[aleonx3]

17-70, 50-135 with both K5 and K3. 50-135 AF was barely usable in low light with K5 and off center AF was not accurate with K5. Wit K3 the AFS of 50-135 work well, but it doesn't make it a great AFC solution for action/sports.

IMHO, most of the problems people had in capturing fast moving objects lies on the technique, although fast AF does help. I have been shooting with my DA* lenses with my k-5IIs and k-3 on all my event photos (I shoot many events) and I must admit, I do have a very high keeper rate compare to my buddies shooting D810/D750.. may be my Pentax lens/camera are specially made for me.

[Nicolas06]

IMHO, most of the problems people had in capturing fast moving objects lies on the technique, although fast AF does help. I have been shooting with my DA* lenses with my k-5IIs and k-3 on all my event photos (I shoot many events) and I must admit, I do have a very high keeper rate compare to my buddies shooting D810/D750.. may be my Pentax lens/camera are specially made for me.

Photographer is key very important but so is gear. Better gear will allow you to get things done in more challenging conditons. That may never happen to you or be quite common. But you also need to know how to use it too.

Maybe your buddies are not so good, honestly that quite bad for them and I hope you don't make feel it Maybe your are extremely great. Maybe both. Maybe what you shoot isn't that challenging, maybe your budddies are more demanding than you...

Everything is possible, but as for the gear, there quite a difference.

[wed7]

The Nikon D500 then.

[swisscow]

The Nikon D500 then.

It would be nice...........but a little pricey

[max_pyne]

That's two of the surfing pics I took. I quickly checked the in focus in general, it's good! Most of the images are in focus there is one or two that the user did the error, me! When he moved to quickly... it was the K-3, DA* 300 plus HD 1.4 TC makes it a 420mm lens.
It was perfect weather... and I was shooting in high burst mode.... there where even people that walked in my FOV.... not the best pics of the sets but should work for illustration...:-)

[biz-engineer]

K3 is perfect for AFS, basic for AFC. There basic tracking, but there no anticipation at were the subject will when the photo will be taken. The delay between when AF can't work anymore (the mirror start to open) and when the photo is taken means that a fast subject like somebody that do a sprint or a dog may have moved 1 meter.

Practically, that's not what happens. Pentax AFS is good but slow to lock, Pentax AFC is also good for fast moving subject having a trajectory such as sports and bif where predictive AF servo can do its job, have you seen the series posted my bust of 19 photos of BIF in perfect focus (100% keepers)?. The issue with Pentax AF is AFS speed to lock. Typically, from experience, slow moving people are very hard to get in focus with Pentax cameras. Nicolas, please don't comment on AF tracking if that's a feature that you do not personally use, otherwise, that's criticism for the sake of it, on the one hand destroys the brand, on the other hand does not bring you any benefit.

[Nicolas06]

Practically, that's not what happens. Pentax AFS is good but slow to lock, Pentax AFC is also good for fast moving subject having a trajectory such as sports and bif where predictive AF servo can do its job, have you seen the series posted my bust of 19 photos of BIF in perfect focus (100% keepers)?. The issue with Pentax AF is AFS speed to lock. Typically, from experience, slow moving people are very hard to get in focus with Pentax cameras. Nicolas, please don't comment on AF tracking if that's a feature that you do not personally use, otherwise, that's criticism for the sake of it, on the one hand destroys the brand, on the other hand does not bring you any benefit.

Keeper rate:

Pentax K-5 II s: 53%
Pentax K-3: 67%
Nikon D610: 97%

Read more at: Pentax K-3 Review - Autofocus | PentaxForums.com Reviews

You'l notice the D610 is not a Nikon model recognized for its high end AF. D7300, D500, D810, D750 or D5 all have something much more advanced. Yes K1 improved, but the AF hardware is the same.

As for AF, I don't use AFS but AFC on the dedicated AF button so that I can control what I AF on and when the AF is triggered. When I shot a moving subject, I let the button pressed so AFC continuously update the focus. The AF issues I may encounter may be due to AFC or my lack of skill, but not the AFS supposedly slow to lock performance.

[biz-engineer]

Keeper rate: Pentax K-5 II s: 53% Pentax K-3: 67% Nikon D610: 97% Read more at: Pentax K-3 Review - Autofocus | PentaxForums.com Reviews You'l notice the D610 is not a Nikon model recognized for its high end AF. D7300, D500, D810, D750 or D5 all have something much more advanced. As if I manage to get things in focus with AFS, yes.

I followed your advice for the DFA150-450 (you wrote that it is a very good lens, while not having use it). Now, I follow your advice for Nikon, I'm getting a Nikon D750.
I also just learned that full frame can't do anything that apsc can do and apsc can do everything that full frame can do (from other threads of apsc owners who argue that full frame can do nothing more than apsc), and due to the narrow depth of field of FF it makes it unusable, so I'm selling of all K1 and get u4/3 instead.

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Last edited by biz-engineer; 07-03-2016 at 05:37 AM.

[Nicolas06]

You did not read what I wrote, but that's ok. I followed your advice for the DFA150-450 (you wrote that it is a very good lens, while not having use it). Now, I follow your advice for Nikon, I'm getting a Nikon D750.

