[garyk]

I think Pentax will make slow progress with af-c but if you ask if pentax will ever be in the same ball park with nikon or canon????? Not in the next few years in my opionion. Pentax makes a great static camera. Af is fine and accurate. Picture quality is good. 99.9 % of my shooting is static. And i think true of most folks.

Reguardless I shoot pentax and I am at a raptor migration. I am soooting pentax and sigma 500mm f4.5 and 300mm f2.8. I need some help here. I really did not know how far behind Pentax was until i saw these guys and gals shoot bif. It is really amazing what canon and nikon have done.
Here is a link to a few shots of bif.. Not one in focus and sharp. It is a huge mistake to buy Pentax if you use af for af-c. But for static objects I think just fine.

Chumphon ( a few birds ) Photo Gallery by Gary at pbase.com

Pentax k-x really shines as will the k-5 and k-r i think. And in my opinion just as good as the top two.
Check out these bird shots with the Sigma 500 and 300 and the k-x. All shot fast and all sharp.

Flickr: gary1844's Photostream

Once you leard the system and rule out the k-7. Which is the biggest stinker i have ever used.The Pentax k-x shoots professionally. The k-x at 500 dollars bests the images of cameras many times the price. In my opinion.

I am extremly serious about IQ. The glass makes the photos. the camera is just there to capture it. but bif and af is huge. Other than in my opionion any dslr will work. all dslrs on the market are very good compared to a few years ago.

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Last edited by garyk; 10-22-2010 at 12:57 AM.

[kittykat46]

So far no one seriously tested AF-C even in normal conditions.

I hear a rumour most of the serious AF-C & Drive-Mode users had quit Pentax or don't intend to spend any more on new Pentax gear like the K-5....

[Transit]

So far no one seriously tested AF-C even in normal conditions.

Now that you mention it

Pete

[garyk]

This is a real sore spot for me. Even if Pentax came out with the best AF in the world. No one would buy it. It can not process the images fast enough. It is a silly question in my opinion. It will be a good camera but not one a pro summer will buy that shoots sports or any serious action. It is not designed to do that. It is that simple. It is designed for someone like me who wants a good camera for short bursts and no real action.

[Kini62]

There's a lot more to photography than shooting "action". I just sold off my "action" oriented Canon system because I no longer need to do that type of action shooting and the size of the system is just too large to take anywhere.

I should have my K-5 by Monday. I have my lenses already, 55/1.4 and 50-135. Both are beautifully made. The 55 is MUCH nicer in build than the Canon or Nikon 50s. The 50-135 is not quite as solid feeling as the 70-200/2.8 but at least it's sealed and it seems absolutely tiny in comparison.

Can't wait to try them out.
Gene

[robgo2]

There's a lot more to photography than shooting "action". I just sold off my "action" oriented Canon system because I no longer need to do that type of action shooting and the size of the system is just too large to take anywhere.

I should have my K-5 by Monday. I have my lenses already, 55/1.4 and 50-135. Both are beautifully made. The 55 is MUCH nicer in build than the Canon or Nikon 50s. The 50-135 is not quite as solid feeling as the 70-200/2.8 but at least it's sealed and it seems absolutely tiny in comparison.

Can't wait to try them out.
Gene

The jury is still out on the K-5's AFC performance, but I think you are correct that it is not a crucial matter for most photographers who do little action shooting. In all likelihood, it will be more than adequate for kid's soccer games and the like, but perhaps it will be even more capable than that. I think that professional sports photographers will mostly stay with Canon and Nikon, who excel at AFC.

Rob

[opiedog]

i use my kx to shoot little league softball. works ok, i do get some OOF shots occasionally.

if i want better action results, i'll switch to nikon. if i intend on more static subjects, pentax AF is more than enough.
so it all boils down to what you want to shoot.

the 19 AF pt rumor on the k5 got my adrenaline going, but then reality set in.
maybe hoyatax just doesn't want to jump into that area of photography

i guess it's more of a philosophy at hoyatax.
the kr/k5 can shoot action, but maybe not as good/fast as the other big 2's but i can be done.

[planedriver]

There's a lot more to photography than shooting "action". I just sold off my "action" oriented Canon system because I no longer need to do that type of action shooting and the size of the system is just too large to take anywhere.

I should have my K-5 by Monday. I have my lenses already, 55/1.4 and 50-135. Both are beautifully made. The 55 is MUCH nicer in build than the Canon or Nikon 50s. The 50-135 is not quite as solid feeling as the 70-200/2.8 but at least it's sealed and it seems absolutely tiny in comparison.

Can't wait to try them out.
Gene

Very well said! Photography is nut just about action, fps, af-c..d..e...etc

Size-wise Pentax has the edge no doubt.

AF PERFORMANCE? Until my K-x and the da50-200 or my da55-300 can give me results like this I'm not interested in buying HUGE cameras with HUGE lenses..I'm looking forward the day I buy my K5:





Andras

[telfish]

just took these, to show number in and out of focus. f2.8 single center point AfS on the dogs head (as far as possible with a dog after treats!)

[telfish]

more from series

[telfish]

more in this batch

[telfish]

last in this series. I am not an experienced shooter of moving objects so some oof could be my fault

[jake14mw]

Thanks telfish, Those are tough to judge because the dog is long, and it's tough to judge the center of the photos. At first glance, they look like they have the typical lag in focusing that we are used to with AF-C, but it might be that the centerpoint is actually on the dog's back, meaning that the camera is actually keeping up.

[Eruditass]

just took these, to show number in and out of focus. f2.8 single center point AfS on the dogs head (as far as possible with a dog after treats!)

AF-S?

[johnmflores]

Dgales - your son runs with such style! it's like a (relatively) high speed strut LOL! thx for sharing
Telfish - please tell your dog, "good puppy!"

Thanks all for this thread. AF speed is critically important for me since I have to photograph moving motorcycles from time to time.










While the K20d and K-x can capture action, the results are often unpredictable, and I often find myself on the side of the road wondering if I nailed the shot. Worse yet, I get back home and have to sharpen a photo to within an inch of its life to get make it usable. Good AF and High ISO are the two must-have features for my next camera.

Also, if you are on Flickr, please join The Pentax K-5 dSLR Fan Club and post your AF.C photos there. I'm trying to put together a collection of K-5 shots demonstrating its AF.C capabilities. I'll definitely credit the photographer by providing the links to their Flickr pages as well as direct folks here where there are some great discussion going on. Having the photos on Flickr is good because that site gets a ton of traffic and it gives shooters of other brands to bump into the K-5. Thx.