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05-06-2008, 08:58 AM   #31
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ed in GA Quote
My first question would be....

In what mode do you have the focus setting? Auto, select or Spot?

If you are using the 11 segment auto focus setting, your camera, even in "AF-C" may not look for the object on which you are trying to focus.

Anytime I use the AF-C setting on the camera, I use spot focusing and center weighted metering.

It might also help to turn of the "SR" if you are panning while using AF-C.

Not that you are, but I sometimes feel that a lot of folks are trying to allow the camera to do all of their thinking for them.

Hope that helped?

Ed
Good advice. Thats a lesson I have learned shooting my daughters crew races the last few weeks. My camera kept focusing on other things while I was panning and it was hard to keep the right boat focused if there was a close race. This is called learning how to use the camera. The guys standing next to me with Canons and Nikons mentioned they have some of the same issues. By trial and error I ended up using those same settings and started getting better results. I also used manual exposure mostly, f8 to f11 and had pretty good depth of field. The boats were a hundred yards or more out on the water and the difference from lane 1 to lane 6 is a couple of hundred feet so the auto focus is pretty much at its limit. I'm using a Sigma 70-300 and shooting at 250-300 for almost all the shots. I'm getting decent results and getting better with more experience with the camera. The K10D works. I just need to learn all the little tricks. Most of them are well covered in the forum.

05-06-2008, 11:28 AM   #32
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Hi Ed

When you said:

QuoteQuote:
I use spot focusing
I assume you were referring to the "Centre Focus" mode ?

Best regards
Richard
05-06-2008, 11:47 AM   #33
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QuoteOriginally posted by Confused Quote
Hi Ed

When you said:



I assume you were referring to the "Centre Focus" mode ?

Best regards
Richard

Yes, the center focus mode.
05-06-2008, 12:01 PM   #34
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QuoteOriginally posted by offertonhatter Quote
Is anyone else frustrated with the Pentax AF?

I took a number of images today with the K10D and most have come out blurred on the subject matter. I did switch to manual but the subject (otters) was still blurred, as they were fast(ish)

The focusing was hunting far too much for me, I even tried to focus on a point and wait but to no avail.

The ISO was set high to allow a fast shutter time, but did not make much difference (apart from noise).

How does everyone counter the problem of this, is there any pointers to make me happier?

I love my Pentax as it is perfect for still lifes/Landscapes/Macros etc, anything that is not moving, but if it moves, the AF is POOR.

Now I know that Pentax is not the best AF in the world, and is far too slow, but it is a pain. If there is a way to get moving subjects sharply, please let me know, as I don't want to invest in a system with fast AF just for moving subjects.

Oh BTW I was complimented on by CaNikon users on the colours that the Pentax can produce, so want to keep my mighty Pentax accordingly and not go over to the Dark Side.

Help on moving objects would be appreciated
Get a K20D & some SDM lenses, there really is quite a bit difference in AF performance from the K10D to the K20D. You really notice it if you use both cameras side by side.
I shot a wedding over the weekend & used both bodies, one with the 16-50 & the other with 50-135. The AF performance of the K20D was much better.

05-06-2008, 12:19 PM   #35
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All this talk and still no example of the problem??????
05-06-2008, 01:00 PM   #36
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QuoteOriginally posted by robert Quote
All this talk and still no example of the problem??????
How dare you read my mind again and use my comment?

Seriously though, I have a couple of thoughts here, and maybe this is hijacking the thread, but without the examples, there is not a lot to hijack.

thought #1, perhaps the OP has already figured out he was doing something wrong and is a little embarrased. No worries, we all do silly things from time to time. admit it and we can all laugh togheter.

thought #2, perhaps we should have a resume under our names, sort of like how long into photography, books read, related education etc. Depending on this summary, it might cause us to think towards either basic photography issues, vs HW defects,

thought #3, should we have a separate forum discussing specific camera hardware issues, one discussing techniques, and a third as a ask for help with technique, where it won't accept a post without a photo.
05-06-2008, 01:17 PM   #37
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I didn't see it mentioned, but the OP said he was in AF-C mode. That means you're allowed to take a shot even without a lock. AF-C is great when you absolutely must drop the shutter, but its not so hot for insuring that you have perfect focus.

