Originally posted by andy271
I’m hoping you guys can help me understand this debug mode
Debug mode is used by service technicians to troubleshoot and calibrate the camera. Such is usually done with the assistance of special test and calibration instruments. Debug mode was never intended for the end user, though some have found it useful for some tasks. Use of debug mode may void your warranty. If your camera is a recent purchase new, contact your dealer for assistance and possible replacement from dealer stock. If not recent, but still under warranty, contact Ricoh/Pentax.
If only one of your lenses is requiring a large adjustment, the fault lies with that lens. Front or back focus problems with an AF lens are caused by an optical alignment fault in the lens. Given that, if all auto-focus lenses are needing a large adjustment, the problem is probably with the camera or how you are doing your focus testing.
If you are having front-focus issues with
all of your manual focus Zeiss lenses, it is probably a matter of technique or how you are testing. Here are a few bullet points regarding fine focus with manual focus lenses on your K-1:
- Precision is fairly poor with the stock focus screen, making accurate focus difficult. Chance of success may be improved by making sure the viewfinder diopter is set for your eyes. Use of the Magnifier Eyecup O-ME53 has been helpful for some users on this site.
- Focus confirmation using the green hexagon is very handy, but may be inadequate for fine focus due to "slop" in what is detected as "not out-of-focus". The easiest way to demonstrate is to focus slowly from infinity, stop when the hexagon lights and very slowly turn the ring until the hexagon goes out. The actual point of best focus lies somewhere in that distance. Note that the same precision limitation applies to auto-focus using the viewfinder PDAF detector.
- Live view with 1:1 magnification is the gold standard for fine focus, since focus is being evaluated on the sensor with 1:1 pixel mapping to the rear LCD. Enable live view and press the "OK" button to magnify. I don't have a K-1 at hand, but memory is that 1:1 pixel mapping is at 10x magnification.
As far as testing, make it as easy as possible for the camera and your eye to attain focus. In practice this means a high contrast target with well-defined edges in good light. The target should be flat and parallel to the sensor. Make more than one focus attempt from both minimum distance and infinity stops. Front/back focus can be determined by direction to correct in Live view.
Steve