[Jyrkira]

Another happy K-5 owner here. I just tested K-5 with the latest firmware and FF issue is gone. K-5 is an amazing camera for low light shooting now.

[Gimbal]

I still run on Version 1 with my K10. Maybe ignorance is bliss.

Upgrade immediately! Then you get to change iso by pressing the OK button + front wheel. No need to dive into menus after that.

[jaad75]

And wireless flash control with a pop-up one of course...

[Couscousdelight]

So, if it is a software problem, we can expect more AF improvement in the future.
Purely hypothetical, but why not ?

[Rin]

for me the firmware brought improvements, less lens correction is needed and where i had minor FF before i have non now.

Going to test it tomorrow in normal daylight but in a dimly tungsten lit room it is all good

[Class A]

Anybody want a like new Sony a850 and a suite of Minolta lenses?

How much?

[lillegorenje]

Hello, wanted to see if anyone has the same experience as I with the upgrade 1.02 (silent) or any other one -> 1.03

I used -10 correction for my Tamron 17-50 2.8 before I upgraded, since it had bad FF in low light, and 0 correction in daylight. After the upgrade, I still need to use -10 correction in low light, but now also in bright light (with strong LED flash light as light source, as it evening now).

I made the mistake (if it is a mistake) of not resetting the camera before the upgrade (the lens correction was -10 during upgrade), could that have offset the corrections that the 1.03 upgrade should have done somehow?


Will need to do more tests if it is true that I now need -10 correction in full daylight as well with the 1.03 firmware. In a sense this would be good, since I won't need any fiddling in menus when going from bright light to low light. However, my fear is that I will not be able to correct any future lenses I buy if they need to go for more negative correction than my Tammy... paranoia?

Maybe I am jumping to conclusions but I just wanted to check for any similar experiences among fellow Pentaxians

[Class A]

I'm going out then when I get back I will do all the admin work of naming the pics and getting them ready for upload

Smeggy one, perhaps before posting the images, could you please make sure that your K20D focuses correctly in bright daylight? Maybe it back focuses in such conditions?
EDIT: A quick glance at your corresponding test shots tells me that your K20D indeed back-focuses under daylight. Mystery solved, AFAIC.

As I said before, it has no right to be unaffected by Tungsten lighting and perhaps low light. Front-focus under Tungsten lighting was a known problem for all Pentax DSLRs before the K-7.

I just want to exclude the possibility that your K20D back-focuses under daylight and hence miraculously appears to trounces the K-5 under Tungsten lighting.

It is not entirely impossible that a K20D could be better under certain conditions because the AF modules have changed and the K-5 attempts to do corrections the K20D never had to worry about, but I find it hard to accept that your K20D is an AF champ that cannot be rattled by any lighting scenario and the K-5 struggles to come close.

It would be great if you could try to add as many sanity checks to your results as possible.

Many thanks in advance.

[glanglois]

Unlike some of my other posts, there is no humor here. Just so you know.

I deliberately left my (artificial) Christmas tree up all this time. I have some wonderful photos of the twins (age 2.5) staring into the tree. No other lighting. FF.

Now I can re-take some of them.

If I can get the girls to stay in one place long enough ....

[Class A]

The EXIF for the two 1.03 versions says 1/6-1/8 at f1.4 ISO 800. That would be at, or a little less than EV 1.

The exact value is 0.56EV but of course that's just a ballkpark figure for judging what light was available to the AF module unless one examines the actual image brightness in the focus area.

does anybody know what are the specs Pentax has for the AF-system?

The K-5 manuals claims "-1 EV" so the expectations are not exaggerated. Of course, judging what EV is available to the AF module isn't as easy as just computing a global EV value from aperture, shutter speed, and ISO setting. Check out Falk's paper for the precise way of doing it.

[Rupert]

If it will shoot Squirrels on a shaded tree branch, or naked girls in a dimly lit room, I will be well satisfied.

I have the Squirrels.......may not ever get the girls, but I want to be prepared, just in case.

[Graham67]

Having taken a few dozen test shots around the house in dim light with my Sigma 30mm at f/1.4, I have to say I'm *very* pleased with Firmware V1.03.

[JayBee]

Just did a test with my DA40 and its perfect focus, LV or Phase mode. I suspect your lens needs adjustment? Is it a consistent with different light levels?

Did you already have lens adjustments in place before the firmware update you've not reset?

Different lighting perhaps? I tested again with natural daylight now shining on the same subject, and I get perfect focus either way. I had no lens adjustments in place prior to FW update, so no reset should have been required.

I'll test a bit more with different lenses (the Tamron 17-50 had the same results, but that could have been lens-related). For all the low level tungsten I shoot, LV may be all thh work-around I need.

[FH_le]

I made the mistake (if it is a mistake) of not resetting the camera before the upgrade (the lens correction was -10 during upgrade), could that have offset the corrections that the 1.03 upgrade should have done somehow?

The update should not affect your personal camera settings. Mine were always unchanged.I also find the instructions for the update pretty detailed so Pentax would tell you to reset what's necessary... so here you shouldn't worry.

I used -10 correction for my Tamron 17-50 2.8 before I upgraded, since it had bad FF in low light, and 0 correction in daylight. After the upgrade, I still need to use -10 correction in low light, but now also in bright light (with strong LED flash light as light source, as it evening now).?

Interesting. I had a minor correction on my Tamron 17-50 (-2 to -3). Now I checked and it seems to have vanished ! So I now do have a properly working autofocus with both pentax lenses and the Tamron .

[JayBee]

A little sanity check needed here...

Let's say the camera has issues acquiring precise focus in conditions where anybody sane would need a tripod anyways... and if you're using a tripod, chances are you're shooting in LV anyways...

WTF the fuss is all about then????

Is there really a fuss? The only reason to use a tripod in my case was to be able to compare two shots under different firmware versions and eliminate all other variables. And the purpose of testing is to determine if there's a problem, identify where it is likely to show up, and then know how to handle that sort of lighting condition. Example - if taking indoor low-light shots, use LV. K-5's high-ISO pq means you're more likely to take those shots.
From my test shots, the light level does not have to be unusually low to cause focus error.