[repaap]

I think it will be tough, because AF is dependent, not only on the body, but on the lens used. There are plenty of Pentaxians who continue to use older lenses -- screw driven or SDM lenses and unfortunately, even if the algorithms are better with the K-new, there's only so much speed you can get out of those. To really get good auto focus, you will need DC or PLM driven lenses as well as a new body.

That said, there have been improvements over time. My K-1 II tracks better than my K-1 which tracks better than my K3. So saying that there hasn't been improvement over time is untrue.

I do also find those improvements from K-3 to K-1. Don't have K-1II, but according to what I'v seen it should be.


About those PLM lenses, I do find it interesting that there is coming 16-50(and 50-135) PLM * lens. this is new era. I coud believe that there is more of that coming in few nex year. From what everyone has seen on this forum, they(Ricoh) have gone through of lenses they have now and are thinking of updates. Either something likne HD FA or HD DA with screwdrive or with new elements and PLM. For me even screwdrive is okay. SDM is too slow. DFA is on the other hand quite fast. I do believe that there can be more juices taken from DFA lenses still. It must be optimised/restricted somehow, probably because of making life of that motor longer. So, I believe that with these new motors and cameras restriction is not 'just' how fast it -can- be.

[Wiltshireborn]

I don't understand all the negative comments about Pentax being behind the competition as regards AF or any other aspect. If you are really concerned about those things and see better cameras from other manufacturers, then go and buy them. I love Pentax because they don't run with the herd, they make a camera that is a joy to use, sturdy and reliable and performs brilliantly in most circumstances. Before AF we all had to focus manually, it was slow and a bit hit and miss at times, then along came AF and things are a lot easier. Yes there are cameras out there that can focus on a gnats gonads in a split second and track them as they swing but I don't need super fast AF and my Pentax KP is plenty quick enough anyway. It just seems like everything in life, as technology moves on, people are never satisfied with what they have.

[cport]

Agree with the text above.


Ricoh made a huge progress in AF since the K-5 era, especially in AF-S. Many people complained about AF-C in all newest bodies, but there were two main limiting factors - slow (in terms of AF speed) or screw-driven lenses, and lower number of AF points. But the situation has changed in the last years, because many lenses were released.


My current experience (KP + 55-300 PLM) is that AF-C is perfectly usable. With newer, much faster body having more AF points, I am convinced that that even AF-C will be significantly improved.

[Sandy Hancock]

While reading your post I was constantly thinking about the old limerick about the man from Devizes. Then I read this....

focus on a gnats gonads

....and my life was complete

[BarneyL]

I don't understand all the negative comments about Pentax being behind the competition as regards AF or any other aspect. If you are really concerned about those things and see better cameras from other manufacturers, then go and buy them. I love Pentax because they don't run with the herd, they make a camera that is a joy to use, sturdy and reliable and performs brilliantly in most circumstances. Before AF we all had to focus manually, it was slow and a bit hit and miss at times, then along came AF and things are a lot easier. Yes there are cameras out there that can focus on a gnats gonads in a split second and track them as they swing but I don't need super fast AF and my Pentax KP is plenty quick enough anyway. It just seems like everything in life, as technology moves on, people are never satisfied with what they have.

Well, those that really need premiere league AF certainly switched long time ago or never went with Pentax.

Then, there are also those who don't need top notch AF, but they sometimes get frustrated when 77 Limited indoors plays the full song of its people before locking on the subject.


There's nothing wrong with pointing out potential areas of improvement.

[bobmaxja]

Slow lenses and fast AF are not compatible. KP and 55-300PLM is very fast

[Parallax]

I don't understand all the negative comments about Pentax being behind the competition as regards AF or any other aspect.

There seems to be a common misconception that every product is in competition with every similar product; but the Ford F150 isn't in competition with the Mini Cooper. The Chevy Corvette isn't in competition with the Jeep Wrangler, and the Pentax K-New isn't necessarily in competition with the <insert any (or all) Nikon models here>

[Serkevan]

There seems to be a common misconception that every product is in competition with every similar product; but the Ford F150 isn't in competition with the Mini Cooper. The Chevy Corvette isn't in competition with the Jeep Wrangler, and the Pentax K-New isn't necessarily in competition with the <insert any (or all) Nikon models here>

That analogy works if you compare the Q with a Fuji GFX, but breaks apart like a Ford, coincidentally :p, once you get to comparing relatively similar models. Or, at least, it does in the minds of most prospective consumers - which more or less makes it a reality because of how markets work. For example, while it's most likely true that the K-New won't be in the same "fight" as entry-level FF (since those suffer in features and speed to offer the FF sensor size at a low price), I think it will definitely be in the same ballpark as the middle-top range APS-C offerings from other manufacturers (or even the Oly M1) - so Nikon D7500/D500, Canon 90D/7Dii, Sony A6600/6400 and Fuji XT3/4 are all reasonable comparisons.

The question of price will determine if it gets close to the R6/Z6/A7iii, but those are all mirrorless so not quite a good comparison.

Stuff like the GRiii sells because there's basically nothing in the same market segment (the only competitor is the Sony RX1 and even that's very debatable since it's 4 times the price and substantially thicker). A premium APS-C is going to have to wedge itself in a relatively more crowded environment. Pentax have, so far, shown that the K-New is focused on having a superb OVF and the Pentax features are a given, but we still don't know a lot about the rest. It will undoubtedly be a killer DSLR for any already-happy Pentaxian so I'm thinking a lot of people will upgrade, but that's preaching to the choir. The only question is whether it manages to
A) Keep disgruntled Pentax users from jumping/quitting.
B) Make people disgruntled with other systems jump into Pentax instead of holding/jumping somewhere else/quitting.

