Originally posted by pottom
Is the Front-Focus problem systematically there in some cameras, or it behaves like a random variable, i.e. the issue is sometimes there and sometimes not?
If I buy a camera and it does not show any FF effects, than I can be sure that this issue will not be developed, right?
I am considering to buy one, but I will use it mainly indoors to take pictures from my newborn son and the FF would make the camera simple unusable for me... I would only buy one, if I can return it if there is some FF issue. Due to the local low I have 8 days to return the product, therefore it works only if this is a systematic error in the given body.
That's actually a pretty good question. Take my opinion as just another user, not an expert.
I don't think it's something that will show up later, if it wasn't a problem to begin with. It's not supposed to be that kind of issue, as it's a design problem with the AF sensor. Most people either don't have or don't encounter the conditions to show the issue, and we've seen a lot less complaints around here than there used to be. That could mean anything, the camera is discontinued now so less new ones are being sold, and perhaps the newer copies aren't as affected. Who knows.
It's not a case of all tungsten light causing problems. It's the combination of low tungsten light with fast (maybe f./2.8 and faster) lenses, shot at a wide aperture. The problem can be effectively masked by stopping down some, increasing the depth of field to compensate.
You might want to consider the new K-30 that's coming out soon. It has a lot of the features of the K-5, and is looking better than the K-r in almost every way, but is considerably cheaper than the K-5.