[iwhizz]

Hye there, im newbie from malaysia with English as my second language.. sorry if u find my english is su*ks

dis morning i bought FA 35mm f/2 after a long time quitting photography ( not really quit as i didnt sell off my gear but just rest for while due to work comittment. )

when im try my new lens, seems like it wont focused as i wanted.. after goggled for an hour, i thought my camera have BF /FF problem. i read in some of the blog / forum said it fixable, it just a minor defect related to firmware.. is it true? FYI my k10d friware is 1.3.

in my country, got official distributor that i can send my camera for servise but since it already out of warranty, just wanna ask if it just really minor defect in k10d?

and is it common to happen it k10D?

regards from malaysia thanks

[Marc Sabatella]

Well, it's not as simple as just downloading a new firmware and then your problem is fixed. Focus problems are *far* more more difficult to diagnose and resolve than people realize. Most problems are actually cused by improper technique, or asking the camera to do something it is not capable of doing (to chose the exact focus target you had in mind). It certainly is *possible* that you have a camera problem (or a lens problem), but unless you've done controlled tests - preferably using a good chart with a clearly defined focus target - you won't know for sure. Have you downloaded one of the online focus test charts and peformed the tests as instructed to prove you really have a focus problem? Could you post sample pictures if so?

If it turns out you really have a focus problem in your camera, the firmware solution involves downloading an *older* version of the firmware and then entering an undocumented "Debug" menu and changing of the settings there by whatever amount turns out to be needed in ordr to correct the problem.

[pentkon52]

I had this problem with my K10D and my new D FA 50 f2.8. I sent in the camera and lens to Pentax Canada and two weeks later it was returned with a note that the camera and lens had been adjusted for focus.

I'm happy with the results. Now i just need to send it back to adjust the 77 and 100.

Dave

[iwhizz]

i dont know how to perforn the test

This is sample photo taken with FA 35mm f2





i think u ve rule out all user error in this pic shot..

In the first one, the focus point (the shoulder) looks slightly in front of the face and could easily have been within the focus area.

In the second one, what focus point were you using? If you were using center focus and you recomposed and were using Continuous Focus, the camera would have refocused.

[iwhizz]

sorry if the pic is bandwith killer / break any Pentax forums rules in posting pic..

another example taken with K10d n FA 35/2

What aperture were you using for these pictures?

[iNVision ART]

In the first one, the focus point (the shoulder) looks slightly in front of the face and could easily have been within the focus area.

In the second one, what focus point were you using? If you were using center focus and you recomposed and were using Continuous Focus, the camera would have refocused.

I was going to say the same thing. I learned the hard way which i didnt even realize I switched to AF-C. Do you have more enlarged pics to help determine the problem? The first 2 is sorta hard to determine you could sorta tell that your desired Focus area is OOF. I thought I had this problem but came to find out that I dont have steady hands even with my SR on.


-walt

[Marc Sabatella]

You might have *wanted* the camera to focus on the points you mentioned, but those scenes are much too cluttered too guarantee where the camera will actually focu. I'm assumign you did at least verify the red focus indicator was showing up on the spots you wanted, but the actual AF sensor is *MUCH* larger than that square. You could have the square show up on someone's face but the sensor extends beyond the face to incldue some of the background, and the camera would be justified in choosing something in the background to focus on if it happens to have harder edges or higher contrast.

That's why I mentioend focus test charts. They are designed to eliminate the possibility of that sort of error. And in learning to use them, you can get better focusing in real worl situations too.

The pictures you posted do not prove or disprove anything whatsoever. Your camera *might* or *might not* have a problem, but until you do a controlled test, you'll never know. But when real focus problems exist, they are a matter of inches, not the several feet shown in one of your examples. That's what makes me suspect the camera wasn't even *trying* to focus where you wanted. Were you selecting the focus point yourself?

[BCtoad]

I have both the K.10 and k.20. The K. 20 with focus adjust is a great feature which you can duplicated in the K. 10 if you Google Pentax D. bug this simple program it will make your K. 10 into a k. 15!!!. I am sure other members are also using this little program and find it works well good luck.

[iwhizz]

dont have test chart but i assumed using ruler also the same :

using FA 35 f/2

at f 2:

[Marc Sabatella]

dont have test chart but i assumed using ruler also the same :

Again, that doesn't help a bit. You really need to take seriously what I wrote about how big the AF sensor is. You might have chosen a line that you wanted the camera to focus on, but with all those other lines nearby, there is *no way* to force the camera to focus on the one you wanted. You might as well point to a blade of grass in a football field and ask someone to run out and pick it for you. Can't be done.

Focus test charts are specifically designed to provide targets that have nothing else around them the camera could possibly choose instead. And as I said, in using those charts, you can get a very real sense for just how how space is really needed round your target to ensure reliable focus - which will help you learn to choose better targets to focus on, and to realize when AF can't be trusted so you can use MF instead.