[aurele]

I've had bad luck with my K-r, since new it front-focused badly in pretty much ANY type of artificial light plus the weak AF-assist beam only worked on rare occasions.

The range of internal AF micro-adjustments was too small to correct the focus, same lenses worked perfectly when used on my recently calibrated K-x.
Also a disapointment, pic for pic the low-light sensitivity of the image sensor is still better in my older K-x...

The camera has been sent away for service for about a month now but Pentax Canada informs me that parts are on backorder from Japan.

In my opinion, if low-light performance is really important to you, save up and get a K-5,
despite it's own set of know problems (sensor stains, button falling off, mirror flap)
it's low-light and autofocus performance sound more consistent than the K-r's.

If a K-5 is out of your price range and you can do without illuminated focus points in the viewfinder,
for now pick up a used K-x instead and you'll have more money towards a good fast lens better suited for your concert work.

Michel

You can have this on any camera brand, just go back to the shop, and ask for a standard change / return.

Warranty is made for this

[ManuH]

The T3 is not a contender to the K-r IMHO. Feature for feature the K-r beats it hands down. If you want a Canon, get at least a T3i. And if their kit lens has good IQ it really sucks in the build department and I don't understand how a modern lens can still have a rotating front element (bye bye polarizers).

Now all these concerns about possible issues are legitimate. I had the same when I bought my first DSLR, a K10D. If I had to believe the forums my K10D would have been slow focusing, have a crack on the bottom, have a crooked viewfinder, misaligned focus points, phantom pixels, banding, etc etc etc. After 40,000 clicks it's the most problem-free DSLR I ever had.

If you're on a tripod, liveview for perfect focusing is a must. The 3" high-res screen on the K-r is a joy to use. The T3 has the old 230k 2.7" LCD that the K-x was using.

[MJL]

I concur with mlatour opinion. I have experimented with different settings for AF Fine Adjustment, Auto AF Point Setting, Catch-in Focus and even Katzeye but prove to be futile in improving my K-r focusing accuracy in artificial light. Tried with all my 15 auto or manual focus lenses (Pentax M, Pentax DA, Sigma DC, Tokina AT-X & Zeiss ZK). 10% accuracy is the best I can get during any concert! K5 performs way better under same conditions.

[zorak]

Don't be scared,come over from the dark side!! In all seriousness,i came over to pentax.I was a canon user but as i couldn't justify the cost of any decent canon lenses i waited till i got a great deal on a KR.I haven't experience any issues other than the great preformance and nice ergonomics that the KR is noted for.Its also great to be able to use practicaly any pentax mount lens.barring pentax going out of business ( not likely) i will stick with pentax as they strive to make a quality product that is more affordable than the competition.This might help.Go on EBAY or to any pawn shop and see how many older lenses are available for the K mount.Want a fisheye or macro? I can't justify $1000 for a lens i will use only on occasion,but i can justify $100 or less.

[dragra]

Title: K-r is "A nightmare at Concert" - DO NOT USE
I concur with mlatour opinion. I have experimented with different settings for AF Fine Adjustment, Auto AF Point Setting, Catch-in Focus and even Katzeye but prove to be futile in improving my K-r focusing accuracy in artificial light. Tried with all my 15 auto or manual focus lenses (Pentax M, Pentax DA, Sigma DC, Tokina AT-X & Zeiss ZK). 10% accuracy is the best I can get during any concert! K5 performs way better under same conditions.

I shot concerts at a summer stage this year. K-r really shines at events with mixed light. AF performed excellent and beyond all criticism. The main feature of K-r over the K-x (visible AF points in the VF) is a must at such events. But most of all the high ISO still surprises me.

Cheers,
D

[aurele]

I concur with mlatour opinion. I have experimented with different settings for AF Fine Adjustment, Auto AF Point Setting, Catch-in Focus and even Katzeye but prove to be futile in improving my K-r focusing accuracy in artificial light. Tried with all my 15 auto or manual focus lenses (Pentax M, Pentax DA, Sigma DC, Tokina AT-X & Zeiss ZK). 10% accuracy is the best I can get during any concert! K5 performs way better under same conditions.

Maybe you lacks training for this

i got the K-x and never get any problem on low light with the AF.

[Philoslothical]

I concur with mlatour opinion. I have experimented with different settings for AF Fine Adjustment, Auto AF Point Setting, Catch-in Focus and even Katzeye but prove to be futile in improving my K-r focusing accuracy in artificial light. Tried with all my 15 auto or manual focus lenses (Pentax M, Pentax DA, Sigma DC, Tokina AT-X & Zeiss ZK). 10% accuracy is the best I can get during any concert! K5 performs way better under same conditions.

