[Rondec]

Sorry af.c auto through the viewfinder is 100% constant failure. Looks like someone smeared vaseline on the 15mm lens. -10 all the way to +10 doesn't fix focus. two copies of the 15mm limited neither work on my k-3iii.

FA* 50mm F/1.4 is also the same when focusing. low and to the left if something moves from right to left. i can try to photograph a huge freight train and the camera with af.c to the closest thing, the ground, and never even try to focus on a moving freight train. low and to the left. on the ground. live view. or through the viewfinder. still doesn't select auto focus points at all sometimes. firmware 1.41.


my k-3iii has become the worst thing i ever spent $2,437.00 on.

---------- Post added 03-12-22 at 08:27 PM ----------



Sorry I should have made it clear that focusing my 15mm limited lens, both copies, through the viewfinder of my k-3iii result in images that look like someone has smeared vaseline all over the lens. someone said increase you depth of field. lol. i can use my fujifilm x100v and shoot at f2.2 with a softening filter on the lens and it is still sharper and has more depth of field than anything either of my 15mm limited lenses can do. i have used a lens calibration chart and tried from -10 all the way to +10 on both lenses and neither did anything.

the 15mm lenses work fine on my KP, K3, and k5-II, besides the known soft in the corner issues. the lenses work in af.c on all 3 of those cameras. through the viewfinder.

i didn't see any improvements in auto focus on my k-3iii solely using the viewfinder a couple of days after my original reply.

the camera still focuses on the closest object and if the focal point is in between the huge gaps in the auto focus points it won't even select an auto focus point.

If the camera is under warranty (it should be), you should send it in with your concerns. This certainly doesn't mimic the behavior others have seen on the Forum and you should get your camera fixed or replaced.

[Larrymc]

If the camera is under warranty (it should be), you should send it in with your concerns. This certainly doesn't mimic the behavior others have seen on the Forum and you should get your camera fixed or replaced.

My sentiments exactly!

[c.a.m]

Certainly sounds like your camera is in need of repair or factory adjustment. Sorry.

I have been using 1.41 on several of my lenses without problems.

Even if my K-3III does work very well, does not necessarily mean that yours does.

If the camera is under warranty (it should be), you should send it in with your concerns. This certainly doesn't mimic the behavior others have seen on the Forum and you should get your camera fixed or replaced.

My sentiments exactly!

All good suggestions, IMO.

The member seems truly frustrated with their K-3 Mark III, including the buffer and memory card throughput, the fixed rear screen, serious misfocusing with two lens models, camera won't select a focus point, camera takes shots with no focus point or random focus points, no AF Fine Adjustment solution for two DA 15mm Limited lenses, and unusually-soft images from the DA 15.

It's hard to say whether the AF issues are a result of camera settings, a faulty camera, an inherent general weakness of the AF and tracking system, or a mis-calibrated AF Fine Adjustment. If I have understood the user's descriptions, it seems that [AF.C plus Auto Area AF] is the main concern. The user's success with their other cameras in similar shooting situations seems to suggest a faulty camera with respect to autofocus -- unusual, but possible. On the other hand, Auto Area + AF.C is not a guarantee of perfect shots of all subjects, particularly with a wide-angle lens and relatively small subject areas. It's not obvious what the other K-3 III settings were in the failed shots, or if the latest firmware (1.41) is a culprit.

- Craig

[sebberry]

Pentax needs to add two things - revise AF fine tuning so that it can be set for both wide and tele ends of a zoom lens, and add additional AF fine tuning points for focus points further from the center.

My 50-135 remains very inconsistent in these aspects.

[longbo]

When I first got my k3-3, I checked out the focus of my 55-300 lens and it was more or less bang on, but when I checked with the Pentax 1.4 rear converter, I found - along with others on the forum - that the camera was not registering that the teleconverter had been fitted. There was some forum correspondence about this and, eventually, Pentax released a firmware upgrade that fixed that issue. I think this was v1.2

Sometime later, I looked into the focusing of several of my lenses and found that all my lenses were out, some near-focusing, others far-focusing and generally agreement betwen OVF and live-view was all over the place. The worst was a Sigma 18-250 that was so far out that I couldn't get it corrected even with a +10 correction. I put this down to the difficulties of doing the measurements, but others on the forum reported similar problems. I think at this stage we were on firmware v1.31.

I've checked recently, since loading firmware v1.41 and it seems everything is back to normal! The deviant Sigma is within a point of zero and other lenses look fine too.

Could it be that one of the interim firmware updates around v1.31 caused a problem that wasn't there when the camera was launched and is now once again corrected?

[c.a.m]

Could it be that one of the interim firmware updates around v1.31 caused a problem that wasn't there when the camera was launched and is now once again corrected?

I imagine that's a possibility, but it's hard to guess what the v1.41 update implements besides Astrotracer Type 3 -- hopefully we'll learn more from users' experiences.

You're correct that FW v 1.20 introduced the 1.4x Teleconverter update. Then v 1.21 brought only "improved stability for general performance." Next was 1.31 with the Satobi custom image and more improved stability... followed by v 1.41.

I updated from v 1.01 directly to v 1.31. My AF Fine Adjustment calibration went well, with robust solutions for all of my lenses (most of them needed to be tweaked from the v1.01 settings; one required a drastic shift). I haven't noticed any issues with AF 'confidence', accuracy or precision during my photo outings. I shoot mainly static subjects, so I can't say much about subject tracking. I haven't updated to 1.41 yet.

