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07-12-2014, 02:19 AM   #61
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QuoteOriginally posted by Cynog Ap Brychan Quote
I absolutely adore my K-3, but I do get a lot higher percentage of keepers with my D800, whether it be birds in flight or my rather nippy granddaughter. And this is with SDM lenses: I wouldn't expect the screw drives to compete although, that said, they seem pretty snappy in AF-S mode. Ricoh has a stated aim of being number one in autofocus and, to be honest, it's the only thing I would wish to be improved with the K-3. Others may have different needs/desires, of course.
I actually expect some screw lenses to be a lot more capable of sustaining your K-3 AF-C needs than sdm lenses.

07-12-2014, 03:10 AM   #62
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QuoteOriginally posted by thibs Quote
I actually expect some screw lenses to be a lot more capable of sustaining your K-3 AF-C needs than sdm lenses.
It should not be so! Come on Ricoh, up your game!
07-12-2014, 04:22 AM   #63
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QuoteOriginally posted by Cynog Ap Brychan Quote
It should not be so! Come on Ricoh, up your game!
Oh, I agree 500%, unfortunately
07-12-2014, 05:54 AM   #64
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I think most, maybe all, of the screw drive lenses I have lock focus faster than the SDM lenses I use. To be fair that is screwdrive primes and SDM zooms. Still SDM, or whatever in lens system is used, should be faster than screwdrive and SDM definitely is not.

We need a faster in lens af drive system. I think the k-3 af is very competitive, the lenses just cannot keep up.

07-12-2014, 07:28 AM   #65
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Never used an SDM lens. However, the DC motor in my 18-135mm made me giddy when using it for the first few times over my screw drive lenses on my K-5ii. Practically quiet and near instantaneous. I think screw drive allows Ricoh to build the lens for less while still keeping the price inflated.. they make more money. Because I sure don't see the difference in the price.

So I think, from here on out, new models (short of the kit lenses) should contain a fast focusing motor in them.

But, at least, with screw drive there is one less thing to break in the lens.. ehh so a tossup.
07-12-2014, 03:48 PM   #66
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QuoteOriginally posted by rawr Quote
Getting back to Photokina, I have the feeling that the tight opsec Ricoh is maintaining about it's plans for Photokina may be a positive sign. Putting the best possible spin on it, they may actually have a big news cargo enroute to Photokina that they want to protect
That is indeed a positive spin, and I like it

BUT, once bitten twice shy and all that (how many times have we been bitten now? It seems we refuse to learn...)

---------- Post added 07-13-14 at 08:57 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Cynog Ap Brychan Quote
Ricoh has a stated aim of being number one in autofocus
I'm not challenging you on this, just curious as to when they said that? I don't remember reading that particular aspiration (but sincerely hope it's true!)
07-12-2014, 06:22 PM   #67
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QuoteOriginally posted by rawr Quote
Getting back to Photokina, I have the feeling that the tight opsec Ricoh is maintaining about it's plans for Photokina may be a positive sign. Putting the best possible spin on it, they may actually have a big news cargo enroute to Photokina that they want to protect.
Hope so. There must have been time for the delay caused by the take over from Hoya to have settled now

07-12-2014, 06:31 PM   #68
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QuoteOriginally posted by Smeggypants Quote
Hope so. There must have been time for the delay caused by the take over from Hoya to have settled now
Don't forget the entire company went through a financial restructuring just ended in March and they spent all of FY 03/2014 getting a massive Office Equipment plant in China up and running.

They really didn't start on Ricoh-specific products until about 18 months ago - and much of that was pulling back and improving Hoya-Tax designs (K-3, 1.4x TC) and making capital investments in production facilities that we don't see (HD coating evaporators).

We started to see Ricoh's influence with the K-3. If there's nothing dramatic at Photokina ...............

But one who knows says this is a new and exciting time for Pentax, there will be cameras in all sizes and new lenses, and this fall will be like last fall.
07-12-2014, 07:19 PM   #69
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
Don't forget the entire company went through a financial restructuring just ended in March and they spent all of FY 03/2014 getting a massive Office Equipment plant in China up and running.

They really didn't start on Ricoh-specific products until about 18 months ago - and much of that was pulling back and improving Hoya-Tax designs (K-3, 1.4x TC) and making capital investments in production facilities that we don't see (HD coating evaporators).