What you just said proves it's not the "tungsten front focus" issue. That is an AF issue, and you're having problems with MF. It's very likely you just need practice using your camera.

It's tiring to see people conflate unrelated issues, reinforcing the myth that this ff issue is so common. The amount I've read about this issue in the last 6 months, it really looks like a relative handful of cases of "true ff", and at least as many that just aren't proficient yet. Several times I've seen people blame camera shake on ff, and it's just a case of low light/slower shutter/not balancing their exposure properly.

If we're going to go scaring off people interested in the Pentax brand, like OP is, we should do it for the right reasons. This isn't one.

[mlatour]

I consider myself an 'advanced amateur', do photo shoots under difficult
low-light conditions on average every 3 days or so for the past 10+ years.
(urban fire fighting night scenes, see my website in my profile)

I hope that side-by-side testing with my K-x,
under the same artificial lighting conditions,
and using the same lenses is a good enough test for you..

Same tests under natural light and all is fine with my K-r.

I'm not saying all K-r's have problems, but you can't ignore that some just do.

Michel

[mlatour]

Maybe you lacks training for this

i got the K-x and never get any problem on low light with the AF.

We are not talking about the K-x low-light abilities here,
have you ever tested in the same situations with a K-r?

Michel

[Philoslothical]

For the record, I wasn't talking about you, mlatour. I was talking about the guy I quoted. You can't have the tungsten ff issue in manual mode, and it's unlikely (but not impossible) that he's having the tungsten ff issue while coincidentally not knowing how to manually focus. The simplest explanation for him, and a few others I've seen post the same thing as him, is that he simply needs more practice.

It does sound like you may have got a lemon, which sucks, and it sucks that they haven't resolved it faster for you as well.

[aurele]

@Mlatour

As i said before, if you are encountering such issues with your K-r, use the warranty to change it by a brand new for free.

And if you don't want to do that, so just keep crying about your k-r issues.

If you can't because warranty is expired, so .... keep crying about your behaviour

We are not talking about the K-x low-light abilities here,
have you ever tested in the same situations with a K-r?

and the answer is ... YES !

With the F50/1.7, DA40, and never had any issues. When AF was doing sh*t, it was mainly because i didn't set the right parameters.

So as i said, use the fu**ing waranty !

... sorry for the F***ing.

[mlatour]

If you bothered to read all of my above posts in this thread, you would have read that
my 1-1/2 month old K-r with approx. 1000 actuations is currently at Pentax Canada for
warranty repair and parts are on back-order from Japan.

Michel

[aurele]

Sorry about that, i read it actually, but didn't realize it was you.

But keep in mind that what you describe is a big failure of the body, and so it have to be considered as exceptional. No ?

[mlatour]

Doing a quick search by typing 'K-r front focus' in the search function of
this forum reveals numerous discussions over the last year about the issue.
There seems to be more than just a 'handfull' of members here who have experienced some problems.

As I said, it may not be all K-r which have this problem (some owners who never use it under these
conditions will never know theirs do it or, if they can't compare their K-r's focus to another camera body etc.).
Like you said, how many owners will ever bother to pursue this under warranty repair (losing use of their new camera
for an unknown timespan) or will they just 'live with it' since they don't do much low-light/artificial light photography at all.

The K-r model was the replacement to the older K-x,
usually a newer model also means an 'improved' one but in this case
the fancy illuminated viewfinder dots and the pretty weak AF-assist beam all sounded good
on paper but to me it's actual *performance is 'at best' slightly below-par of the older K-x.

Michel

*performance to me meaning: AF accuracy & high ISO sensitivity

[v5planet]

There's no TAv mode on the K-x or K-r, only the K-7 and K-5. I haven't used this mode, since I have a K-r, is it really necessary? Seems by the time you're setting both your aperture and shutter, you could as well be in M, no?

Not exactly. TAv automatically sets the appropriate ISO for you to match the shutter speed and aperture you've selected. I generally use it in unpredictable lighting situations where I want to control the DOF but may be switching between subjects that require different shutter speeds to freeze. It's nice to let the K-7 do the thinking on the ISO, and if there's either too much or too little light for the sensitivity to match it, I just hit the Green Button to choose a new Aperture value off of my shutter speed to get it back into range. Finally, TAv also allows for exposure compensation, which is convenient sometimes.

All in all it's not a necessary feature, but it's extremely useful. If I had a K-5 I would probably live in TAv mode because its high ISO performance is higher. I will say though I got by just fine for almost a year on just Av mode.