[Akcelik]

thanks for the support guys!

maybe im being a little fastidious with all this. i should be practicing some more and being more heedful of the previous pointers.

i did some tests on a solid surface with a ruler and it did reveal some back focusing.. that would account for the focus made worse hand held, but i do hold a camera pretty solid and lean against a solid surface most of the times with many shots and most turn out missed focus.. that would not be exasperated if the camera was precisely engineered. (well my one at least).. that leaves me in limbo, to buy lens or not make any further investments.
i don't know how the Pentax service is in Turkey and if they would consider anything worth resolving.

thanks again for the kind and informative support.

[Jonas B]

-snip- You need to raise the intensity of good quality light (wide spectrum) to a very bright level. This in turn, gives you a better DoF as it allows flexibility with the aperture selection.
...
Final recommendations: quality bright light, rigid support, manual focus and lots of practice!

I agree with this.
I'm an amateur with no studio or studio light equipment. Do you have anything to suggest for good quality, wide spectrum, light sources? My dream is a bulb with continues, K5.500 wide spectrum light. Does something like that exist or is there any other not overly expensive solution for intermittent use?

[jeffkrol]

5,000 Long Life Full Spectrum Neodymium 75W Flood Set 6: long-life-FS-BR30-75W-Set-6 DutchGuard Catalog
A bit on the "not so smooth " spectrum though.
Light Therapy Products -- Light boxes,light visor, dawn simulators,and full spectrum light bulbs.
Define overly expensive
Solux is around 4700K
SoLux Link Page
Gem Show Lighting
Full spectrum CF's can work fairly well, you may want to give them a try.....
Lumiram Electric Corporation Full Spectrum Lighting Manufacturer
Color Index for CF full spectrum:
"Full spectrum" lighting refers to light that attempts to mimic natural lighting by having a CCT of about 5,000 to 6,000 K and providing light in wavelengths across the visible spectrum. Full spectrum lamps typically have color rendering indices above 90 (incandescent lamps are typically over 95; old “blue” fluorescents are about 70)

[RiceHigh]

When you use the legacy lenses on AF DSLRs, actually they might not work as you suppose they will be:-

Manual Focus with AF DSLRs

For AF offset for the AF system and sensor plane mis-alignment, people have tried to set the offset value via the service menu:-

RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Screen Captures of the Secret Mode of the K100D

Do note the above leaked procedures only apply to K10D firmware version 1.0 and 1.1 and not valid to the latest version of 1.11.

i need help!

i purchased the K10D for the big bright VF for easy focusing. this is my first SLR.
i am mostly using the K28/3.5. (BTW do i need a KatzEye split prism focus screen for a f3.5 DOF???)

please help me (the noob) to determine how i might know if i have a miss aligned sensor.

it does not matter if i use focus assist or the naked eye, i am always getting Out Of Focus shots Front Focus & Back Focus.

i also use a cheap AF lens Sigma 28-80 for testing Auto Focus and that also gives OOF shots.

i have corrected calibrated the diopter and even went through the lengths of turning of AF assist green and red light and the beep and the LCD so nothing would distract.

for example..

i focus on the green led it should look like this..
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/413586685_c83b9a4efb_b.jpg

but most of the time i get this..
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/413586142_625ba42596_b.jpg

the green stub on the leaf with the arrow pointing should be..
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/413584861_bc4fa1def9_b.jpg

but i always get this result..
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/413585607_f230880883_b.jpg

when its clear in VF that does not translate what i see on the computer monitor.

how do i determine if i have a misaligned sensor?

[SupremeMoFo]

Guessing, but it looks like you're trying to make it focus closer than it can to me.

[jfdavis58]

I've read your first source; did you?

The advice is from a guy who glues P&S cameras to spotting scopes like hunters employ to zero firearms and spot game. That's certainly an optical masterpiece!

His final advice is "use auto-focus"; something you've blogged as 'seriously flawed'.

I'll play nice and just stop here.

[Dana G]

I'm never been impressed by any autofocus system. I got the Katz Eye screen for my K10D, and I've found that using the microprisim collar is a lot more accurate than letting the computer decide what's in focus.

This applies to all autofocus cameras I've tried, from all brands.

I guess I'm a dinosaur. My main portrait lens is the A 50mm f/1.4.

[Jonas B]

Thank you Jeff. That was some food...
What a great assortment you have when the AC is 120V only! I fail to find all these options for our 240VAC system here in EU. I think I'll try a couple of those fluorescent compact light bulbs. It may work well enough for me as i don't need any short exposure times.

thanks again,

[jfdavis58]

You might try crafting topics like needlepoint or scrapbooking in your search criteria. For a lot of lightbox/lighttent product shots, I've used a pair or three Ott desk lamps. Not as full spectrum as the Solux (they're close), but very nice nonetheless. And they can be had for about $30.00US each (14watts/120VAC). They work great for examining prints too (guess you coulda figured that out?!?).

