The DA55 on the K-7

jonny1986 · 06-01-2009, 09:03 AM

Originally posted by dugrant153

Thanks for posting that! good to know for my future purchases.

I'm not sure why people are calling the DA*55 slow. In these videos it looks to go from one end to the other pretty fast. The way people talk about it, it's like it takes forever to go from lock to lock. Good to know there's some improvement with the K-7, even if not much.

Honestly, I think I'd be more concerned about the lens getting the focus right and in a reasonable amount of time. I've missed critical shots b/c my lenses would take too long trying to focus and sometimes would simply not lock. I'm hoping the K-7 gets way better accuracy cuz to me that would mean a lot more than the lock to lock speed.

i agree with you...in addition consider that when you focus most of the time the camera need little step o focus...not everytime you have to go from zero to infinity and especially with a lens like this.
The point is another. The af with k7 is improved beacause it can lock faster, so no hunting in low light, so no need for the lens to looking for focus everywhere...the da 16-50 from zero to infinity is slower than ther brand camera but in good light it's really fast. in low light is not so faster.
the k will address the low light af slowness.
sdm motor is slower than ring but in real life if you don't lose focus the camera focus very fast.
Clearly if you expect the k7 to drive the sdm motor as craz you are completely wrong.
If you want ring usm it's easy: buy canon, spend three times the pentax gear, stroll around double weight and a t the end of the day your photography will have produced the same results.

ogl · 06-04-2009, 12:21 AM

Originally posted by blende8

Reports noted that DA* lenses are focussing faster on the K-7.
I tested this yesterday and cannot really confirm that.
The K-7 may be minimally faster, but it's not much, if at all.

Here are two videos, I did (each about 7MB).
The camera focussed to the opposite quay wall, almost infinity.
K-7
K20D
Judge for yourself.

strange test...But K-7 is a bit quicker. WHAT IS YOUR TARGET in this test?
infinity?

It's not interesting at all.

If you change the condition of test, you will see another results.
Make hard condition to catch target.

My friend tested K-7 (0.2) + DA*55, K20D + DA*55 and D700 + 50/1.4 at tripod with
focus chart as target in tungsten light.
The difference is more.

As for moving objects - K20D is far behind.

PentaxPoke · 06-04-2009, 01:32 AM

Originally posted by jonny1986

If you want ring usm it's easy: buy canon, spend three times the pentax gear, stroll around double weight and a t the end of the day your photography will have produced the same results.

ummm, I have a better choice: just buy a Pentax screw-drive lens, and at the end of the day you have an affordable, lightweight, reliable, and fast lens.

Enc0der · 06-04-2009, 03:35 AM

Originally posted by ogl

As for moving objects - K20D is far behind.

And the K-7 (compared to the D300 for moving objects) ?

dugrant153 · 06-04-2009, 11:52 PM

dunno about you guys, but on my K200D the DA*55 is pretty decent for focusing. This thing (and my DA*50-135 also) is able to lock onto targets pretty accurately... even if there's not a lot of light!

As for AF speed... not sure what everyone's talking about in regards to it being slow. It's not that much slower than my other lenses (DA*50-135, DA35 Ltd, DA21 Ltd). In the real world, I don't notice any real discernible difference in autofocus speed. Maybe I'm just used to slower lenses?

K-7 looks to only improve all that. And if the K-7 improves the accuracy that much more, the DA*55 and K-7 combo will be a killer rig.

asdf · 06-05-2009, 04:11 AM

Originally posted by dugrant153

dunno about you guys, but on my K200D the DA*55 is pretty decent for focusing. This thing (and my DA*50-135 also) is able to lock onto targets pretty accurately... even if there's not a lot of light!

As for AF speed... not sure what everyone's talking about in regards to it being slow. It's not that much slower than my other lenses (DA*50-135, DA35 Ltd, DA21 Ltd). In the real world, I don't notice any real discernible difference in autofocus speed. Maybe I'm just used to slower lenses?

When looking at youtube videos, DA*50-135's hunting time seems even longer than DA*55. And because DA35 is a macro lens, it takes very long to hunt. This can be annoying if the camera's AF can't lock on, but not so annoying otherwise.

Quote:

K-7 looks to only improve all that. And if the K-7 improves the accuracy that much more, the DA*55 and K-7 combo will be a killer rig.

Yeah, at f/1.4, accuracy would be very important.

