[Pan Kleks]

I need some advice here guys. I have two K10D cameras, on one I have the Amigo 31 and on the other the Amigo 77. Today I was taking photos of my 5 year old and most of the photos came out blurry. Now, my daughter was standing still and posing, so these were not action photos at all.


Settings:

We were outside in bright light
ISO 100
Aperature 3.5
Shutter speed was at least 1/500
I was shooting in Aperature mode
I had shake reduction on (should I leave it off?)

When I say that the photos were blurry, I mean the face came out blurry.

Now, I've shot many cameras before, Nikon D90, D7100, D700, Ricoh GR, Sigma Quattro Cameras, film cameras of all sorts and never had this problem before so I'm pretty sure it's user error.

And advice?

I even tried the using the center focus dot only and using the back focus button and recompose technique. Should I just use P mode instead? But that would kind of defeat the purpose of using a camera like this.

[tduell]

When I say that the photos were blurry, I mean the face came out blurry.

Does this mean that other parts of the photos were in focus?
Maybe check that your camera/lens combinations aren't front or back focussing, but if this is the first instance of this issue that may not be a prime suspect.
Were you shooting handheld or using tripod. SR is fine for handheld but best switched off for tripod.

Post an image which shows the problem, that might help diagnose what's happening.

Cheers,
Terry

[bschriver11]

Could be the fact that you are focusing and then recomposing? Not familiar with the K10 but maybe move the focus point to focus where you want without recomposing.

[paulh]

Agree with tduell - sounds like a case of back or front-focussing. Post a photo showing the problem.

[Apet-Sure]

When you pressed the back-button focus button, did the camera give you the in-focus confirmation green hexagon in the viewfinder? The red square only shows you where the camera is trying to focus.

For either of those lenses, 1/500 sec. should be plenty fast enough that SR shouldn't be needed theoretically. Do they report their focal length to the camera? If not and the SR system focal length is set to something very different than the actual FL that might cause blurred images.

[clackers]

Hi Pan, please link to sample photos with the EXIF intact for diagnosis.

[tonyzoc]

I need some advice here guys. I have two K10D cameras, on one I have the Amigo 31 and on the other the Amigo 77. Today I was taking photos of my 5 year old and most of the photos came out blurry. Now, my daughter was standing still and posing, so these were not action photos at all.


Settings:

We were outside in bright light
ISO 100
Aperature 3.5
Shutter speed was at least 1/500
I was shooting in Aperature mode
I had shake reduction on (should I leave it off?)

When I say that the photos were blurry, I mean the face came out blurry.

Now, I've shot many cameras before, Nikon D90, D7100, D700, Ricoh GR, Sigma Quattro Cameras, film cameras of all sorts and never had this problem before so I'm pretty sure it's user error.

And advice?

I even tried the using the center focus dot only and using the back focus button and recompose technique. Should I just use P mode instead? But that would kind of defeat the purpose of using a camera like this.

Try manually focussing...that will at least tell you if your K10d need adjustment. There is a way to correct focus using debug mode. Depending on your ROM version. If you're in 1.31, to get into debug you need to add a text file to your SD card. I don't know the details but check in the K10d thread here. The check the ROM version hold the menu button and power on. The adjustment isn't specific for each lens, like on new models...it's across the board.



---------- Post added 04-02-20 at 05:26 PM ----------

Try manually focussing...that will at least tell you if your K10d need adjustment. There is a way to correct focus using debug mode. Depending on your ROM version. If you're in 1.31, to get into debug you need to add a text file to your SD card. I don't know the details but check in the K10d thread here. The check the ROM version hold the menu button and power on. The adjustment isn't specific for each lens, like on new models...it's across the board.

Just wanted to add...I don't know for sure debug mode will allow a focus adjust...just some things I've read...also some folks have been unable to get into debug in v1.31 even following the SD card method...so read all you can about it if you are going to try it... But at least if you can manually focus and you get focus correct...the problem might be in autofocus only and maybe it's something adjustable in debug...nothing I've ever tried though....

[ChristianRock]

My K10D required +270 focus adjustment... It's almost maxed out. It's probably normal for cameras this old to get out of alignment.

[stevebrot]

I shot with a K10D for about seven years and can confidently report that it should require no special technique for portraits over that of any other dSLR. Focus and recompose should work and once focus is locked, it should not change; of course, this assumes AF mode is not AF-C where focus does not lock.

That said...

