No kidding about AF in tungsten lighting

jboyde · 11-06-2015, 09:07 PM

I decided to do what I thought was necessary lens adjusting for my Tamron 28-75 and my Sigma 105 on the K5. I did close up shots on a focus board under the house lights and I had to adjust most of the lenses to -8.

but..

When I did it again today in sunlight it turned out that none of the lenses needed to be adjusted, well... the Tamron did, but only by -2.

So its true that the K5 has front focus problems in tungsten light. The good thing is that I can turn the adjustment on/off depending on lighting and the adjustment settings are kept for each lens. I was hoping the newest firmware would correct this but it doesn't look like it'll get fixed.

I'm glad I have the IIs as my main Pentax. I'm not badmouthing the K5 at all but I can see why they needed to make these improvements.

calsan · 11-07-2015, 04:54 AM

I found setting wb to tungsten fixed af in tungsten light with the k10d. Interested to see if that 'trick' works for you.

audiobomber · 11-07-2015, 07:08 AM

Originally posted by calsan

I found setting wb to tungsten fixed af in tungsten light with the k10d. Interested to see if that 'trick' works for you.

Tungsten setting didn't affect AF with my K-5. It still front-focussed like crazy in yellow light, even after installing the firmware upgrade that was supposed to fix the issue. I returned it after two weeks, kept my K20D and K-x.

rawr · 11-07-2015, 07:17 AM

The issue you describe is why I upgraded to the K-3.

The 'cure' for the K-5 tungsten problems is any Pentax DSLR from the K-30 onwards, inc the K-5 II, K-50, KS-2, and of course the K-3, as fixing the problem required hardware changes.

audiobomber · 11-07-2015, 11:30 AM

Originally posted by rawr

The 'cure' for the K-5 tungsten problems is any Pentax DSLR from the K-30 onwards, inc the K-5 II, K-50, KS-2, and of course the K-3, as fixing the problem required hardware changes.

IME, the K-5 performed significantly worse than the older cameras in tungsten light, as shown in this test:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100586096103361553535/albums/560324553454...CLf74sWxotSUfA

rawr · 11-07-2015, 02:11 PM

Originally posted by audiobomber

IME, the K-5 performed significantly worse than the older cameras in tungsten light

Now that you mention it, I never noticed the problem on my K200D or K-x either, at least not to the same extent I sometimes experienced it with the K-5.

Edgar_in_Indy · 11-07-2015, 03:09 PM

I remember reading about the problems when I had a K-x, but I don't remember being effected by it...at least not that I noticed.

audiobomber · 11-07-2015, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by Edgar_in_Indy

I remember reading about the problems when I had a K-x, but I don't remember being effected by it...at least not that I noticed.

The K-x never had the tungsten AF problem. Only the K-5 and K-r had it. Earlier cameras didn't, later cameras didn't.

zekewhipper · 11-16-2015, 07:21 PM

My K-5 has never given me any trouble in tungsten light.

11-06-2015, 09:07 PM	#1
jboyde Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: New York Posts: 328	No kidding about AF in tungsten lighting I decided to do what I thought was necessary lens adjusting for my Tamron 28-75 and my Sigma 105 on the K5. I did close up shots on a focus board under the house lights and I had to adjust most of the lenses to -8. but.. When I did it again today in sunlight it turned out that none of the lenses needed to be adjusted, well... the Tamron did, but only by -2. So its true that the K5 has front focus problems in tungsten light. The good thing is that I can turn the adjustment on/off depending on lighting and the adjustment settings are kept for each lens. I was hoping the newest firmware would correct this but it doesn't look like it'll get fixed. I'm glad I have the IIs as my main Pentax. I'm not badmouthing the K5 at all but I can see why they needed to make these improvements.

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11-07-2015, 04:54 AM	#2
calsan Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,548	I found setting wb to tungsten fixed af in tungsten light with the k10d. Interested to see if that 'trick' works for you.

11-07-2015, 07:08 AM	#3
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	Originally posted by calsan I found setting wb to tungsten fixed af in tungsten light with the k10d. Interested to see if that 'trick' works for you. Tungsten setting didn't affect AF with my K-5. It still front-focussed like crazy in yellow light, even after installing the firmware upgrade that was supposed to fix the issue. I returned it after two weeks, kept my K20D and K-x.

11-07-2015, 07:17 AM	#4
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	The issue you describe is why I upgraded to the K-3. The 'cure' for the K-5 tungsten problems is any Pentax DSLR from the K-30 onwards, inc the K-5 II, K-50, KS-2, and of course the K-3, as fixing the problem required hardware changes.

11-07-2015, 11:30 AM	#5
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	Originally posted by rawr The 'cure' for the K-5 tungsten problems is any Pentax DSLR from the K-30 onwards, inc the K-5 II, K-50, KS-2, and of course the K-3, as fixing the problem required hardware changes. IME, the K-5 performed significantly worse than the older cameras in tungsten light, as shown in this test: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100586096103361553535/albums/560324553454...CLf74sWxotSUfA

11-07-2015, 02:11 PM	#6
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Originally posted by audiobomber IME, the K-5 performed significantly worse than the older cameras in tungsten light Now that you mention it, I never noticed the problem on my K200D or K-x either, at least not to the same extent I sometimes experienced it with the K-5.

11-07-2015, 03:09 PM	#7
Edgar_in_Indy Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Indiana, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,685	I remember reading about the problems when I had a K-x, but I don't remember being effected by it...at least not that I noticed.

11-07-2015, 08:15 PM	#8
audiobomber Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sudbury, Ontario Photos: Albums Posts: 6,806	Originally posted by Edgar_in_Indy I remember reading about the problems when I had a K-x, but I don't remember being effected by it...at least not that I noticed. The K-x never had the tungsten AF problem. Only the K-5 and K-r had it. Earlier cameras didn't, later cameras didn't.

11-16-2015, 07:21 PM	#9
zekewhipper Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Photos: Albums Posts: 307	My K-5 has never given me any trouble in tungsten light.

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