[Jim Radcliffe]

One of the reasons I have difficulty focusing on small, thin objects is that the K5 often wants to focus on the object behind the small object.. and this is due to the larger AF focus area. I always use center-point focus.. and when trying to focus something like the stem of a rose or cattail, the K5 frequently insists on locking focus on whatever is behind my desired focus point.. frustrating... and manual focus is the only recourse I have when this situation occurs.. my eyes are not the best and this presents an issue.... which is why I miss having something in the optical viewfinder (microprisms, split-image,etc.) to insure I have accurate focus. Maybe something will come along in the next generation of the K5.

The cameras that are using EVFs and focus peaking are on to something.. not that I prefer an EVF.

[selar]

Maybe something will come along in the next generation of the K5.

Its already in the K5 and its called Liveview focusing. It may not be feasible for fast moving objects, but I find it excellent for static subjects.

[Jim Radcliffe]

Its already in the K5 and its called Liveview focusing. It may not be feasible for fast moving objects, but I find it excellent for static subjects.

Yes, I am well aware of that.. but I did not buy the K5 to use the LCD to compose my photos and in bright sunlight....well, you know the story there.

[Oneclickwonder]

Franky2step.


I feel you your pain my friend!

I bought a K5 a few weeks back, but I'm having major AF issues also.

My HTC smart phone snaps focus better than my K5, how can this be!?

I'm also considering taking the hit and selling up for one of the big two. Trouble is, I really like the K5 handling and interface etc.

I have updated firmware to 1.12 and initial results seem slightly better, but still unacceptable in my book!

I haven't had time for proper testing yet. But it looks like my options are to send back for calibration or further investment in DIY Lenscal gear. (Something I didn't figure on!)

I must admit, it's taken a big shine off my initial excitement into investing in a semi pro end DSLR.

Regards,
Gutted from England.

[telly0050]

This is something many folks may not be aware of. It applies to all Pentaxes and probably all brand DSLR's too. I'm sure many on these forums will have seen this noted many times. The AF dots that illuminate in the finder aren't laser-like points, but only indicators of a region where contrast information may be found by the AF system.

So those illuminated AF points aren't really good for much precision.

One of the many virtues of the K-x is that the focus points in the viewfinder aren't visible at all. Yet amazingly flickr (for example) overflows with sharp K-x photos...go figure.

i agree with you.
with my previous k-x, even thought the AF is a bit loud and slightly slower, it does nail the focus much better than the k5.
still trying to find a "true" reason for k5 AF issue...

[selar]

to send back for calibration

Thats the first thing you should do. All brands including the big two have focus calibration issues, its to do with mass production and the way Phase detect AF works.

If you don't want to send it back, you may be able to adjust the AF offset yourself using debug mode.

[Anvh]

still trying to find a "true" reason for k5 AF issue...

Looks like it's quite sensative to infrared light...

Anyway...
Under what light did you take the test shots?

If you need more then -10 you can get that by going into the debug menu with the help of pktether.
But since it's a new camera you should send it away.

Franky2step.


I feel you your pain my friend!

I bought a K5 a few weeks back, but I'm having major AF issues also.

My HTC smart phone snaps focus better than my K5, how can this be!?

I'm also considering taking the hit and selling up for one of the big two. Trouble is, I really like the K5 handling and interface etc.

I have updated firmware to 1.12 and initial results seem slightly better, but still unacceptable in my book!

I haven't had time for proper testing yet. But it looks like my options are to send back for calibration or further investment in DIY Lenscal gear. (Something I didn't figure on!)

I must admit, it's taken a big shine off my initial excitement into investing in a semi pro end DSLR.

Regards,
Gutted from England.

Due to the small sensor size, cameras in phones and Point & Shoots have so much depth of field, being out of focus would be difficult.

[Schraubstock]

which is why I miss having something in the optical viewfinder (microprisms, split-image,etc.) to insure I have accurate focus.

Hi

I am, or better was in the same position. I come from the old film days and was sorely missing the splits. I purchased the KatzEye OptiBrite and now I am back to what I was used to. This little screen is a bit expensive I must say but now I think it is worth the extra Dollars. My K-5 works extremely well with it.

Greetings

[Belcik]

Hi
My K-5 works extremely well with it.

Greetings

I used KatzEye with K200d and was extremely unhappy with it. I feel like using original one with K5 gives better results for me.

[Schraubstock]

I used KatzEye with K200d and was extremely unhappy with it. I feel like using original one with K5 gives better results for me.

Can you tell us why?

