K-7 and AF-C performance?

Clem Nichols · 07-19-2009, 10:59 AM

Has anyone besides Falk Lumo had experience yet with AF-C on the K-7? I've read elsewhere that it slows the camera down to 2 or 3 fps which doesn't sound very good if trying to shoot sports. Any comments (based on personal experience rather than anectdotal) regarding speed and accuracy? Thanks in advance.

CN

Pentaxor · 07-19-2009, 01:49 PM

that would depend on the type of lens, lighting condition, memory card used (speed class), picture quality, picture format , IQ settings and functions used.

I had considered those factors with my K-7. as far as I tried the K-7's fps shooting speed and accuracy, it is pretty much shooting at 5 fps on average. never missed a sequence yet. so all is good. don't worry too much about it.

sorry but I can't show you the pictures right now, but you could check out frank's photo action sequence with the K-7. I think it's just laying around here somewhere in this forum.

Andrew Faires · 07-19-2009, 03:19 PM

I have yet to find a scenario where AF-C where the fps would exceed 3. This includes different lenses shooting both static and moving subjects in daylight or tungsten light (making sure that the shutter speed would allow 5 fps). Having said that, the trade-off for the drop in fps is (imho) partially made up for with the improved accuracy.

For the minor testing I've done, it's been with an FA*400 f/5.6, a 43mm limited, a DA*50-135mm and to a much lessor extent, a DA*16-50. I've also tried with the centre, select and multi-point focus points.

Cheers.

**ManuH** · 07-19-2009, 04:34 PM

Originally posted by Andrew Faires

I have yet to find a scenario where AF-C where the fps would exceed 3.

Same for me, it's a bit weird and I'm wondering if it could be a firmware bug or just a forced limitation (the hardware is certainly able to do 5fps).

Arpe · 07-19-2009, 05:44 PM

You guys do have the lens corrections turned off don't you? That slows it down.

Pentaxor · 07-19-2009, 06:40 PM

Originally posted by Arpe

You guys do have the lens corrections turned off don't you? That slows it down.

you hit the nail there. I was about to mention that one in particular before I edited my post to a much shorter summary. certain Image quality enhancement and correction features will slow down the fps shooting speed a bit down.

as I had mentioned, it's better that they check all their settings first.

Bunny Gear · 07-19-2009, 07:01 PM

I'm a bit confused with AF-C speed of K-7.
The average speed (depends on lens) approx. 2.5-3 fps. It's true.
The specification of K-7 is marketing trick. 5.2 fps is only in AF-S.

Last edited by Bunny Gear; 07-19-2009 at 08:40 PM.

Andrew Faires · 07-19-2009, 07:32 PM

Originally posted by Arpe

You guys do have the lens corrections turned off don't you? That slows it down.

Lens corrections were disabled pretty much right when the k-7 came out of its box. I've noticed I loose some of the edges when the corrections are applied - which defeats having the 100% viewfinder. Also, those corrections are only applied to DA (& DFA?) series lenses. It's not available for FA or earlier.

Andrew Faires · 07-19-2009, 07:36 PM

Originally posted by Bunny Gear

I'm a bit confused with AF-C speed of K-7.
IThe average speed (depends on lens) approx. 2.5-3 fps. It's true.
The specification of K-7 is marketing trick. 5.2 fps is only in AF-S.

AF-S and M. It's handy for manually tracking a bird in flight and such but not having the full speed is one of the very few things on the k-7 I'm not impressed with.

That being said, I am impressed with the accuracy of AF-C of the k-7 compared to my k10 (well, to be honest, the AF of the k-7 is much better in both AF-C and AF-S).

Cheers.

kittykat46 · 07-19-2009, 08:09 PM

The K-7 can actually do 5.2 fps - under the most basic settings, every thing else turned off, left at default.

Its just that there's a lot of fine print related to that (like the back pages of an insurance policy

).. ...

it will only do about 3 fps with AF-C. The slowing down is to allow the camera to re-acquire the focus. I personally think it is good that the camera attempts to refocus, you get more keepers from your drive-mode shots, but they should have documented that in the manual.

