[BarneyL]

It is wild because the Nikon is just very good at this matter, Pentax not. It has never been Pentax' focus to compete in the af game, afaik. Its not a brand to shoot sports with.

For a long time, same could be said about Fujifilm. X-Pro1 AF was abysmal. X-T1 only slightly better. Look at where they're now.

In any case, I don't expect nor hope Ricoh will switch its main focus to sports shooting. I just think that Tokyo Olympics are quite prestigious event for any camera manufacturer (regardless of what their main focus is), and as such, it's not unlikely they will prepare something special for such occasion.

[superdave]

I don't know if we could expect huge improvement with viewfinder AF but, with a modern sensor optimized for mirrorless, we could expect a lot of improvement in liveview AF. I don't care about 3D tracking as I mostly shoot static or slow moving subjects but I would be interested in a more reliable AF even if I have to use 1 focus point and liveview. The lens could be the problem here, I don't think my DA*300/4 is very precise, at least when I shot wild animals, and especially with TC1.4.

[house]

At some point I guess AF soft/hardware will become more of a commodity and the performance will level out. Perhaps we're approaching it. At least the software side should be much more accessible now.

[TwoUptons]

At some point I guess AF soft/hardware will become more of a commodity and the performance will level out. Perhaps we're approaching it. At least the software side should be much more accessible now.

I’m afraid that is going to come with on-sensor focus capability, which has no benefit when the mirror is down...

-Eric

[monochrome]

It is wild because the Nikon is just very good at this matter, Pentax not. It has never been Pentax' focus to compete in the af game, afaik. Its not a brand to shoot sports with.

There are of course differences between ff and aps, in iptics and computing amount but generally speaking: if you can build one fast, the same is true for the other one.

Actually Pentax has stated fairly often in interviews over the last four years, developing class-leading AF is a core goal.

Edit: Perhaps that is an overstatement.

[WorksAsIntended]

Actually Pentax has stated fairly often in interviews over the last four years, developing class-leading AF is a core goal.

On dslrs? I remember such statements about mid format, where a few years back all af systems were rather slow.
If this has been their primarily focus I got to wonder, if they choose the right fight.

[monochrome]

On dslrs? I remember such statements about mid format, where a few years back all af systems were rather slow.
If this has been their primarily focus I got to wonder, if they choose the right fight.

Yes, on DSLR’s. Competitive AF (stated as “:the best AF” is a core goal of Ricoh for the Pentax brand. Knowledge of this goal is well-established within this community.

[BigMackCam]

On dslrs? I remember such statements about mid format, where a few years back all af systems were rather slow.
If this has been their primarily focus I got to wonder, if they choose the right fight.

I don't think we can say it's Ricoh's primary focus - but it's one of the things they consider very important... and whether it actually becomes class-leading (for DSLR - specifically not including mirrorless) is less important, frankly, than the commitment to continued improvements in AF peformance across the Pentax range. So, putting class aside, it's a very positive goal for Ricoh to be working toward...

[reh321]

On dslrs? I remember such statements about mid format, where a few years back all af systems were rather slow.
If this has been their primarily focus I got to wonder, if they choose the right fight.

Have you used a 55-300mm PLM on a KP?? Mine works both quietly and quickly - a big improvement over the 55-300mm on a K-30 that it replaced.

[WorksAsIntended]

Have you used a 55-300mm PLM on a KP?? Mine works both quietly and quickly - a big improvement over the 55-300mm on a K-30 that it replaced.

The PLM is lightning fast, yes. Tracking in AF-C and hit rate are still sub standard though. The af improved by a lot for Pentax, thats also right. When I switched from the k10D to the K3 II it was a night and day change and the k1 II is better than the k3 II too, although the difference is not that much as between the k10D and k3 II.
The DFA50 1.4 and K1 II combo is good enough in af speed for my use, otherwhise I would have switched brands. It is far from unusable and compared to any system one or two decades back a dream come true. Compared to modern competitors, still some way to go though.

Maybe they will be able with the k_new to close the gap. I would be suprised but surely happy if they managed. If not, well, it stays at it is.

[monochrome]

The PLM is lightning fast, yes. Tracking in AF-C and hit rate are still sub standard though. The af improved by a lot for Pentax, thats also right. When I switched from the k10D to the K3 II it was a night and day change and the k1 II is better than the k3 II too, although the difference is not that much as between the k10D and k3 II.
The DFA50 1.4 and K1 II combo is good enough in af speed for my use, otherwhise I would have switched brands. It is far from unusable and compared to any system one or two decades back a dream come true. Compared to modern competitors, still some way to go though.

Maybe they will be able with the k_new to close the gap. I would be suprised but surely happy if they managed. If not, well, it stays at it is.

The K-New AF system is a departure from the past AF architecture, not a mere iteration of the existing system.

[reh321]

The PLM is lightning fast, yes. Tracking in AF-C and hit rate are still sub standard though. The af improved by a lot for Pentax, thats also right. When I switched from the k10D to the K3 II it was a night and day change and the k1 II is better than the k3 II too, although the difference is not that much as between the k10D and k3 II.
The DFA50 1.4 and K1 II combo is good enough in af speed for my use, otherwhise I would have switched brands. It is far from unusable and compared to any system one or two decades back a dream come true. Compared to modern competitors, still some way to go though.

Maybe they will be able with the k_new to close the gap. I would be suprised but surely happy if they managed. If not, well, it stays at it is.

Have you actually used a 55-300mm lens + KP camera? I find the pair to be highly usable, with a good hit rate.

[Digitalis]

Actually Pentax has stated fairly often in interviews over the last four years, developing class-leading AF is a core goal.

After a cursory googling, I couldn't find a single source explicitly stating Pentax "developing class-leading AF is a core goal" outside of Pentaxforums to back this statement up. So to anyone outside these forums such an ambition would only be known to those whom are already invested or interested in pentax.

I did find a few mentions of Pentax utilizing ring type supersonic drive motors in the new D-FA 50mm f/1.4 that delivers greater speed and precision than lenses have produced before, which brings Pentax to the state of the art*. Faster lens drive systems are only a step towards developing fast and accurate AF. The camera body has to get correct telemetry from the lens and AF the module algorithms dictate how that information is interpreted and how corrections [if needed] are executed.

I don't think we can say it's Ricoh's primary focus

I see what you did there.


*Considering Canon used Ring type Ultrasonic motors for the first time in 1987. Nikon, using SWM for the first time in 1998: makes Pentax rather unfashionably late to the party.

[Wheatfield]

For a long time, same could be said about Fujifilm. X-Pro1 AF was abysmal. X-T1 only slightly better. Look at where they're now.
.

That's funny. I remember when I bought my X-Pro 1 thinking about how great it was to finally have an AF camera that had dependable AF.

[WorksAsIntended]

Mirrorless AF is a totally different topic. Fuji therefore is another story imho. All competitors are pretty new to this game and you can see monthly progress on this tlpic on any brand.
The currently used af-c tracking in dslrs usually bottlenecks at the processing unit. One of the reasons they could improve the same af module with the k1 II update compared to the k1 I, same reason why the D5 tracks better than the D850.
If they are able to produce a Pe tax compact style camera with faster chips than bigger competitors, I am not sure about this.
As long as they did not find a completely new algorithm this statement just seems very unlikely.

I would be ingerested to read a Petax source about this, esp from when it dates back is a very interesting information.