[Asahiflex]

A serious question for the avid Manual Focus shooters among us:

The Live View on the K-7 is great usable, but awkward with manual focus lenses. To focus, you need to press the Info button to zoom in on the selected part of the image. However, the Info button is placed in a bad position because you can't reach it with your thumb while holding the camera normally (with your finger on the shutter release). Now that I've seen the CDAF video: I hope it does the same in manual focus mode. Press the shutter release halfway and the camera zooms in on the selected part. Manually focus the lens. Release the shutter button and the camera automatically zooms out to the whole frame. Take the photo. This would make MF'ing a breeze!

[k54]

There really is no need to #%¤!"#. I'd understand if you were a bit #+/=, maybe even if you §$%/&. But #%¤!"#? Come on, man. Keep it together!

I liked that he he he.....

[Christopher M.W.T]

They Falk can you please find out if Sigma will be releasing their new 120-300mm F2.8 in Pentax mount?

Thanks

[Gimbal]

There really is no need to #%¤!"#. I'd understand if you were a bit #+/=, maybe even if you §$%/&. But #%¤!"#? Come on, man. Keep it together!

Well, as it turns out I will have to go #%¤!"#! after all.
So here goes: What-the-#%¤!"#! are they doing? Why can't they let me decide if I want DFS or not?

[falconeye]

Can you check the image quality of 18-135mm and how fast.

You mean if I can run a lens test?

So, the request is: can you take some pictures with K-5 and upload them ?

I took a couple of RAW images and may provide them when I write my K-5 blog article after Photokina. There are already plenty of K-5 image files in the web so just increasing their number isn't my priority.

Regarding file size:

The ISO 100 DNG files are about 18-20 MB (can be smaller for "empty" subjects) and about 30 MB at ISO 6400.

[falconeye]

Press the shutter release halfway and the camera zooms in on the selected part. Manually focus the lens. Release the shutter button and the camera automatically zooms out to the whole frame. Take the photo. This would make MF'ing a breeze!

That's a good proposition. Of course, one would have to recognize that a full press is no half press.

Another proposition is a focus aid in MF, like zebra or false colors for contrast. Both propositions combined could make MF really fast.

[Nass]

Falk, thanks for these reports they're great Is the Pentax product manager there? If so, could you maybe ask him/her if these 3 are just not part of the Pentax "development universe", ie is it a deliberate "we're not going to do those things period" thing ? Optional SDM / Tethering / DFS off in B above 30s? Cheers

[PentaxScott]

First of all, THANK YOU Falk for your reports! Really beneficial to us who cant be there.

Is there any word on the included option, or the possibility of a firmware upgrade option, to allow the user to select between SDM and screw-driven AF?

[JoepLX3]

Great thread, some questions going around in my head, but probably not all easy to answer in your situation:

• Is Pentax going to release a K-mount compatible body more compact than K-x (e.g. mirrorless, let us say within 1 year from now)?
  • Or joining other format / bring large sensor fixed lens compact?
• Is Pentax working on 3D (timing less critical for me)?
• How do the SR effectivenesses compare between K-5 and K-r (with vs without rotation correction)?
  • Don't accept equally well as an anwer...
• How does this new HDR alignment work handhold in practical applications?
  • Of course we prefer relevant real life examples...

Oh, and can we expect discounts on kit combination with this 35 mm F2.4 prime and K-r / K-x and/or K-5 / K-7?

[falconeye]

Is the Pentax product manager there? If so, could you maybe ask him/her if these 3 are just not part of the Pentax "development universe", ie is it a deliberate "we're not going to do those things period" thing ? Optional SDM / Tethering / DFS off in B above 30s? Cheers

All three are redundant questions, asked many times now.

As for the product manager and a deliberate "we're not going to do those things period" question: Yes, he's there. But in order to answer the kind of questions you ask, you have to meet a Japan manager and make him talk. Outside Japan, everybody is in the dark more or less.

Great thread, some questions going around in my head, but probably not all easy to answer in your situation:

• Is Pentax going to release a K-mount compatible body more compact than K-x (e.g. mirrorless, let us say within 1 year from now)?
  • Or joining other format / bring large sensor fixed lens compact?
• Is Pentax working on 3D (timing less critical for me)?
• How do the SR effectivenesses compare between K-5 and K-r (with vs without rotation correction)?
  • Don't accept equally well as an anwer...
• How does this new HDR alignment work handhold in practical applications?
  • Of course we prefer relevant real life examples...

Oh, and can we expect discounts on kit combination with this 35 mm F2.4 prime and K-r / K-x and/or K-5 / K-7?

I can ask all questions but both of us know the answers already, don't we?

About the SR efficiency: it would require a lab test which are time consuming because of various focal length/exposure time combinations to be studied. But if you read my Understanding Image Sharpness white paper, you know everything to find out yourself

The HDR alignment seems to work very well. I did a test and can't see any induced blur. I'll write a bit about it in a forthcoming K-5 blog article. It now has 4 rather than 2 magnitudes and an additional auto magnitude. Still doesn't support RAW though.

[scole]

My thanks as well. My question- why the ISO limitation of 1600 and not 3200 in bulb mode on the K-5?

[falconeye]

I uploaded an image in full size, developped from a RAW file.

ISO 6400, DNG developped in LR2 with all settings default (which includes a mild treatment of brightness, contrast, 25% radius 1 sharpening and almost unnoticeable 25% color noise reduction). Color temperature is 2900K.



Click the image to see it full size.

Note that the image wasn't scaled to the lower resolution of a K-7 or K-x and therefore, noise isn't comparable 1:1. There is some color noise which means it doesn't beat physics

There is a second version of the image with different LR settings in the gallery after you click the image.


DISCLAIMER: This is from firmware version 0.30 and from a prototype camera. Don't draw final conclusions from this sample. However, changes in the firmware make RAW files differ less in final versions than JPEG files.


Update:
I added a download link for the original DNG file:
-> 30 MB DNG file

[blende8]

That's difficult to judge.
Do you have any direct comparisons with the K7?

[ogl]

Not very good to say honest...Anyway, I never use such ISO.

[RBellavance]

I uploaded an image in full size, developped from a RAW file.

ISO 6400, DNG developped in LR2 with all settings default (which includes a mild treatment of brightness, contrast, 25% radius 1 sharpening and almost unnoticeable 25% color noise reduction). Color temperature is 2900K.

Thanks for posting this.

I am impressed. Subjectively, this seems to match ISO 1600 on the K-7.