[tromboads]

Ah, not enough science for you. I see I see.

It's becoming clear that it would be very difficult to provide a test that would be met without criticism. Not that I suggest I have provided an exhaustive test, but merely, a user reflection on a trend to talk down capacities of these tools we all have, and to some degree it seems, enjoy complaining about.

For those sitting on the fence in regards to AF, have no fear, your gear is ok! For those to the right, you will never have gear good enough, for those on the left, yeah I do like those pants man, and yes, I'll met you in the gallery after I've finished this post.

Love love

[johnmflores]

John, is it fair to concede that at present the top-of-line Pentax bodies aren't quite up to your specific professional dramatic moment case, but for other AF.C uses current Pentax flagship cameras (K-1 and K-3ll) are quite competent when set correctly?

IOW, Pentax doesn't make a camera optimized to your use case (<20Mp, fast processor, large buffer, >10fps + full sensor area AF point coverage), probably because almost no current Pentax lenses could use such a camera's capabilities to its limit anyway?

Pentax AF is good. And for most use cases (and most of my use cases) it is fine. There are many fine photos in this forum and thread that prove that point. It's only at the sharpest end of the spear that it is lacking, in particular when compared to Canikon.

I won't hazard a guess whether it is the bodies or lenses that are the limiting agent. It just seems that Pentax has not pursued the working pro sports photog for one reason or another. And that's fine. Pro sports level AF performance is not a requirement or the only path to market success. Just ask Leica. And Fuji.

Ah this ain't no fun.

Lets just all agree, that the myth of AF-C being unusable is rubbish. It's plenty darn usable.

You're the guy that started this all LOL! If you had titled this thread "Pentax AF is Plenty Darn Usable" this thread would have been filled with nice action shots taken with Pentax cameras. But nooooo, you had to strike the match and light up the straw man!

Yes, Pentax AF is Plenty Darn Usable (TM)


2014 Tour of Somerville by John Flores, on Flickr


_JMF9187.jpg by John Flores, on Flickr


_JMF1624.jpg by John Flores, on Flickr


#1 Jake Mataya leads the pack into Turn 1 by John Flores, on Flickr


#56A has the bike crossed up as he exits the turn by John Flores, on Flickr

[tromboads]

Another convert!

See everyone. Even folk who think that AF isn't that great still manage those kinds of shots.

[MarkJerling]

Nice shots John!

[monochrome]

@johnmflores Thanks for directly responding and clarifying that Pentax continuous auto focus is good (I use the term competent) for most uses, though perhaps not the best for result-critical professional use. That confirms my experience.

Pentax K-1 AF is perfectly suited to shooting small children, for instance.

[BrianR]

Take a look at this article.. Subject tracking: Why it matters to us and why it should matter to you: Digital Photography Review

In the first video with the cyclist, it looks like they've nearly perfected 3-d beard tracking.

Seriously though, it looks pretty awesome and I kinda wish I hadn't watched those videos. I don't use it often, but I've had moderate success with approaching subjects using AF.C on a k5iis+DA*300 and centre point focus. My main problem has been keeping the centre point smoothly on the subject, a small slip on my part can mean everything goes blurry as the camera goes hunting for a new target and precious seconds are lost finding the subject again. Nothing a few hundred hours of practice couldn't fix. By the look of it, a few thousand $$ worth of Nikon and a few dozen hours of practice might do just as well. If this has filtered down to be just as awesome looking in the mid-price-range APS-C cameras, I can understand some of the roots of brand envy.


To be a little more positive, I'm constantly amazed at how the k5iis can focus in the dark. Using just a weak red-LED headlamp, I find the k5iis+dfa100mm can hit the focus where I can barely discern outlines of the subject in the viewfinder. I'm not sure how other brands compare in this regard, but it's hard to imagine better performance for late night prowlers:

[ScooterMaxi Jim]

I can't help think - all present company clearly excepted - that some shooters fail to understand the relatively complex settings that Pentax offers regarding not only AF.S, AF.A, AF.C but regarding the menu settings. This is especially so starting with the K-3 series. Without naming names (but starts with DP and ends with iew), one major review site doesn't have a clue how to properly set a Pentax for continuous focus. It has contributed to the confusion.

That isn't to say Pentax is as good as the best, but those who say the gap isn't closing, probably aren't using the right settings. It is also getting quite clear that few Pentax AF lenses are now as quick as the new bodies are capable of responding.

[monochrome]

I can't help think - all present company clearly excepted - that some shooters fail to understand the relatively complex settings that Pentax offers regarding not only AF.S, AF.A, AF.C but regarding the menu settings. This is especially so starting with the K-3 series. Without naming names (but starts with DP and ends with iew), one major review site doesn't have a clue how to properly set a Pentax for continuous focus. It has contributed to the confusion.

