[woof]

If all humans were like you and unlike me, it can be shown we all would still live in caves. Like all other animals actually. To spread sperm (or raise children) isn't all you can do for your species, assuming a minimal degree of organization. I think that's all I say about this. But good literature about the topic exists. Thanks for your question.

Dude... we all need our heros.

You are now one of mine. Really, I mean it.

woof!

[Kenn100D]

@smeggypants
Thanks for the clarification. Let's see what pentax will do the phase AF.
for now back on shooting and get to know my K-5 and make a way around with its flaws at the moment.
@betaphoto
Thank you too. Probably user error. =) Still learning my K-5.

[rparmar]

If anyone thinks their K-5 is now "worth nothing" (as someone somewhere said -- can't read all posts to find the source!) then I would be happy to take it off your hands. Since I shoot MF in any difficult situation the problem would not affect me at all.

Hoping Pentax address this.

[Erik]

Since I shoot MF in any difficult situation the problem would not affect me at all.

Yes, it would. It affects the MF assist focus confirmation diamond as well. If you like to manual focus in live view all the time, however, the K-5 is the camera for you!

[jsherman999]

If anyone thinks their K-5 is now "worth nothing" (as someone somewhere said -- can't read all posts to find the source!) then I would be happy to take it off your hands. Since I shoot MF in any difficult situation the problem would not affect me at all.

.

Good point - K-5 with the VL 58 1.4, or M 85 f/2, or Tak 105.... Sweetness indeed.

[goddo31]

I was making a post referencing the over-exaggeration of certain posts ("camera is worth nothing"). I was in no way denying the problem. But since you feel as you do, how about I send you the shipping costs and a modest fee for your trouble and you ship me the K-5?

By the way, it might startle you to learn that one can MF without the confirmation icon.

I have been wondering if someone would mention this. Why not just manually focus?
I know a fix is still required, but with a bit of practice manual focus is easy enough.
You're right of course Robin; often the confirmation can be slightly misleading anyway. A good focusing screen and/or a good eye is much more accurate.

[jolepp]

Modern viewfinders/focus screens/lenses are less than ideal for MF, especially so in low light. Also, this would mean some applications being less practical instead opening up new ones with improved continuous AF.

[Smeggypants]

Modern viewfinders/focus screens/lenses are less than ideal for MF, especially so in low light. Also, this would mean some applications being less practical instead opening up new ones with improved continuous AF.

And the viewfinders focus screens don't give you a DOF narrower than that from about f/2.8.

So if you're shooting at f/1.2 or f/1.4 then it's very difficult to manually focus because you're looking at much wider depth of field than the sensor sees. Try it ...

I also do a lot of blind shooting from the hip in the street for candids. Not even looking through the viewfinder in these cases

[Ash]

Falk, I've only just come across this thread and find it very enlightening and informative. Perhaps not something Pentax wants to see but they should.

This thread ought to become an article.

[RXrenesis8]

Congrats Falconeye, you're on the front page.

Also Pentax is rumored to be pushing out v1.0.3 firmware correcting the issue.

Talk about making a difference!

[Smeggypants]

Congrats Falconeye, you're on the front page.

Also Pentax is rumored to be pushing out v1.0.3 firmware correcting the issue.

Talk about making a difference!

Means nothing. Pentax has been rumoured to be making a fix now for over a month or more.

Falconeye's report is superb, but it hasn't made any tangible difference as yet in rega4rd to any promise of a fix.

[ursamajor]

What's the possibility that Kr owners to be ignored (as in this message) although there are more reports concerning the same AF tungsten/artificial light issue on Kr? Falconeye, can you do (or extrapolate) your study on Kr? I believe the situation is even worse than K5's.

[JeffJS]

My new K5 arrived from CRIS Thursday. After charging the batteries back up and checking things out, no stains, no dust, and I'm reasonably satisfied with the AF in artificial lighting..



http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5477543601_4001cb36dd_o.jpg

Taken with an FA*24mm f2.0 at f2.0.

The focal point is the 2907 on the locomotive. This is mixed daylight florescent and tungsten floodlights (the track lighting type). Couldn't tell you what the actual color temperature was but I Can tell you that if I set it with a gray card, the above photo is pretty close to what I'll get in colors. The pinkish wall is actually grey.

I've also checked at a distance, in the same lighting, the regular AF compared to Live View AF. Seems to be identical (and accurate). The build date on the camera is mid December 2010 and the current firmware in the camera is 1.01.005.

Draw whatever conclusions you like about all of that, I'm not going to fight with anybody about them. I Will acknowledge that this is probably greater than the typical misfocus EV (ISO 2000, 1/125, f2.0).. This is however a typical shooting condition for me.

[mtngal]

Thanks very much for your report. I've read part of it but most of it is way over my head. But it's very interesting, and your summary answers a couple of questions I had.

On the AF assist lamp - did you happen to notice where it was illuminating, compared to the focus point you were using?

Recently I spent an afternoon/evening trying to figure out using a flash (I'm such a beginner about it and there's always been something fundamental that I didn't quite get). As the sun went down the AF assist lamp started coming on and while looking through the viewfinder I noticed that it was lighting the upper right part of the frame, hardly touching the center part where the camera was trying to focus (was using the center focus point). Since I was only thinking about exposure, I didn't think about changing the focus point to one closer to where the light was hitting on my subject. Do you suppose that could account for different people's experience with it? Some cameras have better aligned lamps than others?

[mgoblue]

Just a quick fix idea: 80 series tungsten light filter? Used to use them all the time with film. I know it's not ideal, but if it works it could save a lot of trouble and let people keep shooting in low tungsten light. I don't have a K5 (though I'd like one) so I can't test it. Anyone else? In theory it should work.