Greetings

[Frogfish]

The OP should tell us if all of his lenses are off in the same direction (front/back) and roughly the same amount .. and then read this (since it applies to all brands) : LensRentals.com - “This Lens Is Soft” and Other Facts

I agree with the poster above who said that he should either exchange his K5 or send them all in for calibrating (probably for a global adjustment to the K5 first).

As far as K5 accuracy is concerned then this test someone posted the other day is interesting in that multiple lenses were tested with each camera and you can see the K5 easily won the phase detect comparison - however it is only one test (and in German) : http://www.colorfoto.de/testbericht/7/7/6/2/0/2/Test_Autofokus_ColorFoto_2011-09.pdf

Personally I've never felt that my K5 was mis-focusing with any of my lenses (I tend to use centre point most often unless in situations that demand I select another focus point - off centre, low DoF, for example) and that if there are focus errors then it's my fault. Still, I think I'l buy a SpiderCal just to see if any calibration is needed.

[Schraubstock]

...or send them all in for calibrating...

Not sure to I agree on this completely. If all lenses show the same symptoms, either to the left or right and by roughly the same amount I would hazard a guess and say the cam is out of plum. In which case only the body has to be send in for a bit of a turn of the screw. Why ? Well, the repair people have a known accurate lens they will clamp onto the cam and make adjustments accordingly. They will not touch any of the OP's glass if he/she sends them in because they will never know how accurate they are individually.

On the other hand if only one lens misbehaves badly of all the one the OP has in his/her assortment, there is no need to send in the cam but only the offending lens. At the repair shop this lens will be adjusted against a known standard.

I think I have got this right.

Greetings

[zapp]

One of the reasons I have difficulty focusing on small, thin objects is that the K5 often wants to focus on the object behind the small object.. and this is due to the larger AF focus area. I always use center-point focus.. and when trying to focus something like the stem of a rose or cattail, the K5 frequently insists on locking focus on whatever is behind my desired focus point.. frustrating... and manual focus is the only recourse I have when this situation occurs.. my eyes are not the best and this presents an issue.... which is why I miss having something in the optical viewfinder (microprisms, split-image,etc.) to insure I have accurate focus. Maybe something will come along in the next generation of the K5.

The cameras that are using EVFs and focus peaking are on to something.. not that I prefer an EVF.

Same problem here, but this can (but should not) happen with any camera...
I sent my camera for adjustment after the internal adjustment range was not sufficient for individual fine adjustment. All lenses pointed towards the same offset, so I did not send the lenses. I did a quick recalibration after the service and things look a little better. After replacnig two lenses in the next month I will do a thorough re-calibration for each lens. Afterwards I need to thoroughly check my manual focus screen for correct positioning. Lens alignment is the next thing to test. When everything is done, I will either sell the camera right away or keep it as long as possible after all that hassle.
Oh yes, my center AF point is still off even after adjustment (probably not adjustable, crap). The position is off by a one window size up and left. I really start to appreciate (calibrated) manual focus again.

[fikkser]

This might be interresting, please discuss.

Sent my K-7 for adjustment, Pentax service claims it was only a tiny bit off, sure... I still get very inconsequent results. I got the feeling they aren't very professional (kameraservice.se swedish pentax repair). They use a DA* 55 1,4 and focuses at one single point when adjusting.

According to dpreview the 55 1,4 AF behaves differently on different cameras (cameras that are all working correctly with FA 50). *(See quote at the bottom). Because of this I don't trust Pentax service to adjust my camera correctly. If the lens behaves different on different cameras there must be a bigger problem with Pentax AF. Also the 55 got spherical abbrations (focus shift), this can NOT be the correct way of adjusting focus on a camera.

I got the feeling my gear can't be perfectly adjusted. Feels good man (sarcasm).

My K-7 focuses OK at best, got it adjusted. My K-5 is a nightmare. Going to send it in ASAP.

I wish they'd buy the EOS 350d AF system to the new K-5 (joke). It got a LAZER thin center point with amazing accuracy and speed. Gotta love it. Tried to shoot on a specific straw on a flower and it nailed focus on the spot. The k5/7-basketball center point sets AF randomly.

Sorry, I'm really pissed off.

Why does some people get perfect results with any lens? What are they doing? Are they some kind of super photographers? Why can't I get it right?

"(using test bodies which had no such problem with the smc FA 50mm F1.4). On our K20D the lens back-focused considerably, and required the maximum correction of +10 to function properly. On the K2000 the lens front-focused, and due to the lack of AF adjustment we were unable to achieve consistently accurate focus by any means. We got the best results on Pentax's latest model, the K-7, but the lens still front-focused slightly and, while many pictures turned out acceptably, it needed an adjustment of -3 for best results." Pentax SMC DA* 55mm F1.4 SDM Lens Review: 3. Test results: Digital Photography Review