That isn't to say Pentax is as good as the best, but those who say the gap isn't closing, probably aren't using the right settings. It is also getting quite clear that few Pentax AF lenses are now as quick as the new bodies are capable of responding.

Actually, the word is getting out; the argument is shifting to, "Pentax doesn't have Menu Presets for uses (Sports, Birds-In-Flight, etc.) like Fuji or White Papers like Nikon." (The White Paper complaint I deem legitimate).

[pete-tarmigan]

I can't help think - all present company clearly excepted - that some shooters fail to understand the relatively complex settings that Pentax offers regarding not only AF.S, AF.A, AF.C but regarding the menu settings. This is especially so starting with the K-3 series.

Is there a single article or thread on PentaxForums that explains these auto-focus and menu settings? I have seen many threads that discuss some aspect or another, but I don't think I have seen one that brings all the information together.

[gatorguy]

Is there a single article or thread on PentaxForums that explains these auto-focus and menu settings? I have seen many threads that discuss some aspect or another, but I don't think I have seen one that brings all the information together.

That would be a great idea for an article from Adam (or one of his fine contributors)

[Nuno Almeida]

That would be a great idea for an article from Adam (or one of his fine contributors)

Indeed, it should be something done by Pentax, explaining how to get the most out of their system, but from the forum it would be awesome has well, I'm working ok, but more and organized information is never a bad thing

[Not a Number]

That would be a great idea for an article from Adam (or one of his fine contributors)

Is this covered in any of the eBooks?

[adjutant]

#56A has the bike crossed up as he exits the turn by John Flores, on Flickr

Are those guys motocrossing in an ice rink? Absolute madmen.

[tromboads]

Is this covered in any of the eBooks?

This changed my world re AF-C on Pentax

-Disable shutter half press activating AF
-Leave body in AF-C
-Use select point AF
-Use dial pad on rear to select the AF point you want and;
-Use the AF button to activate AF. (hold gives AF-C, single press acts like AF-S)

Have fun.

[ScooterMaxi Jim]

Is there a single article or thread on PentaxForums that explains these auto-focus and menu settings? I have seen many threads that discuss some aspect or another, but I don't think I have seen one that brings all the information together.

That's a fair question that I swear was answered at some point, but not entirely sure of the value in trying to dig it up. Instead, I'll offer my perspective.

AF.S should yield the best focus for a single static shot.

AF.C will yield the best results for a sequence of shots, and especially so if your intended subject is moving.

In theory, AF.A will pick the best of the two modes by determining what the shooter (and body) is doing. In practice, I have found it not useful on the K-3 or older units; I'm yet to find skilled users who prefer it.

Three Custom Menu modes on the K-3 (#s 15-17) further determine how the camera responds regarding tolerance for out of focus shots, as opposed to continuous high-speed image capture regardless of focus. I am yet to find a situation when the K-3 (or other bodies) has tended to hesitate too much; I still get a fair share of not-quite-sharp images when using the highest focus-priority setting. From the standpoint of those of us who might be getting paid for our best shots, I don't see a reason to do anything other than focus priority.

#15. AF.S Setting - 1. Focus Priority.... (on occasion I might forget that the Quick Menu setting is in AF.S, so better safe than sorry regarding focus).
#16. First Frame Action in AF.C - 3. Focus Priority.... this one is pretty critical based on shooting style; generally I don't expect my first shot to be at the peak moment, and I expect myself to be prepared to start shooting before the maximum impact moment. Others might have a different shooting style, though, and want the first shot fired whether it is in good focus or not.
#17. Action in AF.C - 1. Focus Priority - Continuous Focus tracking takes priority.... Any alternative kind of reminds us of the terribly not-PC Stevie Wonder shooting a tennis match for Canon TV parody.

Almost as important is the direction to the camera on what AF sensor array will work best for any given situation, and the skilled shooter will want to understand the context in making the decision. Few threads have addressed the issue, and the manual is not at all helpful. The K-3 has a total of seven modes available, spot, four SEL (noted in bold) and two AUTO. Most of us probably pick single spot SEL and get good results in the vast majority of situations. However, for controlled action shooting (where moves can be fairly easily predicted) such as, um, this guy weaving on his bicycle through a sidewalk cafe (cough, cough) - SEL-9 is a great option; SEL-25 is better for action where you really don't know where the next move is likely to be (soccer is a good example). I am not a fan of using the two edge sensors in SEL-27 because they are not very accurate. As for the two corresponding AUTO settings (9, 25), they will not track, but will best guess (most often a defined object closest to the camera); not a really useful function in my experience.