And so D750 is a bad body and DFA150-450 a bad lens? At least you own the 150-450, you'd be able to show me I was wrong saying the 150-450 is any good by saying the contrary if that please you.

[biz-engineer]

And so D750 is a bad body and DFA150-450 a bad lens? At least you own the 150-450, you'd be able to show me I was wrong saying the 150-450 is any good by saying the contrary if that please you.

The 150-450 works well. But it is heavy. I'd like small, high performance and cheap and can focus instantaneously in the dark. Just wondering how did anyone manager to get good photos 10 years ago when the best Nikon AF was not even up to today's Pentax level.

[clackers]

Keeper rate:

Pentax K-5 II s: 53%
Pentax K-3: 67%
Nikon D610: 97%[LEFT][COLOR=#000000]
Read more at: Pentax K-3 Review - Autofocus | PentaxForums.com Reviews

But the Pentaxes only used the slow 60-250mm lens?

Come on! 😀

[Nicolas06]

The 150-450 works well. But it is heavy. I'd like small, high performance and cheap and can focus instantaneously in the dark. Just wondering how did anyone manager to get good photos 10 years ago when the best Nikon AF was not even up to today's Pentax level.

You spent a lot, you got quite heavy/serious gear. Hopefully you are happy about it, and hopefully you get fantastics shots out of it. Beside I would hope exactly the same to you if you had a K50 and a 55-300. It is your life. Like you don't care of mine, I don't care of yours.

At least I don't want to force you to switch to Fuji/Sony or at least buy a K1 + DFA lenses while I know you are not interrested.

[Nicolas06]

But the Pentaxes only used the slow 60-250mm lens?

Come on! ��

Even if the lens is instantaneus to focus and the AF instantaneous to perform focus measurement and give order to the lens, the somewhat long time while the mirror is up to take the picture the subject moved. If it is a bike or a a sprinted. The move can be 1-2 meters for 0.1second delay. If the dof is less than 3-4 meters, that's a problem.

All in all for a subject that is not just in front of you 1-2 meters is a small adjustment. A very small move on the focus throw. So you don't need that fast AF motor at all. What you need is to know the actual speed of the motor, where the focus will be exactly and when if you give some order so that the focus will be were you want at the right time.

For that you need to understand the scene somewhat and anticipate what will be the focus distance of the subject at the time the picture is taken and give the order so that when the photo is taken it will be in focus.

A lens as slow at 60-250 but on D7200 or D500 if ,that existed would get more keeper than a K3/K3-II.

I agree that the way to compare body performance would be to use the same sigma lens but that not that common test.

[biz-engineer]

A lens as slow at 60-250 but on D7200 or D500 if ,that existed would get more keeper than a K3/K3-II.

The new Pentax products are evolving, but people keep in mind the AF performance of 10 years ago. To all guys who switched five years ago from Pentax to Nikon , I hope for them that their Nikon AF is much better than what they had when they switched... because I did not switch and Pentax AF also improved. Usually, all camera manufacturers get sooner or later the same tech, so you can spend load of money to switch to Nikon or wisely wait a couple of years and spend less money to get the same in a Pentax camera. It is generally cheaper to stay with the same brand. With K3 and DFA150-450 , I don't get 67% keepers, I get nearly 100%.

[normhead]

The new Pentax products are evolving, but people keep in mind the AF performance of 10 years ago. To all guys who switched five years ago from Pentax to Nikon , I hope for them that their Nikon AF is much better than what they had when they switched... because I did not switch and Pentax AF also improved. Usually, all camera manufacturers get sooner or later the same tech, so you can spend load of money to switch to Nikon or wisely wait a couple of years and spend less money to get the same in a Pentax camera. It is generally cheaper to stay with the same brand. With K3 and DFA150-450 , I don't get 67% keepers, I get nearly 100%.

That's the one thing people tend to not understand. Spending more money is often the only thing that gets you more keepers. I'm as cheap as the next guy, and I hate spending money on equipment, but there are times when you just have to say, if I really want this, I'm going to have to have a more expensive body with a faster focussing lens. You can discuss everything else until you're blue in the face, but sooner or later you hit that wall. Fortunately for many of us, when we do hit that wall, we can just look at the situation and say "it's not perfect but it's good enough."

As mentioned above, better technique and portability often trumps AF speed.

Images taken while my photographic companions were stuck in the parking lot with their heavy tripods and gear. Try this with your 1Dx and your Canon 600mm ƒ4 lens.

I climbed up a snowbank, slipping and sliding and nearly falling a couple of times , to get up to eye level with this pine marten.


There were a group of photographers gathered trying to get image of this fox. I walked 30 meters down the road and was lying in a snow drift, to get to eye level, to get the sun in the right position, and to get the background I wanted. Again, everyone else set up on their tripods with their expensive long lenses near the cars.



People talk about all kinds of crazy stuff, then they have and spend thousands of dollar on the best equipment, then can't do what they need to do to get the image they want... don't be one of those guys.

The parking lot dudes. They have spent tens of thousands on gear, but they can't move to where they need to go to get the image they want.