[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

I was reviewing some older photos and found this one of four Sandhill cranes I shot in 2019 that show the K1 very capable of sharp images of birds in flight. I have lots of success with the K1 and now even more with the K3iii. I opted to post this as an example of the subject being a slower flying bird(s). This was shot at 450mm and is a 100% crop, resize, and no sharpening adjustment.

A lot of it comes from the expectation of what the users goals are. If you are photographing moving objects from a distance then it is relatively easy for the system to track and make AF corrections for the subject.

If you are shooting a subject at 70-120m with a 450mm at ƒ6.3 lens you are afforded a lot of leeway in how accurate needs to be and may have DOF in the meters that would take seconds for the bird to fly outside of what is in focus. On the other hand if you are a photographing subjects much closer it can take a 1/5 of a second for the subject to move thru the DOF thus requiring a better ability for tracking the subject. If your goal is to have the AF track the head or eye of the subject this is greatly increased in the accuracy of what the AF needs to do, and this can means that there is a greater need in how well the camera predicts where the target is in 3D and also the timing needed for that predictive AF placing the point of focus at the time of capture.

[Des]

What do you guys think in terms of focus? Has the AF system managed to nail it or is it slightly soft?

Pretty good, and the PP has helped, but AF hasn't quite nailed it. If that is full size (not cropped), the capture point might have been on the edge of the area of the 9-point coverage. With a bird against a clear sky like that, you could try 27 point coverage (or whatever it is on the K-1ii).

When you settle on your preferred BIF settings, it's handy to have save them to one of the user modes for quick access.

[chrism888]

Just checked! That's pretty amazing

Were all these done using the K1?

Thank you, Some 50% are K1 linked to the 150 - 450, about 30% are the K3iii again with the same lens and some go back to a K5ii or a K3,

As mentioned before, BIF's and or aircraft in flight do IMHO need overall good all round technique

[kayasaman]

Pretty good, and the PP has helped, but AF hasn't quite nailed it. If that is full size (not cropped), the capture point might have been on the edge of the area of the 9-point coverage. With a bird against a clear sky like that, you could try 27 point coverage (or whatever it is on the K-1ii).

When you settle on your preferred BIF settings, it's handy to have save them to one of the user modes for quick access.

Thanks for the confirmation. Yeah the 9 points were set in the center of frame so I had only about somewhere between 2-4 points covering the gull. This was actually one of the better ones out of the 30+ shots. It was full frame and not cropped. Usually the subject is much smaller in frame so to have this kind of size in the viewfinder was nice.

I'll try upping the point count next time, I think the next level is 33??


Like was mentioned above in the comments about expectations, there really isn't much time where birds are in sight in my backyard. I have about 1-2 seconds before from spotting them till they're gone. Even the parrots which are medium sized are just simply too fast to react to - meaning by the time I put the camera to my eye they're gone.


What I really want to do right now is achieve sharp focus. If I can nail something like a plane which is quite large when having just taken off, I will be really happy!

---------- Post added 04-25-22 at 01:22 AM ----------

Thank you, Some 50% are K1 linked to the 150 - 450, about 30% are the K3iii again with the same lens and some go back to a K5ii or a K3,

As mentioned before, BIF's and or aircraft in flight do IMHO need overall good all round technique

I'm gona keep playing with the AF settings and see if that helps. If you were able to get this kind of quality using a K5ii and K3 then there shouldn't be anything to worry about, apart from maybe 300mm not being enough. If that's the case then I'll need to look at possibly getting a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter to give me some more focal length hence magnifying my subject.

[chrism888]

I'll need to look at possibly getting a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter to give me some more focal length hence magnifying my subject.

A TC wont necessarily help, yes it'll increase the magnification of the subject, it may make the AF less responsive as you'll decrease the aperture significantly letting in less light ( by 1.4 stops or 2 stops depending on your choice of TC ) to perhaps make the AF unusable.

Options would be to improve your technique and crop in, to improve your field craft and get closer, aircraft aren't to difficult to get close to, the shot on my website of the Tornado on a knife edge was with a K1 and a 70 - 200mm lens at 150mm with a small crop.

The Herc ( C130 ) not quite on a knife edge, was with the same camera / lens combo but at 100mm with virtually no crop due to the size of the aircraft.

Shots of some of the others have been at the fence of RAF / USAF airfields or airshows

[Boydmaine]

Ensure your panning technique is up to scratch, like swinging a golf club, you need to follow through, rotate through the hips and have a smooth trigger finger, don't jab the button, Look up Back Button Focusing ( BBF ) a worthwhile technique to master, and then is practice, practice and more practice.

Generally I use BBF, as high a shutter speed as poss without to high an ISO ( 400 or maybe 800 max ) and somewhere between F5.6 and F8 on either a K1 or K3iii linked to a Pentax 150 - 450 handheld.

Have a look at my web site and " The Aviator Gallery "

Very nice photography, Chris Mills.

