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06-09-2018, 01:58 PM   #1
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Video autofocus

I have the K5 II, and so far it's outstanding. I have a Sigma 18-250 zoom/macro lens, and during video shooting with more than about 100 mm zoom - it seems to not get auto-focused. Would this be normal? Shots are indoors, in medium light. Works fine if I switch to manual focus tho ...

06-09-2018, 02:01 PM   #2
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As far as I recall, the K-5 has no AF at all in video mode. Newer models got rudimentary on-demand AF, with the K-70 and KP having so-so continuous AF. Still quite unrefined, though.

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06-09-2018, 02:05 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
As far as I recall, the K-5 has no AF at all in video mode. Newer models got rudimentary on-demand AF, with the K-70 and KP having so-so continuous AF. Still quite unrefined, though.
Okay, thanks Adam. Well, I just started shooting video with it. Stills have been marvelous.
06-09-2018, 02:06 PM   #4
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1. Pentax has never been ideal for video... lots of advanced functions missing, and quality is so-so.
It's ok for the occasional family video, but not much more.

2. AF is not particularly useful in video: manual focus is what works best, since transitions are smoother, more gradual, and there's no hunting.
I miss focus peaking more than AF to be frank.

06-09-2018, 02:24 PM   #5
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Looking at the K5 II manual again, page 155 has a short paragraph implying that auto focus is available for video. It doesn't say much about it though.

Agree with @LensBeginner that manual is the generically the way to go on video. Just wondered if I was doing something wrong on the K5. I never intentionally use autofocus during video shoots on any of the other cameras I have.
06-09-2018, 02:33 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ronaldlees Quote
Looking at the K5 II manual again, page 155 has a short paragraph implying that auto focus is available for video. It doesn't say much about it though.

Agree with @LensBeginner that manual is the generically the way to go on video. Just wondered if I was doing something wrong on the K5. I never intentionally use autofocus during video shoots on any of the other cameras I have.
If it does, it would be activated on-demand whenever you press the AF button while the camera and lens are both set to AF. But as far as I recall this isn't available during recording on the K-5. I could be wrong though- give it a try!

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06-09-2018, 02:43 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
If it does, it would be activated on-demand whenever you press the AF button while the camera and lens are both set to AF. But as far as I recall this isn't available during recording on the K-5. I could be wrong though- give it a try!
IIRC you have to set the function in the button customization menu, it's like that on my K-01 (don't have a K-5).

06-09-2018, 03:31 PM - 1 Like   #8
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Only the K-70 has continuous AF in video mode.

Everything else is on demand only via AF button press, which will record the AF hunting and noise etc.

Wide angle is more tolerant, keeping much in focus with an aperture like f8 etc.
06-09-2018, 05:16 PM   #9
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This is why an older Lumix micro43 body (my GX1 or wife's GF2) loiters in my bag. It uses the same USB cable as Pentax, 1080 specs are good yet both can be hacked to higher bit rates and/or better audio, and either body can be had for $100 plus a bit for a kit lens. Touchscreen AF is clearly not a Pentax priority right now and 4k is not a priority for me - so older Lumix do just fine.

Edit - after further review..
My K50 does focus in video using the back button. Under Button Customization I have Enable AF2 set for video, the back button focuses. I can make a sandwich while it focuses.. but it does work.
The K50 has Prime M however, that might be the difference; K-5 only does m-jpeg too as I recall?

Last edited by jimr-pdx; 06-09-2018 at 05:23 PM.
06-09-2018, 07:17 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ronaldlees Quote
I have the K5 II, and so far it's outstanding. I have a Sigma 18-250 zoom/macro lens, and during video shooting with more than about 100 mm zoom - it seems to not get auto-focused. Would this be normal? Shots are indoors, in medium light. Works fine if I switch to manual focus tho ...
The K-5II/K-5IIS manual states on page 156 that the AF system operates when the user presses the shutter release button halfway (number 2 of "Recording Movies" topic).
06-09-2018, 08:07 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by C_Jones Quote
The K-5II/K-5IIS manual ... AF system operates when the user presses the shutter release button halfway ...
Right. That's what I was doing. I can hear the AF hunting before the video starts ... so now I'd guess (as has been already mentioned in this post), that it's not a continuous AF on the K5 during video.
06-09-2018, 08:16 PM   #12
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I can see your point, and if you have not already tried it, I am curious if AF.C would serve that purpose. If not, I suppose Manual would be the option.
06-09-2018, 09:09 PM   #13
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Yes, I usually want to use manual focusing during a video shoot anyway. But, auto-focus is handy when the camera's on a tripod, and I can't be monitoring it very closely. The AF.C switch doesn't change anything. It focuses at the start, and from then on the only noise is the aperture moving. "On demand" kind of defeats the purpose for video IMO. So, that's OK. I can live with manual focusing.

I see you have the K-5 IIs. Do you use it for video?
06-09-2018, 09:33 PM   #14
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No, I have only used it for stills. There is so much to know/experience with the stills alone that I have not done any dedicated movies with it. The K-5IIS is a great camera, I have it along with my K-3 II and K-1 II.

Manual seems like a good choice for AF when doing movies, being that you have flexible control without possible hunting, though a satisfactory AF method would also be nice.
06-27-2018, 10:28 AM   #15
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I've been using the K5 ii for HD 1080p video for a couple weeks, and it does OK most of the time. I'm doing all manual focusing, and am happy with that.

Does anyone have any ideas about optimizing low light videos with the K5? It seems the options are fairly limited in the video menu. The iso tops out much more quickly than for stills (too much processing time required maybe?). Any way to monkey with that? Are any non-video specific settings in effect when video is running, and that I could tweak?

It seems I'm doing a lot of color correction post processing on the low light indoor videos, when using the WB presets. Can get pretty good result with manual WB.

Looking for a "top five" list for hints for the best video in low iight for a K5.

- Ron

Last edited by Ronaldlees; 06-27-2018 at 10:44 AM.
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