Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
11-18-2008, 12:04 PM   #1
Veteran Member
heliphoto's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Region 5
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,539
Focusing speed comparison K200D vs. K20D

I just got a K20D, and felt it was focusing faster than my K200D... Unscientific testing indicates that I was right.

Methodology and results are on my blog. The quick rundown...

Using Tamron 70-200/2.8-
  • K200D - 1.15 seconds
  • K20D with half power showing on the battery gauge - 1.00 seconds
  • K20D with a fresh battery - 0.84 seconds
focusing sound "histograms"


11-18-2008, 12:58 PM   #2
Veteran Member
Marc Sabatella's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Denver, CO
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 10,685
Nice method of checking (ain't Audacity great?) Not overly surprising results, as the K20D has more voltage to turn its AF motor with. But I wonder if the difference would be as extreme with a less massive lens?
11-18-2008, 01:08 PM   #3
Veteran Member




Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Auckland
Posts: 553
Thanks for posting this, it pretty much confirms what I've noticed with my K100 and K20 side by side.

One thing I do feel inclined to ask is whether you had NiMH, or Lithium batteries in the K200 - I've noticed it makes a big different to my K100.
11-18-2008, 03:49 PM   #4
Veteran Member
heliphoto's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Region 5
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,539
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by Marc Sabatella Quote
Nice method of checking (ain't Audacity great?) Not overly surprising results, as the K20D has more voltage to turn its AF motor with. But I wonder if the difference would be as extreme with a less massive lens?
I think you're right that you wouldn't see as big a difference with a smaller lens, though I think it might have more to do with the focus range and the amount of travel than the weight of the elements - probably both factor into it (maybe I'll get motivated and do a series).

QuoteOriginally posted by cpopham Quote
Thanks for posting this, it pretty much confirms what I've noticed with my K100 and K20 side by side.

One thing I do feel inclined to ask is whether you had NiMH, or Lithium batteries in the K200 - I've noticed it makes a big different to my K100.
Good point, they were NiMH Kodaks.

11-18-2008, 04:27 PM   #5
Pentaxian
Arpe's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: New Zealand
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 4,449
All i can add is that I noticed a huge difference in focus speed going from my istDs to the K20D, especially on my FA 80-320, now wayyyyy faster.
11-18-2008, 04:40 PM   #6
Senior Member




Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: HK
Posts: 171
do u have a K-m to test with? I heard that K-m's AF is faster than K20d. Really want to know whether it's right or not.

BTW, your results are for SDM lens? or non-SDM lens?

QuoteOriginally posted by heliphoto Quote
I just got a K20D, and felt it was focusing faster than my K200D... Unscientific testing indicates that I was right.

Methodology and results are on my blog. The quick rundown...

Using Tamron 70-200/2.8-
  • K200D - 1.15 seconds
  • K20D with half power showing on the battery gauge - 1.00 seconds
  • K20D with a fresh battery - 0.84 seconds
focusing sound "histograms"
11-18-2008, 05:00 PM   #7
Veteran Member
heliphoto's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Region 5
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,539
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by yipchunyu Quote
do u have a K-m to test with? I heard that K-m's AF is faster than K20d. Really want to know whether it's right or not.

BTW, your results are for SDM lens? or non-SDM lens?
No, sorry, there's not a K-m for a hundred miles in any direction (I'd guess). The Tamron lens used is a non-sdm, screwdrive lens.

11-18-2008, 05:58 PM   #8
Veteran Member




Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 1,812
Autofocus speed is dependent on the light level.

Popular Photography is one of the few places where they actually test the focussing speeds of dSLRs at different light levels - the Pentax K20D did well -

" In our Lab tests, the AF was very fast in bright light and sensitive in low light down to EV -1 (though slow by EV 0). In field tests, it tracked rapidly moving objects across a wide area of the frame. But it slows to more than 1 second at EV 1, and is sluggish at EV -1-not as fast nor as sensitive as the AF systems in several Canon, Nikon, and Sony DSLRs. "

their certified test results -



Unfortunately they haven't done a full test of the K200D - but in a comparison test they said:

" AUTOFOCUS: Speeds on par with the discontinued K10D's -- and the K10D was one of the slower-autofocusing DSLRs to start with. At its low-light limit, EV -1, the K200D sometimes couldn't focus at all. "

