[swisscow]

Hi all

I had a Pentax a few moons ago but drifted away to the olympus m43. However, my daughter is getting to the age where she is moving around a lot and starting to appear in school events and I'm not really satisfied with the results of the m43 (though when I nail it it's great) and to be honest, I'd rather use a DSLR.

Anyway, I'd like to go back to a DSLR and Pentax is my first call (K-3ii with 16-85mm and later the new 50-300mm) but I'm concerned about the focus tracking and for this I keep getting distracted to the Nikon D750, though I think with the extra "perceived reach" of the apsc I'm better off.

Could someone with a small child under such circumstances reassure me the k-3ii is going to, allowing for reasonble user ability, to get the results I want or tell me it's not up to the job. I've been going around in circles so long my head hurts.

Thanks!

[WPRESTO]

One thing I can tell you, the K1 has IMHO the best autofocus of any Pentax body.

[swisscow]

I have heard, but I'm thinking higher burst rate and a smaller package which is the K3.

[UncleVanya]

I have heard, but I'm thinking higher burst rate and a smaller package which is the K3.

Pentax K-3 Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews
Pentax K-1 Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

and this specifically:
Pentax K-1 Review - Focusing | PentaxForums.com Reviews

[swisscow]

Pentax K-3 Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews
Pentax K-1 Review - Introduction | PentaxForums.com Reviews

and this specifically:
Pentax K-1 Review - Focusing | PentaxForums.com Reviews

Thanks for the reply. I think I've read them - to be honest, I think I've read every review ever written. Any personal experiences would help to break the impasse

[normhead]

The tracking on the K-3 is fine for what you want.

Part of a 23 shot sequence (full buffer) of my dog moving at 25 -35 Mph with every frame in focus, shots were selected based on the pose, taking advantage of the increased frame rate to give me twice as much selection.















Contrary to what you might see posted by various knuckleheads on the fourm, you don't need a K-1 to track your kid.

Every thing a K-3 was good at before the K-1 came out, it's still good at.

I'm not sure where all the pictures are demonstrating what you can do with a K-1 you can't do with a K-3 but someone should point me there. I sure would like to see even one sequence demonstrating K-1 superiority. After giving up half the frame rate, it should be downright super.

I've seen nothing from a K-1 remotely close to some of the series I have.

Sometimes, people don't care if the K-1 is better. They only care about if the K-3 does what they want.. Honestly, dudes, the answer to every camera question on the forum, is not K-1, K-1 , K-1, even if it's the only answer some of us seem capable of delivering.

Pentax does make other cameras for other people and other needs. I simply fail to understand the lack of importance some place on frame rate in action sequences. People pay thousands of extra dollars for a few extra FPS. Pentax itself market the K-1 as a field camera, i.e. landscape etc.

[UncleVanya]

The tracking on the K-3 is fine for what you want.

Contrary to what you might see posted by various knuckleheads on the fourm, you don't need a K-1 to track your kid.

Every thing a K-3 was good at before the K-1 came out, it's still good at.

I would say that the one place the K-3 has failed me (and I don't have a K-1 to compare to) is head on movement. Side to side has been very good - but an object coming at me has been very spotty.

What settings in terms of AF mode and focus points did you use to get this sequence? I have had good results but not quite as good as this.

---------- Post added 06-27-16 at 01:41 PM ----------

Hi all

I had a Pentax a few moons ago but drifted away to the olympus m43. However, my daughter is getting to the age where she is moving around a lot and starting to appear in school events and I'm not really satisfied with the results of the m43 (though when I nail it it's great) and to be honest, I'd rather use a DSLR.

Which Olympus camera did you use?

[tuco]

A dog running across your frame ( focus distance not changing) is not a measure of a fast AF, IMHO. And when it comes to fast AF, the body is only half the story. You need a responsive AF lens too. It's hard to say what you need. Often fineness makes up for a lot. But the bottom line is the D750 has a pretty good AF system and not too many cameras have better.

[volley]

Hi all

Could someone with a small child under such circumstances reassure me the k-3ii is going to, allowing for reasonble user ability, to get the results I want or tell me it's not up to the job. I've been going around in circles so long my head hurts.

Thanks!

People may not like it, but if you don't know what you are doing no camera in the world will get you good results ... and if you know what you are doing any fairly modern camera will get you good results. I find it funny people asking if a specific camera "is up to the job" while in reality the limiting factor most of the time is the (lack of) capabilities of the photographer. I am not talking about your capabilities, I don't know nothing about these. But fast moving childs have been captured long before AF was invented ...