06-04-2009, 12:21 AM	#17
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382	Originally posted by blende8 Reports noted that DA* lenses are focussing faster on the K-7. I tested this yesterday and cannot really confirm that. The K-7 may be minimally faster, but it's not much, if at all. Here are two videos, I did (each about 7MB). The camera focussed to the opposite quay wall, almost infinity. K-7 K20D Judge for yourself. strange test...But K-7 is a bit quicker. WHAT IS YOUR TARGET in this test? infinity? It's not interesting at all. If you change the condition of test, you will see another results. Make hard condition to catch target. My friend tested K-7 (0.2) + DA55, K20D + DA55 and D700 + 50/1.4 at tripod with focus chart as target in tungsten light. The difference is more. As for moving objects - K20D is far behind. Last edited by ogl; 06-04-2009 at 12:27 AM.

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06-01-2009, 09:03 AM	#16
jonny1986 Inactive Account Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: italy Posts: 411	Originally posted by dugrant153 Thanks for posting that! good to know for my future purchases. I'm not sure why people are calling the DA*55 slow. In these videos it looks to go from one end to the other pretty fast. The way people talk about it, it's like it takes forever to go from lock to lock. Good to know there's some improvement with the K-7, even if not much. Honestly, I think I'd be more concerned about the lens getting the focus right and in a reasonable amount of time. I've missed critical shots b/c my lenses would take too long trying to focus and sometimes would simply not lock. I'm hoping the K-7 gets way better accuracy cuz to me that would mean a lot more than the lock to lock speed. i agree with you...in addition consider that when you focus most of the time the camera need little step o focus...not everytime you have to go from zero to infinity and especially with a lens like this. The point is another. The af with k7 is improved beacause it can lock faster, so no hunting in low light, so no need for the lens to looking for focus everywhere...the da 16-50 from zero to infinity is slower than ther brand camera but in good light it's really fast. in low light is not so faster. the k will address the low light af slowness. sdm motor is slower than ring but in real life if you don't lose focus the camera focus very fast. Clearly if you expect the k7 to drive the sdm motor as craz you are completely wrong. If you want ring usm it's easy: buy canon, spend three times the pentax gear, stroll around double weight and a t the end of the day your photography will have produced the same results.

06-04-2009, 01:32 AM	#18
PentaxPoke Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,411	Originally posted by jonny1986 If you want ring usm it's easy: buy canon, spend three times the pentax gear, stroll around double weight and a t the end of the day your photography will have produced the same results. ummm, I have a better choice: just buy a Pentax screw-drive lens, and at the end of the day you have an affordable, lightweight, reliable, and fast lens.

06-04-2009, 03:35 AM	#19
Enc0der Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 107	Originally posted by ogl As for moving objects - K20D is far behind. And the K-7 (compared to the D300 for moving objects) ?

06-04-2009, 11:52 PM	#20
dugrant153 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Vancouver, BC Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,059	dunno about you guys, but on my K200D the DA55 is pretty decent for focusing. This thing (and my DA50-135 also) is able to lock onto targets pretty accurately... even if there's not a lot of light! As for AF speed... not sure what everyone's talking about in regards to it being slow. It's not that much slower than my other lenses (DA50-135, DA35 Ltd, DA21 Ltd). In the real world, I don't notice any real discernible difference in autofocus speed. Maybe I'm just used to slower lenses? K-7 looks to only improve all that. And if the K-7 improves the accuracy that much more, the DA55 and K-7 combo will be a killer rig.

06-05-2009, 04:11 AM	#21
asdf Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 1,252	Originally posted by dugrant153 dunno about you guys, but on my K200D the DA55 is pretty decent for focusing. This thing (and my DA50-135 also) is able to lock onto targets pretty accurately... even if there's not a lot of light! As for AF speed... not sure what everyone's talking about in regards to it being slow. It's not that much slower than my other lenses (DA50-135, DA35 Ltd, DA21 Ltd). In the real world, I don't notice any real discernible difference in autofocus speed. Maybe I'm just used to slower lenses?* When looking at youtube videos, DA50-135's hunting time seems even longer than DA55. And because DA35 is a macro lens, it takes very long to hunt. This can be annoying if the camera's AF can't lock on, but not so annoying otherwise. Quote: K-7 looks to only improve all that. And if the K-7 improves the accuracy that much more, the DA*55 and K-7 combo will be a killer rig. Yeah, at f/1.4, accuracy would be very important.