[biz-engineer]

I recently read some comments about a video about the Pentax K3 mark III.

You Tube

You Tube

One of the comments , from a Pentax user who also now use Fuji wrote a comment about Pentax (not the exact comment) such as:
"with Fuji you don't have to care about auto-focus, everything works seamlessly"
"with Pentax you have to take care of the auto-focus" (doesn't work on its own?)
"the mirrorless hype is no hype, it IS a huge advantage"


I don't understand that, I've tried Fuji, I use Pentax (K1) and very seldom have an issue with AF-S.

Generally, I press the shutter button (half or full), the camera focuses, lock focus and take the shot, I don't have to care about it, it just works.


So I really don't know what people are talking about.

[StiffLegged]

It’s YouTube: nobody fact-checks before releasing a video.

[Michail_P]

I generally don’t give so much thought to such comparisons. As long as my camera gets the job done, I’m good. AF is fine most of the times. The only time I see a struggle is with the combo of very low light and highly zoomed. I’m ok with that. It’s really a talk photographers are having again and again, nothing new. You see and evaluate what you pay for. 11 focus points are enough for my photography, for others they must be a joke or something, idk. Trying to prove any point in videos comments is only asking for attention, maybe.

[sergysergy]

It’s YouTube: nobody fact-checks before releasing a video.

While I agree with you I think he is talking about the comments, not the video. I believe the video is by a forum member (snapppy?).

[house]

I recently read some comments about a video about the Pentax K3 mark III.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYkmUeusVvs


One of the comments , from a Pentax user who also now use Fuji wrote a comment about Pentax (not the exact comment) such as:
"with Fuji you don't have to care about auto-focus, everything works seamlessly"
"with Pentax you have to take care of the auto-focus" (doesn't work on its own?)
"the mirrorless hype is no hype, it IS a huge advantage"


I don't understand that, I've tried Fuji, I use Pentax (K1) and very seldom have an issue with AF-S.

Generally, I press the shutter button (half or full), the camera focuses, lock focus and take the shot, I don't have to care about it, it just works.


So I really don't know what people are talking about.

People have different use cases. Shooting static scenes no one will have any issues with Pentax. If you're an event photographer in fast moving situations I'm sure the K-1 and even the K-3 III would feel a bit sluggish and like hard work compared to the best AF models around.

[Rondec]

Much of this is based on a "feeling" a photographer has and their experience with a given brand. If someone normally shoots Fuji and is used to it, they might think that a K-3 III is a bit sluggish, but if they continue to shoot with the K-3 III for several months and have high end lenses, like the DA *16-50 PLM, they may have a different feeling at the end of that time.

It doesn't really matter. If you pick up a camera and shoot it for a day or two and then do a "review," you are not really much better than the person who writes a review on Amazon that says, "Quick delivery, just got my box in the mail today and everything is in it!"

[biz-engineer]

People have different use cases. Shooting static scenes no one will have any issues with Pentax. If you're an event photographer in fast moving situations I'm sure the K-1 and even the K-3 III would feel a bit sluggish and like hard work compared to the best AF models around.

I thought the K3 III auto-focus was a game changer compared to all previous Pentax camera models. From what I've seen K3 III AF is no slouch

While I agree with you I think he is talking about the comments, not the video. I believe the video is by a forum member (snapppy?).

"Snappiness" is the YT channel and very good it is as well!

[gatorguy]

It’s YouTube: nobody fact-checks before releasing a video.

The reviewer didn't make that statement, so I'll assume it's from someone commenting on his video. Maybe it was a former PF member Eddy Summers? I didn't find that exact quote so no idea.

WRT the video itself it's largely positive, surprising really since it's done by an admitted "cheapskate". The comments are also almost 100% positive on the Pentax brand, including this one:

I moved to a pair of K3 MKIII’s last year for Motorsport and airshow photography. I had been using a Nikon D4 and Nikon D500 for the last several years. The reduced size of the glass and auto focus were the main contributors to why I made the switch."

The guy seems legit and honest in the video, an OK pre-review in my opinion. With all the overwhelmingly Pentax-positive comments in both the video and viewer comments I don't know why the OP chose to clip out one of the very few negative outliers.

[Haenzel]

I recently read some comments about a video about the Pentax K3 mark III.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYkmUeusVvs


One of the comments , from a Pentax user who also now use Fuji wrote a comment about Pentax (not the exact comment) such as:
"with Fuji you don't have to care about auto-focus, everything works seamlessly"
"with Pentax you have to take care of the auto-focus" (doesn't work on its own?)
"the mirrorless hype is no hype, it IS a huge advantage"


I don't understand that, I've tried Fuji, I use Pentax (K1) and very seldom have an issue with AF-S.

Generally, I press the shutter button (half or full), the camera focuses, lock focus and take the shot, I don't have to care about it, it just works.


So I really don't know what people are talking about.

I think nowadays, the 'new' photographer has different expectations. They expect a point and shoot experience, similar to their smart phones. I never had any issue with Pentax auto focus capability.
I have a K3, K1 mkII and the KP. (actually I also have the MX-1, point and shoot, NOT so good or fast with auto focus).

Bottom line, if you know what you are doing, you get excellent sharp images with all 3 camera's. Landscapes, portraits, and yes also sports or wild life.....
Being able to anticipate, knowing your camera and a decent amount of skill make a big difference in the keeper ratio.

