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01-01-2011, 10:05 AM   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by robgo2 Quote
Other manufacturers have problems with their bodies as well. We in the Pentax community become obsessed with those involving our cameras. The same is true of users of other brands, only few of us are aware of them.

Rob
I think that is the real question I was trying to ask.

01-01-2011, 10:26 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by Framed Quote
Do you think it's possible that missing focus occassionally, be it back focus/front focus whatever, is just a problem that can't be avoided with dSlrs? Yes some of it is user error but I know from my own experience there are times when it is not. It's worse on some lenses than others, but again I am starting to think it's just the nature of dslrs.
135mm bodies are much more sensitive to front/back focus, but you don't hear Canon or Nikon complaining very much about focus problems. AF consistency is very critical in the success of an AF body. I have very few misses with my 5D and it has a rather (by current standards) average AF system. The new K-5 is faster, but if it is not accurate then the speed is wasted. One of the things I have always liked about Nikon is the ability for the AF system to lock in light so low I could not clearly see the subject. Pentax still has a long way to go.
01-01-2011, 02:07 PM   #18
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R&D

Nice of these folks to do the R&D on behalf of Pentax... which Pentax should've done in the first place. I agree with those who state that for an AF camera, it is critical that it accurately and quickly focus, automatically. You can't compare AF to MF cameras. Apples/Oranges. The promise of AF is to focus for you. I am considering switching to Pentax. I don't hear the AF discussions on Canon, Nikon and Sony forums like I do on Pentax.

QuoteOriginally posted by dexmus Quote
Framed - The focus issues being discussed (of the K-5) are not occasional focus misses, but repeatable front focussing issues in dim light. The users who have this issue can reproduce it. There is a very informative thread going on in dp_review, in which Roland has been doing some controlled experiments with graduated ND filters. The issue being discussed is why does K-5 front focus more than K20D in low light. Gordon B Good discusses a hypothesis there.
He says that the + part of the new SAFOX+ autofocus system is programmed to figure out the WB of given light, and make AF adjustments. This was done to improve the AF performance. The problem arises when light levels go down to a level where there is not enough color information available to make the correct WB estimate. Camera then makes the wrong compensation and front focuses by a big margin. And since K20D doesn't have the + system, it does not suffer from the same margin of error.

That discussion and test is still continuing on. I think they are trying to pin down whether the front focus error in k-5 varies with the color of light.

Hope it helps.
01-01-2011, 02:48 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by Framed Quote
Matt, I'm curious to know what made you switch to the k 5? The d700 is on my current maybe this is the one list, cost being the main thing holding me back. How does the k5 stack up to d700 in your opinion?
The D700 is much larger. It focuses faster and more accurately, depending on which lens you're using. It tracks focus extremely well too. The high iso image quality is incredible. Nikon's lenses are excellent for the most part, but large. Everything Nikon is expensive too. The size and cost have been my main dislikes with the Nikon system.

I switched to the K5 system because it's cheaper & smaller, both camera and lenses. For the type of photography I do, I don't need to rely on fast and accurate autofocus. I prefer manual focus most of the time, and have installed a katzeye to assist with that. When I do need autofocus though, it has been somewhat frustrating with the K5. I owned a K20D in the past and don't recall missing accurate focus so often. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the D700's AF performance.

01-01-2011, 03:01 PM   #20
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Very interesting Dexmus...thanks for sharing.
01-01-2011, 04:33 PM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by wlachan Quote
You missed one important fact that Pentax DSLRs have rather poor viewfinders for manual focus against what we had in the 70's and early 80's. Take the MX or ME Super for examples, their viewfinders were bright, sharp and large. Split image screen can be fitted with DSLR, but the viewfinder clarity is just not as good anymore. I was able to manual focus with ease with the MX even with a plain Z-1p screen, but rather impossible with the Pentax DSLR, and I am still using the same set of FA lenses. I am cool with manual focus, but please give me back the quality viewfinder first.
I agree, the older split image view finder was much easier to use. And for me - allowed a more consistantly accurate focus.
01-02-2011, 03:31 AM   #22
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Ei ole vielläkään tehty omaa forum, näille canon ja nikon faneille. Jäis tämä K-5 forum enennän alan harrastelioille. Minusta tämä K-5 on sittenkin paras joka suhteessa. Viellä, kun saamme tämän kennon päivitettyä parenpaan.

01-02-2011, 05:07 AM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by 30v iPentax Quote
Original post in Finnish
Translation to English not completely successful.
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