[David&karen]

Ok, I am hoping that this is something simple in the camera setting so here goes: I am getting inconsistant af results using the center af only and using the center 9 af also. The camera focuses and locks on and shows that it is focused(using afs) and I take picture and its mush. It first happened with my new tamron 17-50 f2.8, so I thought it was the lens, but then almost all of my lenses are doing it. If I do multiple taps on the af button(or half press of the shutter button) it usually focuses correctly. The kicker is I tried my DA* 300mm on it and it did it on that lens also. Now afc seems fine, and I tried all the lenses on Karens K5IIs and they focus perfectly. Could it be that the af sites on the K3 are so small that I need to be careful that I try to focus on an area with really fine detail? I'm really considering sending it to CRIS in Phoenix. Any ideas?

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Last edited by David&karen; 12-26-2013 at 03:36 PM.

[Miguel]

I think more detail and photos showing the issue would be more helpful here. What are the facts around each shot?
More info is important because it can help all analyze the line between camera and shooter. AF menu settings are helpful too. The K-3 has introduced more complexity into the Pentax universe & it is going to take some more experience & success to build the community's knowledgebase.

M

[David&karen]

I was shooting trees and forest mostly, which is why I was wondering if the small size of the af sites is an issue. The first time I noticed it I was shooting a christmas party and when focused on the wreathes and floral setting in the middle of the long tables where the guests would be sitting it kept doing it around 1/3 of the time. That was with the tamron lens. Like it said multiple pushes of the af button seems to make it focus correctly.

[derekkite]

Low light low contrast scenes? I find that it tries to be too smart when there is little for it to grab. Or too much for it to grab but all very close in focus distance. In that instance I go to single point af, and use the af button so that when it gets focus I let go.

[David&karen]

It might be a low contrast issue, have to think aboht that. Most of the distances were 50-300 feet.

[David&karen]

I think the thing thats bugging me is that is says its in focus when its way off, not that it wont lock the focus. Honestly I that would be easier to understand.

[derekkite]

There may be an issue with the body. If I understand, it was working ok before. Anything to do with the firmware update?

[David&karen]

Actually, it has always done this. I just thought it was the new tamron 17-50 lens I used my first time out with it. Then I noticed that pretty much all my lenses did it. I wanted to wait for the first firmware update to see if it changed, and it was exactly the same after. I shot it back to back with karens K5IIs and the DA* 300mm and the k5 locked on and gave perfect focus every time, and the k3 locked on and was mush 1/2 of the time, unless I tapped the af a few times before shooting. Really frustrating.

[derekkite]

Do you have it set to focus priority? If so I suspect you have an issue with the body.

[David&karen]

Live view is fine. Yeah, its on focus priority. Even if live view was wonky, it would not matter as pdaf is not working right. I think it needs to go to cris as its past the return limit. As its a new model I hope it does not need any parts, as there may not.be any in the service loop yet. I remember when Karens 18-135 DC motor went out they had to send the lens to Japan and after 4 months they just had to replace it because there were no parts.

David

[David&karen]

Update: Amazon allows returns for up to 60 days after purchase so I returned it and as they did not have any more I got one from Adorama. Just got it today and so far it does not show any strange AF issues and runs perfect. I will update if I missed something but I think it's good to go(and I did update the firmware).

David

[David&karen]

Update: a week later with the new K3 body and everything is near perfect. Amazing how much more versatile this camera is vs the K5IIs, though they are pretty much equal in their ability to lock on a subject in low light. Every lens works perfect now after AF micro adjustment as necessary. The Tamron 17-50 f2.8 lens is just incredible and I wish I had bought one years ago. It's one of my cheapest lenses too, just 279$ direct from Japan, so a real bargain! Anyhow, I just love this camera and am very glad I got it.

David

[JinDesu]

Glad to hear everything's good now!

[David&karen]

Thanks!