[DeadJohn]

Birds in flight are challenging. Passenger jets much less so because their movements are predictable. Stay near a takeoff or landing path to an airport to get good airplane practice.

When evaluating plane photos, don't mistake atmospheric haze for missed focus, and expect to boost contrast a little with software. You said you do astrophotography so you probably already have experiences with hazy weather.

Have you calibrated your camera for your lenses? You don't need that for liveview or manual focus, but you do need that to get the most out of viewfinder autofocus. Put your lens on a tripod, find some non-moving faraway targets (utility pole, water tower, building, parked car), use liveview autofocus to take several test photos. Then using the same targets turn off liveview and use autofocus through the viewfinder.

• If liveview photos are blurred something is going wrong. It's probably not camera settings because liveview doesn't have many settings. Check for a shaky tripod or a lens mechanical issue.
• If liveview is sharp while viewfinder is blurred, you might need to use the AF Fine Tuning menu to adjust your camera to each of your lenses. This article is 10 years old but the concepts still apply to newer Pentax cameras: Fixing Front and Back Focus - The Remedy - In-Depth Articles
• If both liveview and viewfinder AF are sharp on a non-moving target with a tripod, but blurred for handheld viewfinder AF, then start looking at AF point selection settings, other advanced AF settings, and technique.

P.S. This is the best plane photo I've taken. It was done with K-5 AF which is slower and less accurate than your K-1.

[redpit]

I would like to add to others members useful replies my experiences which I gathered some time ago here:Pentax and aviation photography

I don't need to add anything else here and repeat myself, you can skip the first posts of my thread and go straight to the settings. All I can tell you is that the K-1 is not a bad camera even for birds and aircrafts in flight (or even bugs). Surely no problem to track in clear blue skies without any background distractions. I don't have your lens, so I can't comment on that. My Flickr and Instagram are full of such images the majority of which are taken with my K-1 (more than 85%, a few with my old K-5IIs some recent ones with the K-3iii). I add some samples here too for your convenience. Feel free to ask anything in relation to this kind of photography and I will come back to you if I know anything that may help.

[kayasaman]

Thanks for the great advice and images!!!

@DeadJohn I will try your suggestion on AF. Today I managed to get this guy in which the AF seems to have nailed it, I didn't do any PP on these at all about from what RawTherapee does by default which is run the AmaZe anti mosaicing algorithm on the images.

But I think you are correct about hitting atmospheric haze. This time the 150mm Irix shots look a little softish, though it maybe just the slow shutter at 1/250s as I don't have very steady hands or it could be that the shorter focal length is seeing more atmospheric haze.


This is the 300mm Pentax lens test from today:

_IMG0514.jpg - Google Drive

EXIF: 1/400s, f/8, ISO100


By comparison the Irix 150mm Tele-Macro lens:

_IMG0551.jpg - Google Drive

EXIF: 1/250s, f/8, ISO100



This is something I got by chance while looking for low flying planes having just taken off:

_IMG0649.jpg - Google Drive

It's a crop from the Irix 150mm. EXIF: 1/250s, f/8, ISO800. There is a little bit of PP done but not much. The little guy came out too cute.....


@redpit from Greece?? Endaksi kala

Amazing photos!! Thank you for the offer, I will definitely ask if I need anything

---------- Post added 04-26-22 at 10:26 AM ----------

Quickly just add one observation though. I think the K1's frame buffer is a little small....

I have been using ContinuousH mode and after a few actuations the shutter will stop firing and the camera will just clicking. The card read light is then on for a while until the buffer has been written to storage. It's not the card type or speed that's the issue but probably as I'm treating the K1 like it was a Nikon D6 or Z9 (the high performance sports camera lines)....

[redpit]

@redpit from Greece?? Endaksi kala

Amazing photos!! Thank you for the offer, I will definitely ask if I need anything

Thank you! OK! Yes from Greece, "ola kala file mou"

Quickly just add one observation though. I think the K1's frame buffer is a little small....

I have been using ContinuousH mode and after a few actuations the shutter will stop firing and the camera will just clicking. The card read light is then on for a while until the buffer has been written to storage. It's not the card type or speed that's the issue but probably as I'm treating the K1 like it was a Nikon D6 or Z9 (the high performance sports camera lines)....

Yes this is true, so you have to adapt to the camera limitations. Take smaller bursts of 3-4 frames and wait for the right moments to press the shutter button.

[Weevil]

Some BIF with the K-1
Yes this is not evident, yes lots of missed... but with the appropriate setings and technique, this can be improved.