[swisscow]

The tracking on the K-3 is fine for what you want.

Part of a 23 shot sequence (full buffer) of my dog moving at 25 -35 Mph with every frame in focus, shots were selected based on the pose, taking advantage of the increased frame rate to give me twice as much selection.















Contrary to what you might see posted by various knuckleheads on the fourm, you don't need a K-1 to track your kid.

Every thing a K-3 was good at before the K-1 came out, it's still good at.

I'm not sure where all the pictures are demonstrating what you can do with a K-1 you can't do with a K-3 but someone should point me there. I sure would like to see even one sequence demonstrating K-1 superiority. After giving up half the frame rate, it should be downright super.

I've seen nothing from a K-1 remotely close to some of the series I have.

Sometimes, people don't care if the K-1 is better. They only care about if the K-3 does what they want.. Honestly, dudes, the answer to every camera question on the forum, is not K-1, K-1 , K-1, even if it's the only answer some of us seem capable of delivering.

Pentax does make other cameras for other people and other needs. I simply fail to understand the lack of importance some place on frame rate in action sequences. People pay thousands of extra dollars for a few extra FPS. Pentax itself market the K-1 as a field camera, i.e. landscape etc.

Yep, I noticed K1 was the answer to the life the universe and everything else.

Thanks for taking the time to answer the question and share the great pics. It certainly helps with the decision making.
I'd be happy if my kid could run after a ball that quick :-)

Could I ask the lens you used?

[LoneWolf]

Could someone with a small child under such circumstances reassure me the k-3ii is going to, allowing for reasonble user ability, to get the results I want or tell me it's not up to the job. I've been going around in circles so long my head hurts.

Thanks!

I started thread on a related subject sometime ago viz Un-cooperative Un-predictable Small Children. It contains some very useful advice, some of which may assist.

The site can found at https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/38-photographic-technique/313291-un-coope...-children.html

[swisscow]

I would say that the one place the K-3 has failed me (and I don't have a K-1 to compare to) is head on movement. Side to side has been very good - but an object coming at me has been very spotty.

What settings in terms of AF mode and focus points did you use to get this sequence? I have had good results but not quite as good as this.

---------- Post added 06-27-16 at 01:41 PM ----------



Which Olympus camera did you use?

I've been using the OMD EM5ii which is great in many ways but.....I'm not really getting that warm fuzzy feeling with the ergonomics, the EVF is not doing it for me either. Ive got the pro 12-40 which is a cracking lens and I can't really fault the pic quality when I nail it on the head - but taking a picture is more than just the picture quality I think.

---------- Post added 06-27-16 at 08:37 PM ----------

People may not like it, but if you don't know what you are doing no camera in the world will get you good results ... and if you know what you are doing any fairly modern camera will get you good results. I find it funny people asking if a specific camera "is up to the job" while in reality the limiting factor most of the time is the (lack of) capabilities of the photographer. I am not talking about your capabilities, I don't know nothing about these. But fast moving childs have been captured long before AF was invented ...

Well said - and probably true in my case as well :-) THough when dropping a tonne of cash I'd just like to be sure the K3 can do what I would like (as it seems it can) when their is a bucket load of people / reviews whinging. Sometimes it is difficult to see the wood for the trees and some direct advice helps.

---------- Post added 06-27-16 at 08:40 PM ----------

I started thread on a related subject sometime ago viz Un-cooperative Un-predictable Small Children. It contains some very useful advice, some of which may assist.

The site can found at https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/38-photographic-technique/313291-un-coope...-children.html

Nice tips, nice pics.

I like duct tape - but I don't think that will be allowed in the kindergarten play

[max_pyne]

I took some pics of my friend while he was ski surfing. The K-3 did a great job actually I was really impressed by the performance. Had the DA*300 on it.

[volley]

Well said - and probably true in my case as well :-) THough when dropping a tonne of cash I'd just like to be sure the K3 can do what I would like (as it seems it can) when their is a bucket load of people / reviews whinging. Sometimes it is difficult to see the wood for the trees and some direct advice helps.[COLOR="Silver"]

Again, this was not intended to question your capabilities, hope it did not come across like that.

Here are a few shots of fairly fast moving target, captured with the original K3:

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[swisscow]

Again, this was not intended to question your capabilities, hope it did not come across like that.

Here are a few shots of fairly fast moving target, captured with the original K3:

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Not at all, I'm well aware of my limitations. These are pin sharp. Got any in not so good light?