[biz-engineer]

Except the outer 2/3 of the image area. ....OUCH

There is ancient technique called focus & recompose?

[Rondec]

Except the outer 2/3 of the image area. ....OUCH

Pentax auto focus is pretty good. 2/3 is a bit of an exaggeration as to the portion that isn't covered by PDAF points. You can also use live view and that covers a significantly larger part of the sensor.

I'm sure the A6500 is great too, but the OP would need to sell his lenses and buy new as it doesn't sound as though he is particularly interested in manual focusing. I take plenty of my photos of my kids with Pentax gear without problem and my wife shoots weddings with it. Is it a struggle? No, it isn't.

I understand that you are pretty invested in Sony, but your comment did come across as pretty snarky. I would say that cameras out there are pretty good these days and often choices come down more to things like whether you like EVFs (I don't), whether you like Sony's ergonomics (I don't), and how good video you need (I don't shoot video with my SLR). Someone else who answers these questions differently might end up with a Sony, or even better, a Panasonic camera. But in the end the goal is producing the images you want and finding that gear that you enjoy using to do so.

[Sliver-Surfer]

Pentax auto focus is pretty good. 2/3 is a bit of an exaggeration as to the portion that isn't covered by PDAF points. You can also use live view and that covers a significantly larger part of the sensor.

I'm sure the A6500 is great too, but the OP would need to sell his lenses and buy new as it doesn't sound as though he is particularly interested in manual focusing. I take plenty of my photos of my kids with Pentax gear without problem and my wife shoots weddings with it. Is it a struggle? No, it isn't.

I understand that you are pretty invested in Sony, but your comment did come across as pretty snarky. I would say that cameras out there are pretty good these days and often choices come down more to things like whether you like EVFs (I don't), whether you like Sony's ergonomics (I don't), and how good video you need (I don't shoot video with my SLR). Someone else who answers these questions differently might end up with a Sony, or even better, a Panasonic camera. But in the end the goal is producing the images you want and finding that gear that you enjoy using to do so.

It was meant as cheeky not snarky It's just the physics that Dslrs are stuck with for now. 2/3 is an under exaggeration. I use my A7 and A6000 for event (family incl)photography because I can utilize nearly all of the sensor for AF and MF focussig aids such as lock on AF and flexible point AF and Magnification. I use my Pentax K5 for Macro photography and sopme static events..a good portion of what I do.

Here is a visual aid to show that I wasn't exagerating 390mm squared sensor. 81mm squared AF point coverage if you crop with a rectangle and not an oval. that rounds up to almost 1/5 Af point coverage. Last picture represents how many times a Dslr Af area would fit on sensor.

[Rondec]

It was meant as cheeky not snarky It's just the physics that Dslrs are stuck with for now. 2/3 is an under exaggeration. I use my A7 and A6000 for event (family incl)photography because I can utilize nearly all of the sensor for AF and MF focussig aids such as lock on AF and flexible point AF and Magnification. I use my Pentax K5 for Macro photography and sopme static events..a good portion of what I do.

Here is a visual aid to show that I wasn't exagerating 390mm squared sensor. 81mm squared AF point coverage if you crop with a rectangle and not an oval. that rounds up to almost 1/5 Af point coverage. Last picture represents how many times a Dslr Af area would fit on sensor.

The downside with the PDAF points on the sensor can be seen in shooting back lit images at wide aperture, not? In those situations, you can see pretty interesting banding that you won't see on a traditional SLR designed without PDAF points on the sensor.

Regardless, I have not had any difficulty auto focusing with Pentax cameras. I don't typically compose with subjects in the extreme corners and if I was desperate, I would focus and recompose. For landscapes, I typically use live view focusing which has more focus area coverage.

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Last edited by Rondec; 04-02-2018 at 03:06 AM.

[Sliver-Surfer]

There is ancient technique called focus & recompose?

Yup I do it all the time with my Dslrs...Im not saying Pentax is bad in fact It is often better in situations than my Sonys but shooting my 3 kids is a breeze with the Sonys.

[richandfleur]

I have a K-3 now, but have strongly considered Sony for several years now, for very similar reasons.

Pentaxians are pretty defensive, indeed the first page of this thread is full of reasons why you should put the camera down, it's not that bad, you need better technique etc etc.
Reality is mirrorless cameras offer tracking right across the whole sensor, not via a select bunch of sensors grouped in the middle. The later models especially do eye AF very well, scarily well actually. Pentax just can't compete in this area.


I haven't made the move, and to be fair I've worked hard on maximising what AF options the Pentax does have. It's not perfect, but it is ok for my needs at the moment, but I'm not going to pretend it's as good as Sony could be in this area.


If you do jump and give the Sony a go, please do come back and write up a review. I'm always really interested to hear how Pentax owners get on with the switch.
Money usually prevents it, but of course you can have multiple systems on the go to. You might even find an A6000 with the basic kit lens is sufficient for that extra type of shot you require, and you can keep both happily.


