[Crosshair]

I don't know much about flash, but I recommend to use various AF points insted of reframing. Becauze while moving the camera sideways trying to frame your shot, you may as well move a bit forward of backward without realizing, and even if you don't, the sideways movement itself alone can be sufficient. So your focus is a little off, like a frontfocus or backfocus. Focusing and recomposing therefore is not healthy.

[JimJohnson]

I use center focus & metering all the time and recompose the frame. That way I am more sure that the camera is focusing and metering on what is important to me. I typically have no problems, but you raise a very valid point. I may have to rethink how I use auto-focus.

[Ray Pulley]

What an idiotic arrogant prat you are !!!!
You presume wayyyyyyy too much.
Im not intrested in your thoughts or opinions or what and why you do or anything else.

Name calling, the last resort of those with a failed argument.

PLUNK! - Westmill hits the ignore list.

[benhai]

I down grade my K7 to D200 with tamron A16NII and Nikon 80-200mm 2.8 AF D ED. I found it is much easier to get everything right in .jpg format. I mostly shoot family events and hiking. I found Pentax needs more post processing to get to my standard of excellence. I used to own a pentax DAL 40mm f2.8 which I don't really use it much. On the contrary Nikon 35mm 1.8G is much easier for me to use and get great results.

As to difficult lighting condition. I found that Nikon 80-200mm AF D ED is perfectly fine in manual mode. I have the push and pull version. Manual focus is very smooth and accurate and very fast in viewfinder.

Pentax gear is smaller but instead your camera bag needs to be bigger to hold those highly respected limited prime lenses. I am a zoom guy now. A fixed 2.8 zoom is more attractive to me.

Best regards!

[westmill]

Name calling, the last resort of those with a failed argument.

PLUNK! - Westmill hits the ignore list.

If you had asked in a civil mannor I would have explained things so that you would understand.
Unfortunately... you did not ! You proceeded to be
rude and insulting, and then you expected me to explain
myself to you some how. You would not speak or talk like that face to face in life, so why do it on here. These may have just become words to you, because you spend your life on here. I would remind you that there are real people with real thoughts and opinions behind those words. It was not a failed argument, because I chose not to explain on account of your childish and arrogant response. Ignore list ! Pity you didnt do that a good few posts back. Ive precous little time for idiots

[Zafar Iqbal]

I'm with OP in that something is seemingly way off. Got me a K-5 and noticed focusing issues the very same evening. My K-x on the other hand does a *much* better job. K-5 *should* be better than K-5 but (my particular camera) was so far off that micro adjusting wasn't sufficient. Plus, have to micro adjust every single fast lens (2.8 or faster)? Sounds rubbish.

Anyways, my K-5 is sent in for repairs. I had the chance to use it at a wedding before doing so and really enjoyed the cam. The bad AF under low light didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth, *but* I do expect a better functioning camera.

[westmill]

I'm with OP in that something is seemingly way off. Got me a K-5 and noticed focusing issues the very same evening. My K-x on the other hand does a *much* better job. K-5 *should* be better than K-5 but (my particular camera) was so far off that micro adjusting wasn't sufficient. Plus, have to micro adjust every single fast lens (2.8 or faster)? Sounds rubbish.

Anyways, my K-5 is sent in for repairs. I had the chance to use it at a wedding before doing so and really enjoyed the cam. The bad AF under low light didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth, *but* I do expect a better functioning camera.

Mine was exactly the same, so it looks like its normal for this camera.Luckily I tried mine first at a party reception.
Same results. I tried everything and ended up reverting back to my Nikon. Eventualy I found something that actualy works. Set the cameras anti red eye working. I use a metz 50 with a tilted head and STO FEN diffuser.
It gives excellent and reliable results. I even did a christning with it the other wk. I was confident enough even to shoot in JPG. Try it and see for yourself

[Zafar Iqbal]

Just got my cam back today and now it's worse than before.

I previously had an opportunity to shoot lots and lots of pics during daytime, before turning the cam in for repairs. The cam functioned splendidly in those conditions - even inside a bright church.

Now however - not a single exposure with proper focus during the day I took a long walk home and was out during pre, under and post-sunset and noticed how the cam went from back focusing towards normal, and possibly front focus issues as it got darker and darker. I tried with 3 lenses and the problem exists on all of them.

Focus issue is still large enough to not to be able to be correctable by micro adjustment.

I'm not happy and I need the cam for a wedding in 2 weeks

[aleonx3]

Just got my cam back today and now it's worse than before.

I previously had an opportunity to shoot lots and lots of pics during daytime, before turning the cam in for repairs. The cam functioned splendidly in those conditions - even inside a bright church.

Now however - not a single exposure with proper focus during the day I took a long walk home and was out during pre, under and post-sunset and noticed how the cam went from back focusing towards normal, and possibly front focus issues as it got darker and darker. I tried with 3 lenses and the problem exists on all of them.

Focus issue is still large enough to not to be able to be correctable by micro adjustment.

I'm not happy and I need the cam for a wedding in 2 weeks

Have you tried to turn off micro AF adjustment? Sometimes, no adjustment is better than some adjustment... by turn AF adjustment option off several of DA and DA* lenses are spot on.

[Zafar Iqbal]

The cam was reset when it was handed to me and I played with AF adjustments as the evening went. 0 adjustment would have been worse than the results I got (which were worse enough) until the light level was low enough. Then the focus shifted enough and it was close/spot on to be exact.

I'm turning it in again today.

[SKwan]

So what is going on here? I would love to the told that this is all operator error because I really want to keep the K5. But I have never had so many focus misses in my life

I have modified one of your cropped photos with Faststone Image Viewer. Do you think your K-5 and your lens have got a focus issue?

[sanjeevdas]

Yes I do. In low light, yes. You have sharpened them, but they are still OOF.

[SKwan]

I think it is not OOF. Blur naturally happens when enlarging a photo as its resolution cannot keep the same. In low light, the color dots are comparatively softer than in day time and the softness will be very obvious if the photo is enlarged.

I have been working in printing industry for many years and so I know your OOF issue is actually not an issue. Have you tried to closely view a large poster, say in size of 2x3 meter, in MTR? If do so, you can view different colors dots and you may not identify its image which you remotely view the poster!

[Zafar Iqbal]

The highlights in the eyes and the glass indicate clearly to me, that focus wasnt where it needed to be. The built in flash produces much smaller highlights. External flashes aren't that much larger to affect the size of the highlights in such a way (at that distance).

Secondly - the highlight at the eyes of the girl in the middle. They are darker in the middle also indicating OOF.

Highlights produces by built in flash:

[SKwan]

Hi Zafar,
Frankly speaking, you and me are not Sanjeevdas and we do not know how the photos were taken. There are many factors affecting the focus accuracy other than the camera its own! What I did is just to indicate the possibility of camera AF issue is not strongly proved.