- Craig

[tduell]

In my post #55 I reported issues with focus using AF-C.
The settings I was using for AF Active Area were Expanded Area AF (L) and Hold-off.
In an attempt to figure out if these settings were now causing the problems with v-1.41, I reset AF Active Area to Expanded Area AF (S), and hold-on (low).
With these new settings I attempted a number of shots of Grebes swimming, using the DFA 150-450 at 450. The distance to the subject varied, but in many cases the expanded area would have been a bit larger than the bird, but not by a lot.
Many of my shots using AF-C were poorly focussed. Most of my shots using AF-S and single point were sharp.
A few shots of other small birds in foliage at distance with AF-S were sharp.
I'm beginning to suspect that AF-C may have been altered with v-1.41.
If this is the case, then it would be very helpful if Ricoh would publish a detailed guide as to the best AF-C settings for different cases. I read recently that another camera manufacturer had published a 26 page story on this to assist their camera users.
I haven't completely ruled out the possibility that I'm the cause...I always shoot handheld, so I'm planning another test session using my K-3 II, which usually gave good results for similar subjects.
I would appreciate any reports from others on any similar issues with AF-C (or otherwise) and their settings.

Cheers,
Terry

[kypfer]

I attempted a number of shots of Grebes swimming, using the DFA 150-450 at 450. The distance to the subject varied, but in many cases the expanded area would have been a bit larger than the bird, but not by a lot.
Many of my shots using AF-C were poorly focussed. Most of my shots using AF-S and single point were sharp.
A few shots of other small birds in foliage at distance with AF-S were sharp.
I haven't completely ruled out the possibility that I'm the cause...I always shoot handheld, so I'm planning another test session using my K-3 II, which usually gave good results for similar subjects.
I would appreciate any reports from others on any similar issues with AF-C (or otherwise) and their settings.
Cheers,
Terry

I've found over several years (and several cameras) that the Pentax a/f system(s) seem to be easily "distracted" by the multiple highlights from rippled water.
I almost invariably use single-point focus for swimming birds, especially from an elevated viewpoint.
However, the more recent incarnations of the firmware (KP included) seem to be more able to isolate a bird in flight against a cluttered background, including rippled water, when using zone focussing, provided the bird isn't too close to the water.
How much of this is simply down to improved a/f focussing and how much to subject recognition I can only guess … there may even be an amount of improved technique from practice on my part … I certainly seem to be getting a higher proportion of "keepers" than I used to

[licht96]

@tduell: "hold" in AF S?

[tduell]

@tduell: "hold" in AF S?

Do you mean "hold" in AF-C?
I haven't had any trouble with AF-S, and that is always using 'spot' and back-button focusing, so once set that is set it is essentially "hold until next set". I rarely have any trouble with AF-C with my previous settings reported above.
The AF-C settings I tried in my last test had "hold-on, low".
My next try with AF-C will probably be "hold-on, medium", but hope to remind myself how the K-3 II managed with similar subjects.

Cheers,
Terry

[licht96]

I mean nothing ;-)

You wrote : "I reset AF Active Area to Expanded Area AF (S), and hold-on (low)"

And I asked "Hold" in AF S ?(is there really an "-on" phrase for this function)

I don´t have my camera in my hands, but in my knowledge there is no Hold function in AF S

[Kobie]

I mean nothing ;-)

You wrote : "I reset AF Active Area to Expanded Area AF (S), and hold-on (low)"

And I asked "Hold" in AF S ?(is there really an "-on" phrase for this function)

I don´t have my camera in my hands, but in my knowledge there is no Hold function in AF S

I think they meant AF.C, SEL-EX S with AF hold.

[jersey]

I am kinda mixed bag about latest "improvement". I shot mostly at night so that may be the issue, but after latest update I find my lenses hunting much more for target even if it is brightly lit then before. Up to the point where even focusing with PLM lens can take as long as with screwdriver as lens is going from one opposite to another as if not knowing what to do. Never had such issue before and K-3/3 AF, both AF-S and AF-C was always very fast and on spot. Now it is a mixed bag. Sometimes it is blazing fast, sometimes it is dissappointing.


But it is always accurate and if AF-C catches target it keeps it, just acquiring it is, for me, more time consuming. So I am not sure what to think. Before it I never complained about K-3/3 autofocus (I really don't even now, just noticed some changes) so I hope with the next one issues will go away.

[rogerstg]

hold-on (low) . . . I attempted a number of shots of Grebes swimming

I finally figured out that hold is the relative amount the camera will hold its current focus before changing (due to interference from other objects). It's probably best to turn hold off with a moving subject in a clear setting since any lag in focus tracking is not helpful. Especially if it's moving toward or away from the camera.

[tduell]

I mean nothing ;-)

You wrote : "I reset AF Active Area to Expanded Area AF (S), and hold-on (low)"

And I asked "Hold" in AF S ?(is there really an "-on" phrase for this function)

I don´t have my camera in my hands, but in my knowledge there is no Hold function in AF S

Sorry, my mistake...I meant to write AF-C, not AF-S, it was all about AF-C.

Cheers,
Terry