One gotcha I found while looking into this a while back, was that the eye AF didn't work with non Sony lenses. So whilst there are a lot of 3rd party lenses for Sony, there were some limitations.

Hope the kids are doing well.

[redcat]

Hope the kids are doing well.

thanks a lot for the sum up, i'll try to get my hand a the A6000 and kit lens for a start, if the AF goes as well as they advertise (on a kit lens) i'll sell my pentax gear (tears drop!!!), as much as i love the DA15, FA 31, FA 77 (the FA77 will be gone last) i'd need some extra cash when switching

[surfar]

if there was an adapter for Pentax lenses with AF on a Sony there wouldn't be so much headache !!!

TechArt Pro, uses native Leica M mount but a M to K adapter on the lens gives AF with the Sony bodies with phase detect AF,so A6500and 6300 work.Your favourite K mount glass is fully useable.Now TechArt recommend lenses to 700g only,however, Ive seen the Nikon 2.8kg 400mm working effectively on it.https://techartpro.com/product/techart-pro-leica-m-sony-e-autofocus-adapter/

[BigMackCam]

TechArt Pro, uses native Leica M mount but a M to K adapter on the lens gives AF with the Sony bodies with phase detect AF,so A6500and 6300 work.Your favourite K mount glass is fully useable.Now TechArt recommend lenses to 700g only,however, Ive seen the Nikon 2.8kg 400mm working effectively on it.Techart PRO Leica M – Sony E Autofocus Adapter – TECHART Adapters

Just be aware that the TechArt Pro adapter has limitations - especially where telephoto lenses are concerned. From Amateur Photographer's review:

"Of course the big question with such a device is whether it actually works? To find out, I tested it with lenses ranging from an Olympus OM 24mm f/2.8 wideangle to a Tamron SP 500mm f/8 mirror lens. In short, yes it works – although with some limitations.

Most importantly, its 4.5mm focusing travel is only really sufficient for lenses of around 50mm or wider; with longer telephotos the range of AF adjustment using the adapter alone becomes very limited. For instance, with a 135mm lens the adapter only allows focusing as close as 4.2m, when the lens itself is set to infinity. But that’s not necessarily a complete disaster; you can still focus the lens manually to approximate the correct distance and then use the autofocus to fine-tune. It’s not like using a proper AF lens, but it works."

Techart PRO Leica M - Sony E autofocus adapter review - Amateur Photographer

[surfar]

You Tube

You Tube

Pushing the limit to 500mm and F8(its a great lens,btw) may be too much...just stick to the 400mm F3.5!

---------- Post added 04-03-18 at 08:32 PM ----------

especially where telephoto lenses are concerned

That reviewer,has his view but theres lots of others.

[BigMackCam]

That reviewer,has his view but theres lots of others.

It's not so much his view, but the physical limitation of movement in the adapter... It's only something like four or five millimetres, so any lens that requires a greater range of movement in the optical block to focus between MFD and infinity will require pre-focusing - depending on whether you want to focus at either end of that range. Not a problem, but worth knowing.

[surfar]

worth knowing.

Yes, i'm sure some lenses will work better than others AND probably the lighter ones are more suitable.BUT, where theres a will theres a way.

Limits are there to be pushed and its the user who has to take responsibility if theres a failure.Obviously in the Nikon case,the user was out to prove a point.

If, i was to use this adapter(or its Fotodiox clone) i would observe the 700g limit(mostly).

[redcat]

TechArt Pro, uses native Leica M mount but a M to K adapter on the lens gives AF with the Sony bodies with phase detect AF,so A6500and 6300 work.Your favourite K mount glass is fully useable.Now TechArt recommend lenses to 700g only,however, Ive seen the Nikon 2.8kg 400mm working effectively on it.Techart PRO Leica M – Sony E Autofocus Adapter – TECHART Adapters

wow, what a news !!! never imagine such a thing exist ! thanks a lot for this info !

[clackers]

Yes, i'm sure some lenses will work better than others AND probably the lighter ones are more suitable.BUT, where theres a will theres a way.

The old Pentax 1.7x TC has this feature/problem.

In theory it turns a manual focus lens into an auto one, but in practice its limited movement means you've got to prefocus and then it does the last bit.

[UncleVanya]

Yes, i'm sure some lenses will work better than others AND probably the lighter ones are more suitable.BUT, where theres a will theres a way.

Limits are there to be pushed and its the user who has to take responsibility if theres a failure.Obviously in the Nikon case,the user was out to prove a point.

If, i was to use this adapter(or its Fotodiox clone) i would observe the 700g limit(mostly).

I think you missed the point about prefocusing. The reviewer's point was that it can't do full blown infinity to mfd at longer focal lengths, this isn't opinion but fact. That however doesn't mean it isn't useful, as the Nikon lens above demonstrates. As mentioned the pentax 1.7 af adapter uses a similar method, which behaves like a focus limiter in practice.