[Docrwm]

I've seen lots of positive comments about the IIs and its sharpness - yeah! What I haven't seen are comments about fine tuning adjustment for various lenses. I'm wondering if the IIs is less prone to needing extensive AF adjustment over the K-5?

[JinDesu]

Several users have stated that their lenses on the k-5II didn't need focus adjustment, whereas on their original k-5 they did.

[goubejp]

I have had to make some fine adjustments on the K5iis but not as much as it was on the K5. Using it without focus adjustment would have been possible, but I want to get the most out of the camera and I use it exclusively with long telephotos (aka DA*300 and FA*600)

[Digitalis]

I own a considerable amount of pentax AF lenses and strangely none of them needed any adjustment on the K5IIs. On my Pentax K7 my FA*85mm f/1.4 needed +6 correction - straight out of the box the FA*85 needed no adjustment on the K5IIs. Same goes for my FA31, on the K7 it needed -2, on the K5IIs no adjustment was needed. I'm not suggesting that all your lenses will perfectly focus -Third party lenses will still as always be problematic: My sigma 100-300 mm f/4 APO EX DG is still irritating the hell out of me, my sigma 180mm f/3.5 APO MACRO EX also needed some hefty AF adjustments. But generally if you use pentax lenses I think you will be pretty safe in the assumption that they will be accurate, or pretty damn close to it but as always: YMMV.

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Last edited by Digitalis; 02-14-2013 at 06:02 PM.

[dualie]

What is the prefer method for checking lens focus calibration?
I've tried various method from Internet, but my results varies.
No idea whether the adjustment is due to my imperfect measurement or real lens imperfection.

[martyd14]

yeah is there a good resource out there that explains how to accurately test and then how to adjust? i notice my Pentax-F 50mm is really the only lens i'm seeing might need an adjustment but that is just my eye telling me different results from my k-x.

[JinDesu]

The general method is to have a flat target parallel to your sensor some distance away. I believe the distance varies for lenses based on their focal length, but I find that as long as you are 5-6 feet away, most lenses under 100mm are good (5-6 is definitely beyond their MFD).

What you do is, make sure the target is a nice contrasty image the size of the center circle in your viewfinder (this is the size of your focusing point). Put a ruler to one side of the target, at a 45 degree angle with the middle centered on the target. Aim at the target on a tripod - make sure it's definitely parallel, any angle will give you a wrong adjustment - and focus and take the picture. Any front focus or back focus will show on the ruler.

[Docrwm]

yeah is there a good resource out there that explains how to accurately test and then how to adjust? i notice my Pentax-F 50mm is really the only lens i'm seeing might need an adjustment but that is just my eye telling me different results from my k-x.

There's usually a resource for such things here.
Fixing Front and Back Focus - The Remedy - PentaxForums.com

[Chris Mak]

I've seen lots of positive comments about the IIs and its sharpness - yeah! What I haven't seen are comments about fine tuning adjustment for various lenses. I'm wondering if the IIs is less prone to needing extensive AF adjustment over the K-5?

Strangely, with the K5IIs, none of my four Zeiss MF lenses need calibration!
But seriously, I needed AF fine tuning with the K5 and the Sigma 500/4.5, but with the k5IIs, it seems no correction is needed, certainly not in the amount of the k5.

[zapp]

Several responses say that it is strange that their lenses did not require fine tuning.... How crappy is the quality we accept if we are happy that the product does not fail immediately. Typically the camea is off not the lens. It should be STANDARD that NO CORRECTION is needed. That said my Pentax lenses vary between 0 and 12 focus adjutsment steps (scale ends at 10 and was already factory adjusted, ...). So there is certain leverage.within the lenses, but not so much. Adjusting the camera and keeping it adjusted is the tricky part.
My next Pentax will be a K5IIs as soon as the next generation comes out. Why shold I pay full price for the K5IIs for the quality that I would have expected from my K5.

[Digitalis]

How crappy is the quality we accept if we are happy that the product does not fail immediately. Typically the camea is off not the lens. It should be STANDARD that NO CORRECTION is needed

Actually many of my Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras need calibration, I know how to tweak the mirrors in my Leica cameras so the RF's remain accurate. In many cases it is the camera that is at fault - however there are many times when changing to a different copy of the same lens yields a different set of results.

[JinDesu]

Several responses say that it is strange that their lenses did not require fine tuning.... How crappy is the quality we accept if we are happy that the product does not fail immediately. Typically the camea is off not the lens. It should be STANDARD that NO CORRECTION is needed. That said my Pentax lenses vary between 0 and 12 focus adjutsment steps (scale ends at 10 and was already factory adjusted, ...). So there is certain leverage.within the lenses, but not so much. Adjusting the camera and keeping it adjusted is the tricky part.
My next Pentax will be a K5IIs as soon as the next generation comes out. Why shold I pay full price for the K5IIs for the quality that I would have expected from my K5.

I think when users have lenses that have different levels of fine tuning required, and yet on a k-5II it doesn't need ANY fine tuning, that qualifies as "strange". A good kind of "strange".

[djc737]

This really baffles me. I always thought it was some inherent characteristic of the lenses. Not sloppy focus control by the body. I had never really entertained the idea of getting a newer K-5 since a little more resolution would not be worth it. But my lenses have AF adjustment from one end to the other. And they seem to change over time. So the body is the culprit. Still would like to wait for the FF offering before upgrading but maybe if Pentax has a sale, I may do it sooner.