Originally posted by mattdm Someone on dpreview mentioned that their FA★ 77 no longer needs a -8 focus adjustment with the new firmware, and suggests that possibly the CA/distortion update also has some tweaks to the AF system per-lens. I'm skeptical on that one too
but if true, that could be an alternate explanation: maybe it's also tweaked for the DA lenses, making your images sharper. (Could be particularly true for zooms.)
Maybe, but it all looked identical to me in the viewfinder. I have a K3 focusing screen, and ever since I installed it, I make it a habit to confirm that the camera's auto-focus agrees with the split prism focusing indicator. Especially when taking pictures in low-light, like I did in those shots.
Plus, I actually saw the improvements with my Super Takumar 50mm lens first. I don't even pay attention to focus confirmation with that lens.
Originally posted by mattdm But again, if that were true, I can't imagine why it wouldn't get promoted. What's the downside? I can see plenty of upside.
You're thinking in terms of European or North American companies. Pentax is a Japanese company. They've always claimed that their Shake Reduction technology was good for up to 4 stops less light. But everyone who tested that claim got a maximum of 2 stops of improvement (compared to 4-5 stops with Canon's and Nikon's in-lens IS/VR). The firmware didn't really improve SR performance, it brought it up to where Pentax always claimed it should be. The claim "Fixed Shake Reduction performance so it acts like we claimed it should" just doesn't have a very good ring to it, especially for a Japanese company that refuses to admit mistakes. We're talking about one of their core innovations here, the thing they've been using to try and set themselves above Canikon. Admitting it's been broken all this time is tantamount to losing face.
That may sound like a silly stereotype of Japanese corporations, but Pentax has always acted this way. I see this type of behaviour from ALL Japanese companies. Pretend there's no problem until you can fix it, and then act like there was nothing wrong all along.