I usually also use continuous AF with 9 AF points
Speed around 1/800 to 1/1000s
Aperture 1/3 to 1 step stop down from max aperture
no SR

Also check the custom settings such as :
1st frame action in AF-C - Focus priority (make sure focus is on the target before shooting, or you'll have a string of misses)
Action in AF-C Continuous - Focus Priority
Hold AF status - Low (bump up to Medium or High if there will be interrupted line of sight to the target)
see this link about the above: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/257619-pentax-hd-pentax-da...ml#post3063720

some samples


Hibou des marais / Short-Eared Owl [Asio flammeus]


Colibri à gorge rubis / Ruby-Throated Hummingbird [Archilochus colubris]


Hibou des marais / Short-Eared Owl [Asio flammeus]


Chouette lapone / Great Grey Owl [Strix nebulosa]


Hibou des marais / Short-Eared Owl [Asio flammeus]


Garrot à œil d'or / Common Goldeneye [Bucephala clangula] ♀


Oie des neiges / Snow Goose [Chen caerulescens]

[kayasaman]

Some BIF with the K-1
Yes this is not evident, yes lots of missed... but with the appropriate setings and technique, this can be improved.

I usually also use continuous AF with 9 AF points
Speed around 1/800 to 1/1000s
Aperture 1/3 to 1 step stop down from max aperture
no SR

Also check the custom settings such as :
1st frame action in AF-C - Focus priority (make sure focus is on the target before shooting, or you'll have a string of misses)
Action in AF-C Continuous - Focus Priority
Hold AF status - Low (bump up to Medium or High if there will be interrupted line of sight to the target)
see this link about the above: The Pentax HD PENTAX-DA AF Rear Converter 1.4X AW (and any lens) Club - Page 2 - PentaxForums.com

Thanks Weevil, I have just input your setting suggestions for AF-C into my camera.

I'm a little confused what you mean about the aperture? My FA*300 goes up to f/32, do you mean I should use around f/29? Right now I'm using f/8 and since the lens is around infinity, it seems to be ok.....

[DeadJohn]

Thanks Weevil, I have just input your setting suggestions for AF-C into my camera.

I'm a little confused what you mean about the aperture? My FA*300 goes up to f/32, do you mean I should use around f/29? Right now I'm using f/8 and since the lens is around infinity, it seems to be ok.....

Weevil wrote "Aperture 1/3 to 1 step stop down from max aperture". In that context "max aperture" means the widest and largest aperture which I think is f4.5 for your lens. 1 stop down from that would be f6.3.

You might be fine at f8. Most lenses are sharp there. You get more depth of field than f6.3 which is more forgiving for focus. In dimmer light, though, rather than staying at f/8 and boosting ISO or slowing shutter speed, you can try to change the aperture.

P.S. Aperture f-stops are counterintuitive when learning. Larger numbers = smaller opening.

[Des]

Weevil wrote "Aperture 1/3 to 1 step stop down from max aperture". In that context "max aperture" means the widest and largest aperture which I think is f4.5 for your lens. 1 stop down from that would be f6.3.

You might be fine at f8. Most lenses are sharp there. You get more depth of field than f6.3 which is more forgiving for focus. In dimmer light, though, rather than staying at f/8 and boosting ISO or slowing shutter speed, you can try to change the aperture.

P.S. Aperture f-stops are counterintuitive when learning. Larger numbers = smaller opening.

I would just add three things to this:
1. The FA*300 is good wide open (f4.5) but a bit better when stopped down (ie narrower aperture) by two-thirds of a stop (f5.6) or one stop (f6.3). That is the sort of stopping down that @Weevil is referring to. (With lower quality lenses you may need to stop down more to get decent resolution.)
2. The difference in depth of field between, say, f5.6 and f8 (one aperture stop) can be significant if the subject is reasonably close (hence more leeway if focus is not perfect) but the significance diminishes as the subject is further away. For example, using the FA*300 on a K-1ii, DOF at 10m to subject is 307mm at f5.6 and 520mm at f8. At 20m to subject it is 1490mm at f5.6 and 2110mm at f8. (https://www.photopills.com/calculators/dof) At that point you would be better to use f5.6 rather than f8 (that is, one stop wider aperture) and reduce the ISO by one stop (ie halve it - e.g 1600 -> 800) or increase the shutter speed by one stop (ie double it - e.g. 1/500th -> 1/1000th).
3. You might already know this, but if you narrow the aperture beyond a certain point, resolution deteriorates because of diffraction. With the FA*300, it probably falls off beyond f8.

BTW, great examples @DeadJohn @Weevil @Redpit

[Weevil]

Thanks Weevil, I have just input your setting suggestions for AF-C into my camera.

I'm a little confused what you mean about the aperture? My FA*300 goes up to f/32, do you mean I should use around f/29? Right now I'm using f/8 and since the lens is around infinity, it seems to be ok.....

Sorry, maybe du to my language translation

I meant max aperture = "wide-open" for a specific lens, like DeadJohn suggested.

i.e. on the FA*250-600 F5.6, it's between f6.3 to 8, depending on the light. My preset default for BIF is set to f7.1
if I use the DA*300 F4, would become f4.5 to f5.6.. but DoF is thinner here on close subjects... less critical for far subjects... just having 1 stop down helps also to isolate the subject, it's always a compromise at some point.

for your FA*300 F4.5, I'd choose between f5 to f6.3, so maybe in-between f5.6 as a starting point...

BTW, great examples @DeadJohn @Weevil @Redpit

thanks !