[jersey]

I thought the K3 III auto-focus was a game changer compared to all previous Pentax camera models. From what I've seen K3 III AF is no slouch

It is. There are some issues in certain conditions with AF-C but I suppose all cameras would struggle unless they had this certain object recognition programmed. Other then this I have no issues with AF, especially when using more modern lenses. Even at night so not in best light.


I think people tend to disregard K-3 Mk III for two reasons - it is Pentax and it is DSLR. Pentax was behind everyone with AF-S for so long that it is for everyone who is not using this brand it is given that Pentax has to be bad at AF-C. And also everyone "knows" that DSLR is worse then MILC because adverts say so. And if you combine both points you get all that weird comments from people who probably never saw Pentax camera in their live.


I met two days ago a Fuji shooter at railway station. He was a pro shooting for documentary about Gdańsk city railway and I was just hunting for some nice views of industrial architecture and maybe a train. We talked a lot but never mentioned gear. What we like to photograph, how we take on this or that, a bit about stuff not related to photography but gear? Who cares?


Most likely none of commenters is a photographer or at least more serious one.

[gatorguy]

People have different use cases. Shooting static scenes no one will have any issues with Pentax. If you're an event photographer in fast moving situations I'm sure the K-1 and even the K-3 III would feel a bit sluggish and like hard work compared to the best AF models around.

At least with the lenses I have, the K3III hasn't been "hard work" nor "felt sluggish" with moving subjects. It's my primary camera for nature, wildlife and will be for an upcoming week-long airshow (Sun-n-Fun). Of note I've shot that event for several year and have always had really good results from my old K-s2's and K-70's with a *200 while shooting from the Nikon Pro stands (not just for Nikon) alongside dozens of other enthusiast and professional photographers. Single-shot focus wasn't ever a problem then, never shooting bursts until now, and the K3III will be even better with the enhanced zone focus, subject recognition, burst speeds and buffer.

My K1's focus is certainly not as snappy, but it's also never really been problematic either with center-point focus and recompose. I'll have it along for photos of people and parked planes That said, since getting the K3III my K1 has only been seeing duty as a portrait, landscape or static scene shooter anyway, so 'fast-moving subjects" with it has been a non-issue. Could the K1 handle it all? I'm sure it could but for airshows the K3III can only be better, particularly as a crop camera with long lenses. I'll have the *300 and a TC along for the ride this time too.

[jslifoaw]

While AF speed has gotten pretty good with newer Pentax bodies (especially in AF-C - AF-S speed never bothered me), AF precision is still a challenge. Although AF micro-adjustment can help with accuracy, there is still enough deviation between shots that results in many being slightly OOF. This may not be a big deal depending on output size, it's jarring when processing photos (usually with 100% zoom to inspect), and certainly limits options if you want to print large. This isn't strictly a Pentax issue, but a (D)SLR issue.

In LV mode, this pretty much goes away, but most of us didn't buy a DSLR to use just in LV mode.

Another challenge is mechanical shutter shock which has improved on the K-3 III but is pretty noticeable with the K-1. While I know what shutter speed ranges to avoid (approx 1/125-1/320), it can randomly creep up at faster shutter speeds, and if I need to hand off the camera to someone else to take a photo for me and switch it to a programmed mode, the shutter speed can fall back into the risky range (most recently, a bunch of group photo shots were taken at 1/160 with a wide-ish lens and every image showed hairline blur uncharacteristic of shaky hands that SR would have neutralized anyway). This can be solved with ES, but that comes with various compromises and may be too slow in some situations to avoid rolling shutter.

Some mirrorless cameras eliminate the MS and can function sufficiently well with ES only. Otherwise, even some mirrorless users complain about the blur induced by MS.

It's worth reminding people that a DSLR in LV mode can function essentially as a mirrorless, but at least with Pentax we are generally missing features like on-sensor PDAF and fast ES readout and we sacrifice the use of eye-level composition with an OVF. Of course, mirrorless cameras also tend to have better live view performance and functionality since that is their only method of shooting while it's a secondary method for a DSLR, except for videos.

[UncleVanya]

DSLR’s inherently have autofocus fine tuning issues that aren’t present with mirrorless. The ability to avoid (almost entirely) having to fine tune af is a minor luxury on primes and a large benefit on zooms depending on the degree of missed focus due to this.
Mirrorless also can process PDAF data during high frame rates easier than DSLR’s (because most DSLR’s don’t offer PDAF on sensor or when offered don’t use it during high frame rate bursts).
PDAF on sensor has a downside in that it can cause banding - largely fixed with software tweaks but still present to some degree.
I’m not suggesting DSLR’s aren’t useful and can’t have good focusing, I’m saying these factors may cause someone used to mirrorless to struggle with the minor but real limitations of using a focusing system that isn’t directly integrated to the sensor.
CDAF of course is there for both types of cameras (dslr inn liveview) and is quite accurate in most cases but typically is slower and less useful for fast focusing needs.

[texandrews]

I've never had an issue with any camera I've owned that had it, Pentax or otherwise. Oh, wait! That's not true---I had some serious problems with 5DmkIV's both in low light still mode (very quick to autofocus---on the wrong thing...) and in video (AF going where I didn't want it to, seeking when I wanted it to stay where it was and let the moving things naturally come into focus). But seriously, I'll wager that those cases were 90% user issues. Although on the stills side my Pentax cameras, although slower, were surer....

Anyway: technique. It separates the wheat from the chaff.