Pentax K-5 AF accuracy

Anvh · 01-07-2012, 01:07 PM

Originally posted by philbaum

I just downloaded the NEW 1.11 ver and i'm still getting sharp focusing in my somewhat dim basement room.

Haven't tested it, but still remember one report where a poster said they were having better low light results by manually selecting the tungsten light white balance in those situations rather than relying on AWB.

That might indeed help somewhat.
The k5 has a sensor to detect the kind of light, if it can also detect IR then that would be the solution but i doubt that's the case or else they would have already done it.

Christine Tham · 01-07-2012, 01:17 PM

Transcript from Facebook:

Me:
Howdy - I sent my beloved Hello Kitty K-5 to you guys - lately it doesn't seem to focus consistently or accurately any more. Hope you guys can find out what's wrong with it.

Pentax Snaps Australia:
Hey Chris! We know the Hello Kitty K-5 well here at HQ. We'll be sure to have it looked after for you.

Me:
Thank you - you guys are the best!!!

Pentax Snaps Australia
Great news Chris, your famous Hello Kitty K-5 has touched down here at Pentax HQ. We'll have it looked after for you in no time!

Me:
Thank you ♥♥♥

I'll let you guys know what the eventual result is.

ogl · 01-07-2012, 11:45 PM

I don't understand - one simple thing - FA43 is superb at K200D. FA77 (with correction), FA135 and FA24 are good at K-5.
What is the problem with FA43 at K-5????

Come back from the streets - YES. My FIRST SHARP PICTURES with FA43. 1.11 and +2 correction.

BUT a fly in the ointment:
1. AF is accurate, but some photos with peep and AF lock in VF are blurred at 100%. Aprrox.10%. It's not good light at all. Of course. Snow and winter cloudy. 3 p.m.
Wide-opened apertures are a bit better in this condition than f2.8-4 in terms of AF accurate.
2. Some photos at 1/125 are not sharp. The same disease is with K200D.

ogl · 01-08-2012, 01:53 AM

F1.9

It's just test photos. No any art. To check AF accurate.

hoanpham · 01-08-2012, 02:21 AM

I dont think it is anything wrong with the lenses. Af fine adj is a normal procedure. My lenses acts differently in different bodies. May be the electronics inside each lens has something to do with lens-body combination

hml · 01-08-2012, 01:04 PM

Just shot pictures with firmware 1.01 and 1.11. definitely a difference with sharpness/focusing. Degrades with 1.11. I've seen talk of 1.12 out there. I wonder if that corrects what I am seeing.

Raffwal · 01-08-2012, 01:18 PM

Originally posted by hml

Just shot pictures with firmware 1.01 and 1.11. definitely a difference with sharpness/focusing. Degrades with 1.11. I've seen talk of 1.12 out there. I wonder if that corrects what I am seeing.

Some fw upgrades seem to affect the custom AF settings for individual lenses, so I'd suggest you to reset them to default and adjust again if needed. Some users have experienced needing more than +-5 settings with some previous fw and needing less or even no adjusting after the upgrade.

hml · 01-08-2012, 01:59 PM

Tried that and still no joy. Given that I did not have to adjust the lenses to begin with I really should not have to adjust them after a FW upgrade. That is just my opinion. Still love the camera but this needs to be corrected.

Anvh · 01-08-2012, 02:18 PM

Originally posted by hml

Tried that and still no joy. Given that I did not have to adjust the lenses to begin with I really should not have to adjust them after a FW upgrade. That is just my opinion. Still love the camera but this needs to be corrected.

You will always need to calibrate too get the focus perfect, it's the same for every brand.
The qeustion is if it's consistent.

**jbinpg** · 01-09-2012, 01:34 AM

Call me paranoid, but I always do a reset after upgrading firmware in case a new baseline needs to be set somewhere in the firmware.

ogl · 01-12-2012, 07:02 AM

Started to test FA43 in field condition....

It's hard to prove for service that my camera is malfunction - AF is like rabbit...
Sometimes very good, sometimes - only BLUR, no any sharpness.

philbaum · 01-12-2012, 09:47 AM

Originally posted by ogl

Started to test FA43 in field condition....
Here is the album with full-sized photos -
http://fotkidepo.ru/?id=album:39750

I don't understand - how K-5's AF works...

....

I've also started to test FA135 in more partial manner...

