[bessa66]

I'm 9/10ths on the way to buy a K20D but have seen a few comments that it is not the fastest in autofocusing. I have a couple of young kids and wondered whether anyone can advise whether there will be any issues in capturing images of them as they don't sit still for very long.

[Ash]

You know mate, AF speed's been a bone of contention for Pentax users. Some say fast action can be captured well with the K20D, others loathe its performance. Honestly, you're generally going to get better results with a Canikon worth well over twice the K20D's price, but do you want to invest in such a system?

The K20D's done the job for me, but my kids are not OCD, and I tend to like capturing landscapes and people rather than fast cars and birds. So the choice still has to be yours in what would suit you most, but I would say the K20D, despite its limitations, should do a stellar job when used well...

[blackcloudbrew]

I really have to say that the speed of the AF or the lack of it is hardly an issue with me. I have young grandchildren and get all the shots I want with proper preperation. I haven't missed a shot (that I can recall) with either my k100d super, k10d, or k20d due to slow AF. I've used a Canon 40D with HSM lenses and I just don't see any big deal. The only time I've been annoyed with AF is on the FA J 70-300 lens, it just hunts so much I'm done with it.

To put it another way, my experience with AF speed seems to varry with each lens. The Pentax limited lenses focus very quickly, the DA* lenses are quick and quiet. I have a cheap Tamron 75-300 lens that is really slow and it's gone on the discard pile with the FA J 70-300.

$0.02 (USD)

[LeDave]

Here's some AF speed video of the K20D I found on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsT3rjl5_s0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4bRH7mTIjg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_HJWm1K3XE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1I8rTRGbg8

[Marc Sabatella]

Shooting moving kids is difficult with *any* camera. There will always be missed shots ue to AF not locking fast enough, locking on the wrong thing, or not getting a fast enough shutter speed to freeze their motion. The slightly slower AF of the K20D comapred to some other cameras might mean some small increase in the number of missed shots due to that particular factor, but still, any camera will miss some shots due to that as well as the other factors. Also, AF speed is dependent on the lens used, so if AF speed is a big concern, you might consider one of the faster-focusing lenses such as the DA40/2.8.

Anyhow, as long as you don't expect 100% success, any DSLR will do the job.

[bessa66]

Thanks guys. It sounds like it will be no worse (and probably better) than my manual focus OM cameras. I have gotten some great shots with them, so I think the K20 will be fine. As a newby to digital (and AF) it is a bit hard to know what is the norm on AF speed. I must add that I have found this forum very helpful - a great resource. Thanks again.

[jmc7104]

Light has more to do with focus than any other component with modern camera's. Good light has to come through good glass to have quick focus to take good photo's. Think of old dirty windows and what you can see through them versus a good clear high quality picture window. Same with camera lenses and your eyes focusing. jim