Edvinas · 07-19-2009, 08:11 PM

Originally posted by Pentaxor

you hit the nail there. I was about to mention that one in particular before I edited my post to a much shorter summary. certain Image quality enhancement and correction features will slow down the fps shooting speed a bit down.

In my opinion IQ enhancements and lens corrections should "decrease" buffer capacity by slowing down it's clearance, but they should not influence initial continuous shooting framerate.

However with Pentax you never know... Have you read about left focus point stopping functioning when you have electronic leveler activated and set shutter speed 1/180s an higher?:
K-7 firmware bug that affects leftmost AF point?: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Sounds unbelievable, but it's true.

K-7 firmware was rushed and we can see that. Let's hope they will issue 1.1 soon.

Bunny Gear · 07-19-2009, 08:40 PM

AF-C is the best among Pentax cameras, but lower level than another brands.

nostatic · 07-19-2009, 08:43 PM

Originally posted by Bunny Gear

AF-C is the best among Pentax cameras, but lower level than another brands.

In golf lower is good. That means Pentax is better.

Woohoo! Hole in one!!!

Pentaxor · 07-19-2009, 10:42 PM

if the price of accuracy would mean a bit of a lag in FPS speed during AF-C shooting, I would take that trade-off. I'll be glad on having 5 keepers in 1.5 seconds rather than 1 out of 8 in 1.5 secs. there is just no point in having a faster FPS with poor outputs.

Edvinas · 07-19-2009, 10:50 PM

Originally posted by Pentaxor

if the price of accuracy would mean a bit of a lag in FPS speed during AF-C shooting, I would take that trade-off. I'll be glad on having 5 keepers in 1.5 seconds rather than 1 out of 8 in 1.5 secs. there is just no point in having a faster FPS with poor outputs.

What about having 8 keepers out of 8 in 1.5 seconds as is the case with competition?

07-19-2009, 10:59 AM	#1
Clem Nichols Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Munfordville, Ky. Photos: Gallery Posts: 370	K-7 and AF-C performance? Has anyone besides Falk Lumo had experience yet with AF-C on the K-7? I've read elsewhere that it slows the camera down to 2 or 3 fps which doesn't sound very good if trying to shoot sports. Any comments (based on personal experience rather than anectdotal) regarding speed and accuracy? Thanks in advance. CN

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07-19-2009, 01:49 PM	#2
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	that would depend on the type of lens, lighting condition, memory card used (speed class), picture quality, picture format , IQ settings and functions used. I had considered those factors with my K-7. as far as I tried the K-7's fps shooting speed and accuracy, it is pretty much shooting at 5 fps on average. never missed a sequence yet. so all is good. don't worry too much about it. sorry but I can't show you the pictures right now, but you could check out frank's photo action sequence with the K-7. I think it's just laying around here somewhere in this forum.

07-19-2009, 03:19 PM	#3
Andrew Faires Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 744	I have yet to find a scenario where AF-C where the fps would exceed 3. This includes different lenses shooting both static and moving subjects in daylight or tungsten light (making sure that the shutter speed would allow 5 fps). Having said that, the trade-off for the drop in fps is (imho) partially made up for with the improved accuracy. For the minor testing I've done, it's been with an FA400 f/5.6, a 43mm limited, a DA50-135mm and to a much lessor extent, a DA*16-50. I've also tried with the centre, select and multi-point focus points. Cheers.

07-19-2009, 04:34 PM	#4
ManuH Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Montreal Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,249	Originally posted by Andrew Faires I have yet to find a scenario where AF-C where the fps would exceed 3. Same for me, it's a bit weird and I'm wondering if it could be a firmware bug or just a forced limitation (the hardware is certainly able to do 5fps).

07-19-2009, 05:44 PM	#5
Arpe Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,452	You guys do have the lens corrections turned off don't you? That slows it down.

07-19-2009, 06:40 PM	#6
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	Originally posted by Arpe You guys do have the lens corrections turned off don't you? That slows it down. you hit the nail there. I was about to mention that one in particular before I edited my post to a much shorter summary. certain Image quality enhancement and correction features will slow down the fps shooting speed a bit down. as I had mentioned, it's better that they check all their settings first.