The same situation - unpredictable AF...No any sharpness at infinity at all.

It's hard to prove for service that my camera is malfunction - AF is like rabbit...
Sometimes very good, sometimes - only BLUR, no any sharpness.

I've grown into the habit of "focus and recompose". Yesterday, my brother and i did a daytime road trip in nearby areas and had a great time with out K5's. (i had no focus problems - except for my getting used to a SDM extension tube that i recently converted from a TC - cool)

I was reading on the Sigma 30 f1.4 thread how focus and recompose can run afoul of field curvature lens effects. Send in your K5 and the lens that is most problematic and let Pentax sort it out is my advice.

ogl · 01-15-2012, 01:35 AM

My last report - with 1.12 firmware - K-5 + FA43 are close to ideal.

rawr · 01-15-2012, 04:54 PM - **1 Like**

Useful to note in a AF testing discussion...

Focus Fallibility: Lens Test Fallacies - SLRgear.com!

'Typical AF performance is probably good enough for most users most of the time with most lenses, but AF systems achieve truly optimal focus relatively rarely.'

Unless you go to the extremes of the SLRGear test bench setup, and/or do a lot of focus bracketing.

RGold · 01-15-2012, 08:01 PM

I'm a new K-5 owner and I'm disappointed with the AF performance when using Tamron 17-50 @ F2.8, using center focus point zoomed out to 18mm. Most times I get image out of focus if I zoom out. Stepping down to F5.6 resolve the issue. For some reason, sometimes, the camera "doesn't bother" the refocus after zooming out if the aperture is below F4.

My test:

1. Focus on an object @ 50mm F2.8. - I can hear the AF motor focusing.
2. Zoom out to 18mm, keep F2.8, point center focus on same object - The focus indicator will lit but no focus correction - the result, image is in bad focus.
3. Focus on an object @ 50mm F5.6. - I can hear the AF motor focusing.
4. Zoom out to 18mm, keep F5.6 point center focus on same object - I can hear the AF motor focusing, image is in good focus!

Is this a lens flow or camera flew?

01-07-2012, 11:45 PM	#93
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382	I don't understand - one simple thing - FA43 is superb at K200D. FA77 (with correction), FA135 and FA24 are good at K-5. What is the problem with FA43 at K-5???? Come back from the streets - YES. My FIRST SHARP PICTURES with FA43. 1.11 and +2 correction. BUT a fly in the ointment: 1. AF is accurate, but some photos with peep and AF lock in VF are blurred at 100%. Aprrox.10%. It's not good light at all. Of course. Snow and winter cloudy. 3 p.m. Wide-opened apertures are a bit better in this condition than f2.8-4 in terms of AF accurate. 2. Some photos at 1/125 are not sharp. The same disease is with K200D. Last edited by ogl; 01-08-2012 at 01:56 AM.

01-12-2012, 07:02 AM	#101
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382	Started to test FA43 in field condition.... It's hard to prove for service that my camera is malfunction - AF is like rabbit... Sometimes very good, sometimes - only BLUR, no any sharpness. Last edited by ogl; 01-15-2012 at 05:01 AM.

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01-07-2012, 01:07 PM	#91
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	Originally posted by philbaum I just downloaded the NEW 1.11 ver and i'm still getting sharp focusing in my somewhat dim basement room. Haven't tested it, but still remember one report where a poster said they were having better low light results by manually selecting the tungsten light white balance in those situations rather than relying on AWB. That might indeed help somewhat. The k5 has a sensor to detect the kind of light, if it can also detect IR then that would be the solution but i doubt that's the case or else they would have already done it.

01-07-2012, 01:17 PM	#92
Christine Tham Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,269 Original Poster	Transcript from Facebook: Me: Howdy - I sent my beloved Hello Kitty K-5 to you guys - lately it doesn't seem to focus consistently or accurately any more. Hope you guys can find out what's wrong with it. Pentax Snaps Australia: Hey Chris! We know the Hello Kitty K-5 well here at HQ. We'll be sure to have it looked after for you. Me: Thank you - you guys are the best!!! Pentax Snaps Australia Great news Chris, your famous Hello Kitty K-5 has touched down here at Pentax HQ. We'll have it looked after for you in no time! Me: Thank you ♥♥♥ I'll let you guys know what the eventual result is.

01-08-2012, 01:53 AM	#94
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382	F1.9 It's just test photos. No any art. To check AF accurate.

