[JimBrennan]

Yeah I think it's comical. The whole discussion had got me thinking, how many frames per second was our auto winders? I use to shoot the auto winder and have to manually focus the camera at the same time. You learn to develop a rhythm, and anticipate your subject, and small burst or you would be out of film quick. Film, processing, and enlargements added up fast.


I looked it up 1.5 or 2 fps.

---

Last edited by JimBrennan; 11-25-2016 at 01:23 AM.

[surfar]

Film, processing, and enlargements

Was that BC? no musta been BD!

[JimBrennan]

mid to late 70's


I kept my stereo, they don't make them like this anymore. You can't compare the dynamic analogue range of reel to reel.


so yeah, I think the post is funny. OMG I shot it with a phone, it didn't focus. Oh wait, could be camera movement LOL

[noelpolar]

As the post states they are absolutely dependant on autofocus,and unable to manually focus a candid shot. Apparently, they just hold the button down until the buffer is full? I guess like those wildlife photographers who do the same thing, and then are disappointed that the animal didn't do anything special

mmm.. FWIW.... to me... you seem to be coming across quite crass. Not sure why you are laying into this OP....but it's reflecting on you.

[Culture]

After shooting for 40 years, I find it amusing that any self proclaimed professional, semi pro, whatever.... would rely on an any auto focus system.

The best system is the photographers own eyes! If you look at the portrait of the bride by the door way. Her eyes are not even in focus. This the result of the photographer, not the camera. Your supposed to be deciding the depth of field, and if you wanted a shallow depth of field then you needed to change the setting to sel and moved the point to the Bride's eyeball. This is lack of photographic education or study, it's operator error. If you read almost any book on portraiture, they almost all agree, focus on the eye closest.

Come on. I think this was uncalled for. No matter how long one has been a photographer, we all have our skills and level of growth.

And I thought the bride shot was gorgeous.

If he is facing problems. Help him but don't belittle his work.

I thought all the pictures he shared were very nice for wedding pictures and client will be happy.

[Dan Rentea]

After shooting for 40 years, I find it amusing that any self proclaimed professional, semi pro, whatever.... would rely on an any auto focus system.

40 years of shooting...what? Do you think that manual focus is the solution to everything? Come on... I found also amusing that after 30 - 40 years of shooting, there are photographers who doesn't know how to use autofocus properly and still rely on manual focus.

Regarding the burst, if you photograph a group of 6-8 people, you often find out that there are always at least one person in the final image with the eyes closed. So, a burst of 3-5 shots can "save" that specific image.

Or, let's say you photograph a christening. When the baby is submerged in holly water, the af combined with a burst of 3-5 shots can give you more chances to get a beautifull image, rather than anticipating the perfect moment with a manual focus lens. Why? Because often people are getting in your way in a split of a second and that perfect moment of anticipation is lost.

[Happyman]

Funny that you mention the flash ocassionally dumping all its power for no apparent reason. Happens to me, too, with a K5 and a Metz 58 AF-1 flash, when bouncing the flash. Sometimes it happens on 2-3 shots in a row. Really annoying.

JimBrennan, what do you compare the sound of reel-to-reel with? And where do you buy records for that thing? It looks beautiful, and well kept, too.

[texandrews]

and most others, btw, is what gear suits which photographer's methods. The OP has his methods, the wife of another has hers, some feel MF skills should be enough, another that any pro today should be able to reckon properly in 2016 with AF systems.

It seems the FR puzzle was answered. But I think that we all gravitate towards gear that suits us and isn't that how things should be? Otherwise, why have more than one manufacturer? Any top camera today can pretty much handle any stills assignment, some better at one thing than another certainly, but in the hands of a competent pro the shots can be got-----but I have no doubt that I'm more comfortable with some gear than others, and so that personally makes a significant difference. It's not a knock on the gear per se. Video is excepted from my comments, as currently some cameras are clearly far superior in that than others.

[Oldbayrunner]

I was using only Lexar and SanDisk UHS-1 64GB memory cards and shooting in RAW (DNG).

You state using a UHS-I but not the type. A UHS-I U1 class 10 can be anywhere from up to a 45mb/s to an 80 mb/s card. Even at that the max speed is the read speed not the write speed which can vary up to as much as a third lower speed. So in order to obtain a faster write speed one needs to step up to a UHS-I U3 Even at that one has to watch the write speed. For instance an UltimaPro X SDHC/XC C10 UHS-I U3 95mb/s can be purchased in two different versions. One has a 95mb/s read and a 60mb/s write while the other has a 95mb/s read and a 90mb/s write. So some of your buffer problem could definitely be the card you used. As far as the post containing using a 250mb/s that is moot because a card will only read/write to the max capability of the camera.