Everything else is fluff.

[Rondec]

Well, those that really need premiere league AF certainly switched long time ago or never went with Pentax.

Then, there are also those who don't need top notch AF, but they sometimes get frustrated when 77 Limited indoors plays the full song of its people before locking on the subject.


There's nothing wrong with pointing out potential areas of improvement.

I just don't the FA 77 is going to be a big beneficiary here. Maybe it will, but I think odds are good that if you want faster tracking AF you will need to spring for the DFA *85.

I love my FA 77, but there is enough slop in the screw drive system that I think odds are really good that it will never achieve the precision that a good in lens motor system can.

[larryaustin3]

That analogy works if you compare the Q with a Fuji GFX, but breaks apart like a Ford, coincidentally :p, once you get to comparing relatively similar models. Or, at least, it does in the minds of most prospective consumers - which more or less makes it a reality because of how markets work. For example, while it's most likely true that the K-New won't be in the same "fight" as entry-level FF (since those suffer in features and speed to offer the FF sensor size at a low price), I think it will definitely be in the same ballpark as the middle-top range APS-C offerings from other manufacturers (or even the Oly M1) - so Nikon D7500/D500, Canon 90D/7Dii, Sony A6600/6400 and Fuji XT3/4 are all reasonable comparisons.

The question of price will determine if it gets close to the R6/Z6/A7iii, but those are all mirrorless so not quite a good comparison.

Stuff like the GRiii sells because there's basically nothing in the same market segment (the only competitor is the Sony RX1 and even that's very debatable since it's 4 times the price and substantially thicker). A premium APS-C is going to have to wedge itself in a relatively more crowded environment. Pentax have, so far, shown that the K-New is focused on having a superb OVF and the Pentax features are a given, but we still don't know a lot about the rest. It will undoubtedly be a killer DSLR for any already-happy Pentaxian so I'm thinking a lot of people will upgrade, but that's preaching to the choir. The only question is whether it manages to
A) Keep disgruntled Pentax users from jumping/quitting.
B) Make people disgruntled with other systems jump into Pentax instead of holding/jumping somewhere else/quitting.

Everything else is fluff.

C) Get disgruntled Pentax users who jumped to other systems for better autofocus to jump back to Pentax. (Raises hand.)

[Serkevan]

C) Get disgruntled Pentax users who jumped to other systems for better autofocus to jump back to Pentax. (Raises hand.)

Hah, I forgot the obvious "both" option, clearly . Hope to see you get back.

[repaap]

If I do recall correctly, Pentax/Ricoh want to offer anyone, who is interested of modern APS-C DSLR with OVF, the best experience and joy of photography.

If any of mirrorless models offers that, then it should be compared if necessary. For other things, it is just silly.

[larryaustin3]

Hah, I forgot the obvious "both" option, clearly . Hope to see you get back.

I'm a photojournalist. With the K-new, I'm hoping to switch back to Pentax for 100% of my photos instead of using the Sony for sports. There are so many advantages to using Pentax that I just need the K-new to approach the autofocus capability of other systems to make it worthwhile to go back.

I look at focus points and frames per second and buffer capacity as sort of like the megapixel race that took place years ago. It started at 6mp and now it seems to have leveled off at 24mp. There is a similar diminishing return on sports/action related specs. How many autofocus points do I need? Do I really need 20 fps? 8K?
This is sort of what I take from the 5 Principles of Pentax video that talked about things "that can't be measured by numbers alone."

[ThorSanchez]

That analogy works if you compare the Q with a Fuji GFX, but breaks apart like a Ford, coincidentally :p, once you get to comparing relatively similar models. Or, at least, it does in the minds of most prospective consumers - which more or less makes it a reality because of how markets work. For example, while it's most likely true that the K-New won't be in the same "fight" as entry-level FF (since those suffer in features and speed to offer the FF sensor size at a low price), I think it will definitely be in the same ballpark as the middle-top range APS-C offerings from other manufacturers (or even the Oly M1) - so Nikon D7500/D500, Canon 90D/7Dii, Sony A6600/6400 and Fuji XT3/4 are all reasonable comparisons.

When you're talking about APS-C DSLRs between $1000-2000 that's a category, that's a market space. The details like frame rate and autofocus performance are just options or features, not unlike towing capacity or engine size or type of transmission. Brand loyalty is pretty big in cars and cameras, but people will certainly cross-shop a K-new, a D500, a XT3/4 about as much as they cross-shop an F150, a Tundra, a Silvarado and a RAM. These cameras aren't single-purpose tools, they have a wide range of features. Very few amateurs use their cameras for just one narrow type of photography.

That's why things like autofocus is important for Pentax. There are people like me who bought a camera for photos of kids and family and travel, but get frustrated as we grow into other requirements and don't want to go the great cost and effort to switch systems. We will continue to buy Pentax if they improve their weak points instead of only doubling down on strengths.

[thibs]

My K-1II's focus locks on pretty much instantly if I have a good, fast focusing lens mounted. My K-5 was always a bit weak with AF, especially in poor light. My SFX and SFXn was really slow. So, I'd say later models have made a huge improvement over earlier models.

My istD at the time felt like my SFXn (very slow) rather than Z1 (adequate).