[Rolly]

You might try crafting topics like needlepoint or scrapbooking in your search criteria. For a lot of lightbox/lighttent product shots, I've used a pair or three Ott desk lamps. Not as full spectrum as the Solux (they're close), but very nice nonetheless. And they can be had for about $30.00US each (14watts/120VAC). They work great for examining prints too (guess you coulda figured that out?!?).

This is a valid point.
When the majority of us think in terms "photographic" we tend to think only in terms of items and equipment produced specifically for that purpose when we would be better thinking in terms of what is actually required to record the images we want.
Imagination and improvisation are often more valuable tools than a truckful of stuff and fancy gear.
As I commented (sort of) in a previous posting, programming your "intracranial" computer properly will do more for you than any amount of artificial intelligence.
Learning how to use all the marvellous equipment that we have at our disposal is only one part of the process.
There's a heck of a lot more to it than that.
And the more you know, the more you realise that there is so much more to know and that there is so much more to learn that you don't know even exists.
I believe that a certain Sec. for Defense said something similar about Military Intelligence (now there's an oxymoron for you) and got thoroughly 'done over' by the critics in the media. But it really is a valid concept for all aspects of life.
"Think on it,..."

[Jonas B]

You might try crafting topics like needlepoint or scrapbooking in your search criteria. For a lot of lightbox/lighttent product shots, I've used a pair or three Ott desk lamps. Not as full spectrum as the Solux (they're close), but very nice nonetheless. And they can be had for about $30.00US each (14watts/120VAC). They work great for examining prints too (guess you coulda figured that out?!?).

I figure this would work fine for my little needs. I found a similar fluorescent bulb here for 240VAC. As it doesn't cost much I figure I'll just try it and make a profile for ACR and be all set.
Examining prints? Yes... I'm not that picky with that. Most of my prints are located/watched under mixed light or under ordinary tungsten light. I have used to examine them under halogen lamps, for no other reason but I found it to be a good compromise. Scary, what will the colors look like under close to full spectrum light? Well, I'll find out. Thank you for the search hints.

[Jonas B]

You are right.

I used to use any plain laser printer paper for a white card and a Pringle lid for an Expo-disc. I also successfully dived into a pool with an old camera in a plastic bag. Or nearly successfully at least... A diffusor is easy to make yourself and it's often better to move around a piece of black cardbox instead of buying another lamp when shooting pictures of glass, and... If the lamp doubles as something used when sewing that's fine with me.

On-topic again, I still haven't found anything that replaces a magnifier, a coarse screen and practise.

Thinking outside the box, yeah... Some day I may get half-good at that. Practising helps again, or so I think.

[jeffkrol]

Thank you Jeff. That was some food...
What a great assortment you have when the AC is 120V only! I fail to find all these options for our 240VAC system here in EU. I think I'll try a couple of those fluorescent compact light bulbs. It may work well enough for me as i don't need any short exposure times.

thanks again,

You could always just buy a small step down transformer....
DVDoverseas.com
This would add $9US per bulb or 2
DVDoverseas.com
500W UP/DOWN TRANSFORMER | All Electronics Corp - Parts, Supplies and Components

[Akcelik]

When you use the legacy lenses on AF DSLRs, actually they might not work as you suppose they will be:-

Manual Focus with AF DSLRs

For AF offset for the AF system and sensor plane mis-alignment, people have tried to set the offset value via the service menu:-

RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Screen Captures of the Secret Mode of the K100D

Do note the above leaked procedures only apply to K10D firmware version 1.0 and 1.1 and not valid to the latest version of 1.11.

thank you RiceHigh!

that was a real "eye opener"! it pretty much exhibits what i am experiencing. i have noticed this point of "focused" range represented in the VF is wider than it should be (even with f3.5)..
my sole reasoning for choosing the K10D over K100D was for the bigger brighter better VF for old school manual focusing fun.

on your page it shows AF PINT OFFSET!? i only played around with AF AREA TEST. googling did not reveal any more information on AF PINT OFFSET. please inform..

ok so it seem i need to precisely tune the AF even if for the purpose of assisting old skool manual focusing.

[Akcelik]

BTW my AF PINT OFFSET is the following.. (maybe someone might know if this is consistent with other models on K10D)

AF PINT OFFSET.
ICCD PINT: 4[UM]
OBJ 2M : 6[UM]
PINT SHIFT : 0[UM]