05-06-2008, 02:08 PM   #38
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I wonder if something happened to the OP. No further conmunication!

Oh well, a lot of interesting information about AF anyway.
05-06-2008, 02:42 PM   #39
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Photos

Okay here are the photos to look at
Attached Images
       
05-06-2008, 02:59 PM   #40
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sorry as the OP it took so long, but only now I have managed to post, (work and other things).

some good responses have been given, which I will take on board, but would be interesting to find out how other members have managed to get movment shot so sharp. maybe I need to have practice.
05-06-2008, 03:14 PM   #41
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QuoteOriginally posted by offertonhatter Quote
sorry as the OP it took so long, but only now I have managed to post, (work and other things).

some good responses have been given, which I will take on board, but would be interesting to find out how other members have managed to get movment shot so sharp. maybe I need to have practice.
sorry to bug you but how about EXIF data

Shutter speed etc, none is present
05-06-2008, 03:29 PM   #42
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No problem, details as follows

1. 148mm F4.5 ISO800 1/250 sec

2. 148mm F4.5 ISO1000 1/320sec

3. 500mm F6.7 ISO640 1/640sec

4. 500mm F6.7 ISO640 1/640sec

All were with spot focusing and EV. and the SR was on.

I tried to get the head in focus (and the eyes accordingly) but for some reason the camera was too slow to react.

As you can see, the ISO was quite high, any higher and the image would be too noisy.

I did try AF-C,. AF-S and Manual, but nithing came out right (in manual, my eyes and hand are not the best against AF............

.
05-06-2008, 03:40 PM   #43
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On #2 there the moss in the background is in focus, the others are not so easy to tell for me
05-06-2008, 04:22 PM   #44
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Interesting time. I just shot some pictures with my K10 and new Tamron 18-250mm lens at stationary targets. These were at the long end of my lens. Remember at 250mm on the K10, or any APS C sensor, I was shooting at something close to 400mm. So the old rule of "same shunter speed as focal length" still applies. Also if you are shakey as I am with handheld shots, then shorter shutter speeds are nessary even with our much loved shake reduction system working.

I just shot a squirrel in a tree out in front of my house. It is an over cast day, there was shade and I had to shoot at 800 ISO to get any shutter speed. I was shooting at f8 to get some DOF but I was only able to shoot at 1/100 sec. So using the two stop guess, regarding the Pentax shake reduction system, I was shooting at about two stops better, or 1/400 sec. Needless to say my shot is not the most sharp if one wants to pixle peep.

If this little guy had been moving.....forget about it!!

I always use center AF and metering. I use only AF.S.

Just uploaded this picture here. Flickr: eagle2a's Photostream



QuoteOriginally posted by offertonhatter Quote
No problem, details as follows

1. 148mm F4.5 ISO800 1/250 sec

2. 148mm F4.5 ISO1000 1/320sec

3. 500mm F6.7 ISO640 1/640sec

4. 500mm F6.7 ISO640 1/640sec

All were with spot focusing and EV. and the SR was on.

I tried to get the head in focus (and the eyes accordingly) but for some reason the camera was too slow to react.

As you can see, the ISO was quite high, any higher and the image would be too noisy.

I did try AF-C,. AF-S and Manual, but nithing came out right (in manual, my eyes and hand are not the best against AF............

.
05-06-2008, 04:31 PM   #45
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Oh yes I should mention that I cropped the original shot by at least 20% to 30% to get this picture. So always keep in mind that if you are like me and do quite a bit of cropping then get as sharp a shot as you can.

Even at 377mm small animals, at any distance, will require some cropping.
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