• It is important to be sure that best focus is attained (green hexagon lit) before assuming the image is in focus. Fail-safe is AF-S where the shutter will not release until focus is attained.
• Unlike newer cameras, the K10D has no high sensitivity (f/2.8) AF points. All are f/5.6 and only the center nine are cross-point. With faster lenses such as your FA Limiteds, AF precision may not be adequate for work at f/2.8 and wider.
• It may be that the AF system is not working properly. Testing with a flat target and fixed distance would be a good start.
• Manual focus is also an option and might be preferable, though precision may still be poor at f/2.8 and wider.

Steve

[Pan Kleks]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I don't have any photos to post because I deleted all of the ones that were not focused. Reading everyone's post on here as well as other forums about the K10D focus issues I am going to try the following:

Using f 5.6 for portraits instead of 3.5
Using the center focus dot and first focusing on the eyes and the recomposing

if that fails using manual focus.

[ChristianRock]

There's no reason why you should not be using f/3.5 or wider unless you are using a lens that is not sharp at that setting.
Your 31mm and 77mm should be VERY VERY sharp at f/3.5.
In fact you should be able to take fantastic portraits at f2 or f/2.8 with those lenses.
Using center point focus should hopefully give you sharp focus on the eyes but as mentioned, if your K10D needs focus calibration, then that would be recommended. If you spend about an hour doing that, it would save you much time later...

[stevebrot]

Using f 5.6 for portraits instead of 3.5

Sorry for using terms that might have been misleading. Stopping down will provide greater DOF, but will not improve the AF performance. The use of f-number to indicate AF sensitivity refers to the lens maximum aperture. AF points sensitive to f/5.6 have the same ability to detect out-of-focus with an f/5.6 maximum aperture lens as with a faster lens. There is no penalty for having a faster lens mounted, but also no benefit. Similarly, the f/2.8 AF points found on newer flagship models have better ability to detect out-of-focus than f/5.6 AF points when used with a lens having maximum aperture greater than f/5.6, but with little or no improvement at wider than f/2.8.

Using the center focus dot and first focusing on the eyes and the recomposing

Good idea!


Steve

[stevebrot]

if your K10D needs focus calibration, then that would be recommended

That, unfortunately, is a bit more of a pain on the K10D because it requires going into debug mode with the attendant risks of doing so. Probably better to not go there until front or back focus to similar degree has been demonstrated for all lenses used on the camera. FWIW, my 2006 production K10D focused as accurately when I sold it in 2014 as when it was new, meaning that it was spot on. In theory, age-related changes should be limited to those involving mirror alignment and/or crud on the PDAF optical path, both of which affect the ability to attain focus consistently, if at all.


Steve

[ChristianRock]

That, unfortunately, is a bit more of a pain on the K10D because it requires going into debug mode with the attendant risks of doing so.

Agreed, but testing to see if front or back focus is indeed the problem, should be much less painful and quick.

Even after I identified that I had to fix mine, it didn't take an hour for me to finish testing and calibrating, but it did require several attempts until I got it right.

I need some advice here guys. I have two K10D cameras, on one I have the Amigo 31 and on the other the Amigo 77. Today I was taking photos of my 5 year old and most of the photos came out blurry. Now, my daughter was standing still and posing, so these were not action photos at all.


Settings:

We were outside in bright light
ISO 100
Aperature 3.5
Shutter speed was at least 1/500
I was shooting in Aperature mode
I had shake reduction on (should I leave it off?)

When I say that the photos were blurry, I mean the face came out blurry.

Now, I've shot many cameras before, Nikon D90, D7100, D700, Ricoh GR, Sigma Quattro Cameras, film cameras of all sorts and never had this problem before so I'm pretty sure it's user error.

And advice?

I even tried the using the center focus dot only and using the back focus button and recompose technique. Should I just use P mode instead? But that would kind of defeat the purpose of using a camera like this.

Pentaxians always give good advice, but I have a question, or rather some questions, for you. You own two K10d's one with the 31 attached and one with the 77. Do you experience this with both camera's? I can imagine that one camera is at fault, but not two and also not all of a sudden. Did you exchange the lenses and tried making pictures of your daughter again and got the same result? And do you have the problem with both lenses? And did it look sharp in the viewfinder before pushing the button? I have K10d's sibling and bought it winter 2007 and it still functions well. No problem with focusing. I experience more focusing trouble with newer Ricoh/Pentax camera's than with the old K10d/GX10. And sometimes it turns out to be a problem of the combination camera - lens. And a word of advice, always keep your unsuccessful pictures, you might need them to analyse what went wrong. If you just deleted them you can get them back, there are prgrams/apps for doing that, just google or bingle and you will find some free app to do so. Maybe you are then able to post the pictures.