So taking that, the autofocus speed of the Pentax K10D were tested at:

AF Speed
EV 11_EV 10_EV 8_EV 6_ EV 4_EV 2_EV 1_EV 0_ EV -1
0.37 _ 0.44 _0.43_0.54_0.97_1.17_1.22_1.67_2.33

Last edited by UnknownVT; 11-30-2008 at 12:53 PM. Reason: typos
11-18-2008, 10:49 PM   #9
Site Supporter
Site Supporter




Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Prince George, BC
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,541
Yes, I would be interested to see the difference between the SDM and non-SDM lenses as well. And glad to see somebody else uses Audacity
11-18-2008, 11:06 PM   #10
Veteran Member
heliphoto's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Region 5
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,539
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by jbinpg Quote
Yes, I would be interested to see the difference between the SDM and non-SDM lenses as well. And glad to see somebody else uses Audacity
Me too (someone send me one... how 'bout the *50-135? Yeah, that'll do, I'll test it right up.)

Audacity's amazing yeah?... Amazing what software people will give you for free (Linux, Audacity, GIMP, etc...)
11-18-2008, 11:27 PM   #11
Veteran Member
mattdm's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Boston, MA
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,948
Can you try Lithium CRV3s in the K200D? My theory is that it's almost as fast as the K20D then.
11-19-2008, 10:36 AM   #12
Veteran Member
Marc Sabatella's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Denver, CO
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 10,685
QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
Can you try Lithium CRV3s in the K200D?
The battery compartment / seals is designed such that CRV3s are not supported on the K200D. They are a little too big. I imagine you could try forcing the door closed with them, but I'm willing to risk it.
11-19-2008, 10:38 AM   #13
Veteran Member
Gooshin's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Toronto, the one in Canada.
Posts: 5,610
Matt beat me too it

i have always attributed my K100D's slow focus speed to the simple AA's, esp when they are down on juice.
11-19-2008, 10:46 AM   #14
Veteran Member
heliphoto's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Region 5
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 2,539
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by mattdm Quote
Can you try Lithium CRV3s in the K200D? My theory is that it's almost as fast as the K20D then.
QuoteOriginally posted by Marc Sabatella Quote
The battery compartment / seals is designed such that CRV3s are not supported on the K200D. They are a little too big. I imagine you could try forcing the door closed with them, but I'm willing to risk it.
And I just got a K20d, and LBA madness has set in (again- argghhhh), so I really don't want to spend money on more batteries for the K200D. If you'd care to add a data point, audacity is free, and you could do you're own test. (a great excuse to buy a Tamron 70-200/2.8 - "honey, it's for the benefit of the whole pentax community, we need this focus speed comparison...") You could do a test using different batteries using whatever lens you want, and just changing the batteries.
11-19-2008, 11:31 AM   #15
Veteran Member




Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 1,812
QuoteOriginally posted by Marc Sabatella Quote
The battery compartment / seals is designed such that CRV3s are not supported on the K200D. They are a little too big. I imagine you could try forcing the door closed with them, but I'm willing to risk it.
There are lithium AA's -
eg: Energizer e2 lithium AA
- these definitely last longer in the Pentax K100D (Super),
and some claim they do make operations faster.

But they are relatively expensive and non-rechargeable.

Most experienced people here do NOT recommend using the rechargeable Li-Ion R-CV3, even if they claim to be 3.0V versions.

Probably the most economical batteries that work well would be the eneloop (or confirmed re-badges) -
please take a look at -

Post #39 (link) in k100d battery recommendation
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
battery, camera, dslr, k200d, k20d, photography
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Shutter Speed and Aperture Comparison indy Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 6 05-28-2010 06:25 AM
An unfair comparison : macro vs close focusing bdery Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 16 07-31-2009 02:15 PM
AF speed of the K20D compared to K200D LeDave Pentax DSLR Discussion 1 06-29-2009 03:42 PM
Focusing Screen : comparison between Katzeyes an FocusingScreen.com ghelary Pentax Camera and Field Accessories 13 05-23-2009 09:45 AM
Lens Focus Speed - K20D vs K200D - Fight! cputeq Pentax DSLR Discussion 6 06-29-2008 09:58 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:43 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top