Originally posted by northcoastgreg I believe the only current focus by wire Canon lens is the 85/1.2.
The lens I had in mind was the 50/1.4, but maybe it just had the feeling of focusing by wire. When I used it, I noticed that the rotation of the focusing ring didn't quite match the rotation on the focusing scale displayed in that tiny window. And it generally didn't feel like it had a mechanically coupled aperture. But maybe it did and it just felt weird.
Originally posted by northcoastgreg The trouble with focus by wire lenses is if the focus motor gives out and can't be replaced, they immediately become landfill material.
Yes, focusing motors add one more point of failure. Image stabilization adds another. That is why I prefer manual lenses and IBIS. But our expectation for lenses to last for ages is based on having used old manual equipment that had such qualities. For the modern customer, this expectation no longer exists. The ability to focus and the brand reputation is much more important.
Originally posted by Rondec There have been a number of studies looking at auto focus continuous which showed the K5 to be equal to or better than the 7D and D7000 (this preceded the K5 II release).
The K-5 may very well have AF performance on par with Canon. But the press coverage that you mentioned can only impact French or German users (perhaps such coverage is why Pentax does a bit better in Europe). And the K-5 is not an entry level camera anyway - it has become more affordable now, but at the time when it was getting press attention, it was over the budget of people looking for their first DSLR.