I don't own a K1 so I am by no means knowledgeable on that camera. I do own a K3ll and have been into photography professionally and as a hobby enthusiast having own several different types of cameras for over 55 years. I don't profess to be an expert in modern cameras but I do know a thing or two. The main thing is that with any camera the basics are the basics nothing has changed, each camera performs differently and when one takes the time to learn and play with a camera it can become like second nature when using it and the results one wants to achieve can be accomplished. If one keeps switching gear one never learns how to get the most out of what they have. To me that more or less is the downside of all of this quick evolving technology. It has put a lot of photographers in the mode of newer, bigger, better never being satisfied because something else has something better frame of mind instead of perfecting their craft with what they have. But that's just my opinion.

PS posting photos directly to this site will not give you the best interpretation of the sharpness in your photos. it has a tendency to blur them a tad.

[botzi]

K-1 with FA 31 Limited My favorite weddings combination...

[JimBrennan]

mmm.. FWIW.... to me... you seem to be coming across quite crass. Not sure why you are laying into this OP....but it's reflecting on you.

Awe sorry didn't mean to be crash. To much Thanksgiving beer LOL


Dude, I like your pictures... You will get the hang of your new camera.


The newest HD FA zooms are quick, fast, and sharp. I always thought fixed focal point made sharper images but, I have the 24-70. It works awesome, different improved internal focusing mechanisms that the older lenses. They were specifically designed for the K-1.


If you go to the gallery you can sort by camera and lens type and see all kinds of action images. Naturally, some are better than others. When I find ones I like I sometimes contact the photographer and ask questions. The people are very nice here, they will most likely than not tell you.


I learned to shut off the focus trigger on the shutter release and only use back button focus. I have good luck with spot, and one technique I use is to spot focus on exactly where I want the sharpest point, and then recompose and release the shutter.

---------- Post added 11-25-16 at 11:30 AM ----------

40 years of shooting...what? Do you think that manual focus is the solution to everything? Come on... I found also amusing that after 30 - 40 years of shooting, there are photographers who doesn't know how to use autofocus properly and still rely on manual focus.

Regarding the burst, if you photograph a group of 6-8 people, you often find out that there are always at least one person in the final image with the eyes closed. So, a burst of 3-5 shots can "save" that specific image.

Or, let's say you photograph a christening. When the baby is submerged in holly water, the af combined with a burst of 3-5 shots can give you more chances to get a beautifull image, rather than anticipating the perfect moment with a manual focus lens. Why? Because often people are getting in your way in a split of a second and that perfect moment of anticipation is lost.

Exactly, if I had a new lens on and knew how well it worked I wouldn't have an issue bursting. However, if I had an old lens on like the Fa77 limited with no one touch override. Sometimes, the older lenses can be dicey. Here's a scenario, what if you had it on Focus Priority, and you didn't pre focus the composition at all, and them Bam the lens hunt's and the shutter button is dead and you have missed the shot completely. You would be very disappointed and think it's the camera's fault.


Pentax has made a lot different settings and adjustments available to the auto focus, and I think it takes a little bit of mastery and practice with all the possible lens combinations.


For instance, would you have used focus tracking on the baby and would you have set the hold to low, med,or high? There is a lot to be considered in choosing your settings.

[Winder]

The K-1s proved to be subpar in their buffer size and frame rate - to the point of sheer frustration

What were your settings? DNG + JPEG? The K-1 is no speed demon, but as someone who shot weddings with a Contax 645 and a Canon 5D for years, the K-1 is more than enough. The JPEG settings can really slow down the write speeds.

What are you Phase Detect AF settings in the first menu? The factory default settings are awful. With the right settings the AF is more than capable of wedding work. Its not on par with the current generation of AF that is in the D810, but its half the price of the D810.

[C_Jones]

K-1 with FA 31 Limited My favorite weddings combination...

Nice shots.

[bkpix]

I rented a K-1 last summer to try out. Shot one event with it, and had much the same kind of AF lag issues that have been reported here and elsewhere -- much slower than my k-5IIs. It's a cool portrait and landscape camera, but I wouldn't try a wedding with one, at least without a lot of study into how the AF works and practice with it. I've been shooting with Pentax digital for years (K20D, K-7, K-5, K-5IIs) and am very familiar with the brand. Don't know what was going on with the K-1, and didn't have time while I had it in hand to try to find out.

[opianstate]

@botzi - seriously awesome images man. I haven't mastered or even gotten comfortable with off-camera flash, you did a fantastic job.

To the dude who's got it in for me since I don't use MF - I'm not sure why you've fixated on that, but to each his own. What I was trying to do is add value to the forum by exhibiting my experience with the camera and seeing if we could troubleshoot the issues I'd experienced. It seems as if we have. However, I'm seriously proud of you and your career shooting manual focus with an auto winder. Please note, since this is a forum, I'm actually not being sarcastic, that's pretty badass. I do use manual focus on occasion, but don't use it typically since we're all spoiled with phase-detect on-sensor AF chips and the like.

Thanks all for helping me diagnose the issue with the card backup - I have no idea why I didn't think of that and it totally makes sense. I usually don't shoot two cards unless it's something like this, so it was the first time I'd done it. I'm going to play with the Phase Detect AF as suggested and figure out what's optimal in both normal and low light and go from there.