questions in an attempt to help out, it often pays not to be offended or be offending back. Your on your own chum.

03-26-2012, 04:15 PM	#35
Better Image Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 22 Original Poster	Originally posted by cmohr OK, no need to get snippy, an experience photographer may have metioned that he did set to centre spot in his original posting, you did not, when people ask questions in an attempt to help out, it often pays not to be offended or be offending back. Your on your own chum. I did not mean to offend, but you can understand how frustrating this is.

03-26-2012, 04:21 PM	#36
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	I think this was mentioned early, but as a non-Pentax shooter you may not have noticed the significance. When focusing, you must get both the green hexagon (indicating a focus lock) AND the green hand must come on (indicating that SR has stabilized). Without the green hand showing you can often get some weird focus. Hence, the recommendation by some to turn it off. I personally have no problems with it but my style of shooting is slow enough that it does not bother me. It tends to really bug some folks and can cause problems waiting the second or two for it to lock on. I have the 16-50 and it is my most used lens, it may not be the best lens Pentax ever made but you should not be getting soft or OOF images with it. Either you have a bad copy or your unfamiliarity with Pentax is causing you some issues. Try a fixed test, on a tripod with good light to see if you can get a good image, if you cannot in that situation I would send the lens back for another copy. Also, note that you can adjust the AF on the k-5 on a per lens basis so you may need to calibrate the camera to match the lens. Not saying you need to but you might want to check it. Best, John

03-26-2012, 04:38 PM	#37
Parallax Senior Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Dakota Photos: Gallery Posts: 19,332	Originally posted by Better Image I did not mean to offend, but you can understand how frustrating this is. Almost as frustrating as trying help people figure out what's wrong with their pictures without being able to see the pictures.

03-26-2012, 04:40 PM	#38
Better Image Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 22 Original Poster	Originally posted by Parallax Almost as frustrating as trying help people figure out what's wrong with their pictures without being able to see the pictures. Aaaaand that was no help. Thank you very much for the support

03-26-2012, 04:43 PM	#39
Ubuntu_user Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,545	SR is not slow at all. In fact, I never ever have to wait on it with my K-5 (with the K-7 that was a different story). But sure, turning things off like SR help us eliminate potential issues.

03-26-2012, 04:49 PM	#40
krebsy75 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Chester County, Pa. Posts: 804	I rented the 16-50 once and found it much too soft wide open. Perhaps this is part of the problem. It's possible to capture great shots with this lens. It's just going to require more experimentation to find its sweet spot. It's no "L" zoom, that's for sure.

03-26-2012, 05:08 PM	#41
joe.penn Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Maryland (Right Outside Washington DC) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,902	Originally posted by krebsy97 I rented the 16-50 once and found it much too soft wide open. Perhaps this is part of the problem. Well, MFT charts shows it being pretty sharp wide open and gets a lot sharper @ f/4 and f/5.6 (at 16 and 24mm) - HOWEVER, the same chart does show it soft @ 50mm wide open and a little soft @ f/4 and f/5.6 - 24mm seems to be the "focal-of-performance" for this lens. These charts are from photozone using the 10mp sensor test.

03-26-2012, 05:17 PM	#42
krebsy75 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Chester County, Pa. Posts: 804	I was using it for portraits and had it locked at 50mm. To the best of my memory I ended up shooting at f/8. Originally posted by joe.penn Well, MFT charts shows it being pretty sharp wide open and gets a lot sharper @ f/4 and f/5.6 (at 16 and 24mm) - HOWEVER, the same chart does show it soft @ 50mm wide open and a little soft @ f/4 and f/5.6 - 24mm seems to be the "focal-of-performance" for this lens. These charts are from photozone using the 10mp sensor test.

03-26-2012, 05:56 PM - 1 Like	#43
reivax Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: California Posts: 826	Originally posted by Better Image Aaaaand that was no help. Thank you very much for the support Not to pick a fight with you or anything, but you seem to be in a really big hurry to get help from people, but are alienating a lot of those people with the attitude you're presenting. If I can offer some advice, if you come to a forum to ask for help, you may want to answer all of the questions people are asking. There's a reason they're asking those questions. There's also a reason people are offering up different suggestions. You really didn't provide a lot of necessary information to get the help you need. You also haven't really provided any more pictures. You may want to be a little cooperative if you want others to be cooperative with you. I would also suggest that you stop bringing up that you're an "experienced" photographer. "I do not think that word means what you think it means." In all seriousness, this is a really helpful forum and I'm almost positive your questions will be answered. You just need to help others help you. Good luck with your K5. That's a great camera.

03-26-2012, 06:01 PM	#44
DreTAX Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria. Photos: Gallery Posts: 118	I’m disappointed that threads start in this manner! Your camera and or lens may be faulty, but you left yourself out of the equation and that is where the disappointed usually starts. “Is it me or what? Have a look at this picture.” Would be a better opening. An experienced photographer would IMO: 1 Include themselves in the blame game 2 Fully read their manual whilst practicing with the new camera/lens (especially a new brand) 3 Repeat #2 until they fully understand 4 With every new lens do a complete lens focus test/adjustment, after fully understanding how to do one properly. Quick way of finding a faulty lens. 5 Go out and shoot sharp images 6 When encountering problems repeat steps 1-5 before moving to 7 7 Ask for assistance on a forum I’ll apologise for sounding snippy, but you know how frustrating this is. With your issue (assuming camera and lens are ok) it is hard to know without seeing a full framed image (not crop) with an appropriate test target- where the target is less likely to be confused with the background, with exif intact. At this point it looks like a shutter release error (where half press is released and the image is then taken with a full press, causing the auto focus to readjust). I hope you find (a) resolution.

03-26-2012, 08:06 PM	#45
Better Image Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 22 Original Poster	Seriously, only a couple of people seem to understand. At 1/1250 of a second, at infinity, the picture I posted shouldn't be that blurry, at all. That is not user error, it is a problem with the lens. I tried what was suggested, framing at 50mm and focusing, then zooming out to 16mm, and the pictures are just a blurry mess. You don't need focus test charts to see when an image is oof. The one I posted doesn't even need to be cropped to see the softness. It just sucks to wait for the lens in the mail, and now if I want to do an exchange, it will probably be up to 2 weeks before I can even try my camera and lens combo again.