We started to see Ricoh's influence with the K-3. If there's nothing dramatic at Photokina ...............

But one who knows says this is a new and exciting time for Pentax, there will be cameras in all sizes and new lenses, and this fall will be like last fall.

Good points - Fingers crossed for the coming months. I'm starting to itch for something excitin pentax even ifI dont' buy it myself
07-13-2014, 12:44 AM   #70
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QuoteOriginally posted by Poit Quote
I'm not challenging you on this, just curious as to when they said that?
At the CP+ 2013 Interview with Pentax - Pentax Camera News & Rumors - PentaxForums.com (sorry, I'm not au fait with how to do a link to this)

They said: "In regard to the autofocus of the K-5 II, we developed it aiming to be number one in high sensitivity, but right now in the development team we are looking to become number one in autofocus."
07-13-2014, 07:09 AM   #71
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QuoteOriginally posted by thibs Quote
I actually expect some screw lenses to be a lot more capable of sustaining your K-3 AF-C needs than sdm lenses.
And this is acknowledged by Pentax management too ...
07-13-2014, 07:14 AM   #72
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Personally, I would love a new K-01/K-02. I have these great limiteds that would be perfect for a new compact.

This is my dream list of features.....

1. EVF/OVF - the tech is out there to make it happen.
2. Better AF - though I shoot portraits/fashion .... Just a bump in AF speed would be incredible.
3. Keep it 16mp - I am just tired of the D800 and its beefy files.

That's it. Not asking for too much. It seems like a very reasonable request. I still shoot my Stormtrooper daily but those things would make it a true alternative for the D800. I bought into it for the beauty of the limiteds and its smaller size than my D800/D700 kit. If it doesn't happen, I'm thinking of just dropping the hammer and going K-5iis or K-30 for size alone.
07-13-2014, 01:28 PM   #73
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Well maybe the Photokina will be a little less extravagant when the industrie keeps looking at shrinking sales allover. On the other hand maybe they all are over positive and bring out all their new toys.
07-13-2014, 02:51 PM   #74
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
Don't forget the entire company went through a financial restructuring just ended in March and they spent all of FY 03/2014 getting a massive Office Equipment plant in China up and running...
Please Monochrome, no more fancy and totally off-topic excuses. We are well past beyond that era of such excuses, so let it rest in the past. We need better ones this time:

A. A punctured tyre in some of the office manager's car who was about to press "Start production" button but ended up in hospital (and only he could do it because the button is fingerprint sensitive).
B. Broken down ice-cream machines in steaming hot Tokyo.
C. Running out of staples. Etc.

Thanks.

Last edited by Uluru; 07-13-2014 at 02:59 PM.
07-13-2014, 02:51 PM   #75
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My K3 has really impressed me with its low light focusing in still conditions. I recently was trying to do tracking of sea gulls as they were flying around my area. A fellow club member walked up to me and said that her D7000 would have a diffiult time tracking the sea gulls.
What i found in my first attempt to use K3 tracking was that if the seagulls were really close to me, it was difficult for me to track them, at a medium distance it worked fine/impressive.

I find comments about the AF being poor or really good on a particular camera to be not very useful. For one thing, AF is not a single factor. At least 3 factors are involved:

a. What's the lowest light EV standard that the camera will still lock focus at?

b. What's the accuracy of a focus for that camera? Some cameras can readily lock focus but examination at 100% shows its not even close.

c. Tracking - very complex subject that is probably hardware dependent. I've read of Nikon using more than one processor to perform parallel calculations in cameras, e.g. one processor to do exposure calculations and another processor to do focusing and tracking. Obviously, in a more expensive camera like a FF, there is more money that can be budgeted for AF hardware, not so much on a lower price point camera. But how does one even compare tracking success from one camera to another on an objective basis. The lens design that is used by the test probably has a significant effect on how well tracking is accomplished. In the Sony A99, i've read that Sony provides the option to limit the focusing range of the lens to speed up its performance.

But folks will off hand say this camera is better at AF than another camera - but what the heck do they mean? a, b, or c above, or even some other focusing performance factor? But i do get the feeling, without having any specific data, that my DA 50-135 could be tuned to be faster than it is in AF. Stellar optics, but slow in tracking.

More important to me is the K3's low light focusing standard of -3ev. The spot EV tool on my Galaxy S4 Android phone bottoms out at 1.1 ev and its plenty shady.
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