[CNunez]

this looks very promising! can't wait to confirm this in a couple of days as I eagerly await my camera

[repaap]

Hmmm... They did not seem to address the touted improvement of color accuracy in the review... and it would be interesting to know if the MkII is improved in that and if so, how.
Eric

I did look only that translated text...and they did say thaat Focusing is now better(Mark II is back in saddle). Ricoh has said also in their official announcement that their engineers have honed up AF accuracy and speed, and as I can recall, prone to focus to background(this is big thing in my book). It coud be that it is also coming in next Firmware upgrade in K-1 original. But that improved ISO looks to me something that I could use. I'm not that good with programs, when it comes in reducing noise(lasy 'n not patient enough).

[derekkite]

this looks very promising! can't wait to confirm this in a couple of days as I eagerly await my camera

Looking forward to your impressions.

[mirocal]

According to their source at Ricoh, the autofocus implementation was redone from zero. For a long time, since K10D, Pentax didn't commit but to minor AF improvements. Even on K1 the autofocus algorithms were still based on the original K-10D implementation. Which boasted the SAFOX something, a term that harks back to the film era and PZ-1p. Pentax Klub's test concludes there's faster reactivity and better predictability.
This sounds very promising, I will likely send in my trusty K-1 for more than a face lift.

[monochrome]

This sounds very promising, I will likely send in my trusty K-1 for more than a face lift.

Me too. I wonder if KP has enough ‘hardware’ to get just a Firmware update.

[stevebrot]

You mean the clever mainboard hardware upgrade offer that - after much contemplation - caused my rational brain to overrule my lizard brain, cancel my K-1ll preorder, and opt to send my camera in to have installed?

Yes...the appeal to your lower sensibilities, those that have no concept of bank balance.


Steve

(...still trying to figure out how a hardware upgrade translates into anticipation of a firmware feature that might be migrated to other models... )

[DimC]

You mean the update that might require different hardware? I believe it is being offered as a cost-plus option for current K-1 owners.


Steve

If the AF improvement from the MKII is NOT hardware related, Im very curious to see if Pentax will offer the AF upgrade via a newer K1 firmware.
I recall sometimes before the MKII announcement there was a firmware upgrade for K1 in the air, that was canceled.

[stevebrot]

Even on K1 the autofocus algorithms were still based on the original K-10D implementation.

Perhaps you might start a new thread and elaborate on that claim. Having owned a K10D and K-3 concurrently, I am surprised to discover that the newer camera used the same AF algorithms. The K-3 seemed to be so much more capable. I am also surprised that this is the first I have heard of it.


Steve

[stevebrot]

If the AF improvement from the MKII is NOT hardware related, Im very curious to see if Pentax will offer the AF upgrade via a newer K1 firmware.

Hope springs eternal, I guess. We will see what future firmware support will be offered for the K-1 now that it is essentially at "end-of-life" (EOL). You are not alone in speculating that there might be downward migration of "stuff" to the K-1 and other models (K-3, K-3II, KS-2, etc.). Historically, Ricoh limits new feature updates on EOL bodies to new product support (e.g. flash and lenses) and maintenance for serious bug fixes.


Steve

[monochrome]

Yes...the appeal to your lower sensibilities, those that have no concept of bank balance.


Steve

As I now see it, for $550 I should have all the goodies in the $1,996 K-1ll (minus the Battery Grip and yet another D-LI90). My rational brain says that makes more sense than spending $1,446 for a new silver box and plastic bits that I already have. My lizard brains says, “Oooh. Shiny! Me want new box!”

Plus, since I have the extended warranty, if Precision tries to tell me something is ‘wrong’with the camera I should be covered.

(...still trying to figure out how a hardware upgrade translates into anticipation of a firmware feature that might be migrated to other models... )

I wonder whether asahi man got a slap on the wrist for that one.

[stevebrot]

I wonder whether asahi man got a slap on the wrist for that one.

Bare b*** would be more appropriate.


Steve

[mirocal]

Not my take, but the Pentax Klub's. Here's the translated quote:
"The electronic module is not everything. It also take software to run it. Until now, Pentax lived of the legacy software running on K10D, beautified over time. Some routines were rewritten to make it more reactive. However, fundamentally the algorithms remained the same. According to our source, Ricoh Imaging, aware of the delay, decided to start the complete rewriting of the software. If that proves exact, Ricoh Imaging started from zero, with the goal of a more modern, less legacy restricted code. With rewriting there's often speed gain in execution, therefore faster reactivity and why not a bit more predictability. Which, true, is not the easiest task. It takes some artificial intelligence to determine which direction the subject will take. For linear movement, this may be simple, but for a bird, it's more complex, as sudden direction changes may occur."
My personal experience is that K1, while orders of magnitudes faster, still retains some of the same hesitations, last moment adjustments, as my first Pentax - MZ-5N - did, with the same lenses.

Perhaps you might start a new thread and elaborate on that claim. Having owned a K10D and K-3 concurrently, I am surprised to discover that the newer camera used the same AF algorithms. The K-3 seemed to be so much more capable. I am also surprised that this is the first I have heard of it.


Steve

[repaap]

According to their source at Ricoh, the autofocus implementation was redone from zero. For a long time, since K10D, Pentax didn't commit but to minor AF improvements. Even on K1 the autofocus algorithms were still based on the original K-10D implementation. Which boasted the SAFOX something, a term that harks back to the film era and PZ-1p. Pentax Klub's test concludes there's faster reactivity and better predictability.
This sounds very promising, I will likely send in my trusty K-1 for more than a face lift.

If the AF improvement from the MKII is NOT hardware related, Im very curious to see if Pentax will offer the AF upgrade via a newer K1 firmware.
I recall sometimes before the MKII announcement there was a firmware upgrade for K1 in the air, that was canceled.

Perhaps you might start a new thread and elaborate on that claim. Having owned a K10D and K-3 concurrently, I am surprised to discover that the newer camera used the same AF algorithms. The K-3 seemed to be so much more capable. I am also surprised that this is the first I have heard of it.


Steve

I have to say that this could be revolutionary upgrade with AF in Pentax -land. They did do pretty good correction to K-3 RGB sensor for example, but effect in real life was not as visible. it improved just little in previous models. so basic problem has been from then and before it somewhere deeper. How come it is untill now when they have nailed down the real problem. This, granted that they have cured it, could really kill one of biggest culprit of pentax cameras. next step would be burst speed/or buffer speed.

now have they done also something to hardware to affect AF speed.. if yes, I’ll find that 550€ for my K-1 upgrade.

[biz-engineer]

When the K1 was released, some users said the K1 had superior AF compared to K3, I always found the K3 was more responsive than K1 with the same lenses. I see the "accelerator" addon chip as an image pre-processor that take some computing load off the main processor, giving it bit more juice for AF tracking in burst mode. The K1 II gets the AF tracking capability of the KP and K70. It is very plausible that the K1 II will have better AF than the K1.

[ForAlfie]

Today I've tried my DA* 300/4 with the K-1 II, yesterday my DA* 200/2.8. I've never used them with an original K-1 but the AF feels much faster than on my K-3 or K-5 II. The same is true for the DA* 55/1.4.