01-08-2012, 02:21 AM	#95
hoanpham Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Strand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,366	I dont think it is anything wrong with the lenses. Af fine adj is a normal procedure. My lenses acts differently in different bodies. May be the electronics inside each lens has something to do with lens-body combination

01-08-2012, 01:04 PM	#96
hml New Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Ottawa Posts: 8	Just shot pictures with firmware 1.01 and 1.11. definitely a difference with sharpness/focusing. Degrades with 1.11. I've seen talk of 1.12 out there. I wonder if that corrects what I am seeing.

01-08-2012, 01:18 PM	#97
Raffwal Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: The North Posts: 879	Originally posted by hml Just shot pictures with firmware 1.01 and 1.11. definitely a difference with sharpness/focusing. Degrades with 1.11. I've seen talk of 1.12 out there. I wonder if that corrects what I am seeing. Some fw upgrades seem to affect the custom AF settings for individual lenses, so I'd suggest you to reset them to default and adjust again if needed. Some users have experienced needing more than +-5 settings with some previous fw and needing less or even no adjusting after the upgrade.

01-08-2012, 01:59 PM	#98
hml New Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Ottawa Posts: 8	Tried that and still no joy. Given that I did not have to adjust the lenses to begin with I really should not have to adjust them after a FW upgrade. That is just my opinion. Still love the camera but this needs to be corrected.

01-08-2012, 02:18 PM	#99
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	Originally posted by hml Tried that and still no joy. Given that I did not have to adjust the lenses to begin with I really should not have to adjust them after a FW upgrade. That is just my opinion. Still love the camera but this needs to be corrected. You will always need to calibrate too get the focus perfect, it's the same for every brand. The qeustion is if it's consistent.

01-09-2012, 01:34 AM	#100
jbinpg Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Prince George, BC Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,546	Call me paranoid, but I always do a reset after upgrading firmware in case a new baseline needs to be set somewhere in the firmware.

01-12-2012, 09:47 AM	#102
philbaum Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Port Townsend, Washington State, USA Posts: 3,659	Originally posted by ogl Started to test FA43 in field condition.... Here is the album with full-sized photos - http://fotkidepo.ru/?id=album:39750 I don't understand - how K-5's AF works... .... I've also started to test FA135 in more partial manner... The same situation - unpredictable AF...No any sharpness at infinity at all. It's hard to prove for service that my camera is malfunction - AF is like rabbit... Sometimes very good, sometimes - only BLUR, no any sharpness. I've grown into the habit of "focus and recompose". Yesterday, my brother and i did a daytime road trip in nearby areas and had a great time with out K5's. (i had no focus problems - except for my getting used to a SDM extension tube that i recently converted from a TC - cool) I was reading on the Sigma 30 f1.4 thread how focus and recompose can run afoul of field curvature lens effects. Send in your K5 and the lens that is most problematic and let Pentax sort it out is my advice.

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01-15-2012, 01:35 AM	#103
ogl Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sankt Peterburg Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,382	My last report - with 1.12 firmware - K-5 + FA43 are close to ideal.

01-15-2012, 04:54 PM - 1 Like	#104
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Useful to note in a AF testing discussion... Focus Fallibility: Lens Test Fallacies - SLRgear.com! 'Typical AF performance is probably good enough for most users most of the time with most lenses, but AF systems achieve truly optimal focus relatively rarely.' Unless you go to the extremes of the SLRGear test bench setup, and/or do a lot of focus bracketing.

01-15-2012, 08:01 PM	#105
RGold Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 26	I'm a new K-5 owner and I'm disappointed with the AF performance when using Tamron 17-50 @ F2.8, using center focus point zoomed out to 18mm. Most times I get image out of focus if I zoom out. Stepping down to F5.6 resolve the issue. For some reason, sometimes, the camera "doesn't bother" the refocus after zooming out if the aperture is below F4. My test: 1. Focus on an object @ 50mm F2.8. - I can hear the AF motor focusing. 2. Zoom out to 18mm, keep F2.8, point center focus on same object - The focus indicator will lit but no focus correction - the result, image is in bad focus. 3. Focus on an object @ 50mm F5.6. - I can hear the AF motor focusing. 4. Zoom out to 18mm, keep F5.6 point center focus on same object - I can hear the AF motor focusing, image is in good focus! Is this a lens flow or camera flew?