[builttospill]

Just wanted to add my input, although a little late. Many auto-focus issues can be resolved if we understand how our focusing system works. The KP has 27 AF points, 25 of which are cross type. I'm guessing because you are familiar with film cameras, you've used a split-prism focusing screen.

AF systems work in a similar way. They line up edges until the subject is in focus. Having a cross type AF point allows the camera to use horizontal AND vertical lines. Knowing this, I can choose an appropriate AF point and place it on an edge, never on the center of a solid-colored object. This allows the focus system to quickly and accurately obtain focus.

[niels hansen]

bouilttospil
I will give it a try when I come home thanks

[stevebrot]

besides Bracketing exposure and DOF I should like to have a focus plane bracketing

The new camera programming interfaces expose features that may be leveraged to do focus bracketing or programmed focus stepping. Amazing things might be done, though they would only be available if tethered (hardwired or wi-fi).


Steve

[stevebrot]

...Knowing this, I can choose an appropriate AF point and place it on an edge, never on the center of a solid-colored object. This allows the focus system to quickly and accurately obtain focus.

bouilttospil
I will give it a try when I come home thanks

Of course, one must still place the focus point on that edge manually. The camera will not seek them out.


Steve

[Mikesul]

Of course, one must still place the focus point on that edge manually. The camera will not seek them out.


Steve

Yes This is why many of us prefer spot focus to multi-point. The camera cannot know which edge we want - yet.

[monochrome]

Of course, one must still place the focus point on that edge manually. The camera will not seek them out.


Steve

Yes This is why many of us prefer spot focus to multi-point. The camera cannot know which edge we want - yet.

This also argues in favor of a joystick to move the AF point in the OVF rather than the multi-function 4-Way controller.

I still use film cameras so I am accustomed to focus and recompose. On digital cameras I use the back button to focus on an edge, release my thumb pressure, recompose and press the shutter button. This action is intuitive and burned into muscle memory. However, a user who has no film camera background (or who has fully embraced digital cameras) may well only use a compose, adjust focus point, release process. In that case a joystick might be more intuitive than the 4-Way Pad.

[stevebrot]

In that case a joystick might be more intuitive than the 4-Way Pad.

That is hard to say. I have a couple of Canon-owner friends and they rolled their eyes when I asked about AF point selection with the joystick. Apparently it is an acquired skill. The laptop I am using has a trackpoint in addition to the touchpad. I am not masochistic enough to leverage the trackpoint for general use, though if forced, I could make due.


Steve

[monochrome]

That is hard to say. I have a couple of Canon-owner friends and they rolled their eyes when I asked about AF point selection with the joystick. Apparently it is an acquired skill. The laptop I am using has a trackpoint in addition to the touchpad. I am not masochistic enough to leverage the trackpoint for general use, though if forced, I could make due.


Steve

Wow. I’ve always used Thinkpads and the touchpad gets in my way. There’s another example of ‘what you learn on . . .’

:.

[builttospill]

Haha. My palms always accidentally touch the track pad, so I turn it off and use the little joystick in between the buttons to move the cursor. But then I've never been a fan of laptops because I've always built my own desktops.

I love the directional keypad on the K10D. The first setting I adjusted on the K-1 when it arrived was to make it a directional keypad first by default.

I focus and recompose with film, but move the AF point with every shot when using digital. I actually teach my digital photography students to avoid focus-and-recompose, because a lot of beginners love a shallow depth of field.

[niels hansen]

The analouge black/white vacation has ended, no afposibillity, no af problem, but the results are awfull due to heavy haze in the mountains. even a strong red filter was not enough. Digital would have been a little better, but still not good. Sometimes it is better to let the trigger in peace and drink a beer, wating for better conditions.

I have reopened the investigation on the single point af on KP, and I think that my final??? conclusion is that it has its - for me unexpected- limits. It is not selective enough. If I try to make a portait in silhuette and want a shallow DOF in combination with focus on the nose or the eyebrow, the AF does not work. If the circle is placed on the face the ear is sharp, if I place the red square on the nose, half of the circle is placed on the background and the AF is confused, and the results are unpredictebel. The only good solution is MF, where you only have yourself to blame.
Portraits with the face in front is no problem. The white spot in the nearest eye is sharp
I use Sigma 70 mm 2,8 macro on full aperture, the disance is 1,20 - 1,50 meters