07-19-2009, 07:01 PM	#7
Bunny Gear Banned Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: China Posts: 53	I'm a bit confused with AF-C speed of K-7. The average speed (depends on lens) approx. 2.5-3 fps. It's true. The specification of K-7 is marketing trick. 5.2 fps is only in AF-S. Last edited by Bunny Gear; 07-19-2009 at 08:40 PM.

07-19-2009, 07:32 PM	#8
Andrew Faires Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 744	Originally posted by Arpe You guys do have the lens corrections turned off don't you? That slows it down. Lens corrections were disabled pretty much right when the k-7 came out of its box. I've noticed I loose some of the edges when the corrections are applied - which defeats having the 100% viewfinder. Also, those corrections are only applied to DA (& DFA?) series lenses. It's not available for FA or earlier.

07-19-2009, 07:36 PM	#9
Andrew Faires Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ontario Posts: 744	Originally posted by Bunny Gear I'm a bit confused with AF-C speed of K-7. IThe average speed (depends on lens) approx. 2.5-3 fps. It's true. The specification of K-7 is marketing trick. 5.2 fps is only in AF-S. AF-S and M. It's handy for manually tracking a bird in flight and such but not having the full speed is one of the very few things on the k-7 I'm not impressed with. That being said, I am impressed with the accuracy of AF-C of the k-7 compared to my k10 (well, to be honest, the AF of the k-7 is much better in both AF-C and AF-S). Cheers.

07-19-2009, 08:09 PM	#10
kittykat46 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 923	The K-7 can actually do 5.2 fps - under the most basic settings, every thing else turned off, left at default. Its just that there's a lot of fine print related to that (like the back pages of an insurance policy ).. ... it will only do about 3 fps with AF-C. The slowing down is to allow the camera to re-acquire the focus. I personally think it is good that the camera attempts to refocus, you get more keepers from your drive-mode shots, but they should have documented that in the manual.

07-19-2009, 08:11 PM	#11
Edvinas Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kaunas Posts: 1,458	Originally posted by Pentaxor you hit the nail there. I was about to mention that one in particular before I edited my post to a much shorter summary. certain Image quality enhancement and correction features will slow down the fps shooting speed a bit down. In my opinion IQ enhancements and lens corrections should "decrease" buffer capacity by slowing down it's clearance, but they should not influence initial continuous shooting framerate. However with Pentax you never know... Have you read about left focus point stopping functioning when you have electronic leveler activated and set shutter speed 1/180s an higher?: K-7 firmware bug that affects leftmost AF point?: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review Sounds unbelievable, but it's true. K-7 firmware was rushed and we can see that. Let's hope they will issue 1.1 soon.

07-19-2009, 08:40 PM	#12
Bunny Gear Banned Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: China Posts: 53	AF-C is the best among Pentax cameras, but lower level than another brands.

07-19-2009, 08:43 PM	#13
nostatic Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: socal Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,575	Originally posted by Bunny Gear AF-C is the best among Pentax cameras, but lower level than another brands. In golf lower is good. That means Pentax is better. Woohoo! Hole in one!!!

07-19-2009, 10:42 PM	#14
Pentaxor Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,513	if the price of accuracy would mean a bit of a lag in FPS speed during AF-C shooting, I would take that trade-off. I'll be glad on having 5 keepers in 1.5 seconds rather than 1 out of 8 in 1.5 secs. there is just no point in having a faster FPS with poor outputs.

07-19-2009, 10:50 PM	#15
Edvinas Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kaunas Posts: 1,458	Originally posted by Pentaxor if the price of accuracy would mean a bit of a lag in FPS speed during AF-C shooting, I would take that trade-off. I'll be glad on having 5 keepers in 1.5 seconds rather than 1 out of 8 in 1.5 secs. there is just no point in having a faster FPS with poor outputs. What about having 8 keepers out of 8 in 1.5 seconds as is the case with competition?