[patarok]

any suggestions?
What kind of improvements would you like to see in video-af?
any idea on new video-AF features that could be useful?

[Adam]

Moved to the video forum.

For starters, they could release the mechanical SR firmware update for the KP and K-1!

[richandfleur]

The big ticket in video AF (and stills) is around object detection and tracking. Specifically eye AF.

Pentax has an issue in it's screw drive AF system, which is super noisy in a video situation. Any new video AF is likely to be limited to the motorised lenses, and in video terms you want to be able to slow down the process a little bit, so the change looks more fluid.

Personally I think Pentax are now many years behind the game, and I'd like them to address their core offering first, before focussing on the latest points of tracking AF and 4K etc.
They still need to up their bit rates, allow a clean hdmi out, return mechanical stabilisation, enable focus peaking and digital zoom during video capture, stop cropping the image when you move into video mode (even with the rubbish Movie SR turned off) etc.

For a company that prides itself on being innovative and image quality focussed, I'm surprised they've allowed the video side of things to be so 5 years ago.

[Steve.Ledger]

......................ad nauseam

[puser]

Bringing back mechanical SR in video would be much needed improvement.

[PiDicus Rex]

Better Video AF (Which will lead directly to faster and more accurate Stills AF) will need faster in-lens motors, so for upcoming bodies, Pentax will need to step up the power density of the batteries, preferably without changing the form factor to retain backwards compatibility, so they will be able to deliver higher power levels to the motors in the lenses.

They'll also need to lighten any moving elements as much as possible, allowing them to accelerate and decelerate faster, which will mean needing to move to more exotic materials, such as carbon composites instead of plastics, to hold the glass elements.

Upping the clock speed and bandwidth of the processors driving the lens movement will also help.

Eye-AF is useful, but for larger scenes, motion prediction will need to be introduced, or expanded on, so that the camera can start the lens moving right as the subject starts to move, rather then following the subject.

[madbrain]

Looks like none of these are coming in the K1-II . Sad !

[richandfleur]

Looks like none of these are coming in the K1-II . Sad !

General vibe is Pentax don't see users of that camera as wanting it. Disappointing really given much of the K-1 ii upgrade offering is firmware based. The K-1 ii upgrade looks to bring all the existing offerings (high ISO / low noise chip etc) to the K-1, so I'm not so worried that it doesn't include things drastically different to the original.


I'll strongly consider departing Pentax if video is not included on the K-3 replacement.

[Steve.Ledger]

I'll strongly consider departing Pentax if video is not included on the K-3 replacement.

But video is already included with both the K-3 and the K-3 II, Richard.

[PiDicus Rex]

< facepalm >


You two!

[richandfleur]

< facepalm >


You two!

A lot of time for Steve, so no harm done.


Cripes, just saw the Sony A7 iii release info. Man those guys are going for it. HDR 4k video options, but Pentax offer 2012 Full HD at 17 - 24 Mbps like that's acceptable in 2018...

[PiDicus Rex]

Yuuuuup,.... looks like I started a flame war on the facebook Pentaxians page, posting a link to a Redshark article about the new Eos-M having 4K.

Then I saw the survey running at the moment, and it's pretty clear there's a lack of interest in video by the person(s) who formed the questions.

Wonder what they'll think of me fitting 6x7 Primes on stacked focal reducers to get "70mm" looking images off my Cion's S35 sized sensor?

[richandfleur]

there's a lack of interest in video

Agree, and it's more than that though. It cuts to the core of some Pentaxians identity, that they aren't interested in video and that they don't need the latest and greatest etc.
It's a funny one for sure, but someone wanting developments in video is clearly out of the norm, not one of us, and would take resources away from core important features etc etc.

I actually do wish that Pentax would release a stripped down camera, leica seem to be the only one doing it. Nikon produced the DF without video features for example. It was a bit of a flop.
The fact that a stripped down version would cost more seems lost on some though, as if video features cost a huge amount more and removing them would suddenly halve the price.
Forgets that video and live view etc all use the same sensor as stills...
Ironically mirrorless would suit a lot of pentax users, in terms of landscape photography on a tripod, that doesn't require SR or an optical viewfinder.

We're now miles behind, years and years behind the base standard ballpark video offering. I do expect 4k to appear at some stage, but I doubt it will fix the bit rate, cropping, lack of focus peaking and lack of real mechanical stabilisation, lack of clean hdmi out etc.

[PiDicus Rex]

I actually do wish that Pentax would release a stripped down camera, leica seem to be the only one doing it. Nikon produced the DF without video features for example. It was a bit of a flop.

Canon also does a version of the 1D with no video. None of the 'Without video' models from any brand are sales hits.

It's a funny one for sure, but someone wanting developments in video is clearly out of the norm, not one of us, and would take resources away from core important features etc etc.

I reject that as myth about resource usage, completely. It doesn't take any resources away, it just uses them fully.

Heck, developing Constant AF for Video would accelerate the development of Stills AF. There's some samples of the AF available on the G85, where video development has lead to Tracking AF that virtually never misses a shot. Sony's E-mount cameras, the A7 and A9 for Stills and video, benefit directly from the AF developed for the FS100, FS700, FS7 and FS5.
Those 'Cine' cameras all use the same lenses as the A7 and A9, and include focus tracking to work around the lens's varifocal nature.

Now, a stripped down 'begineer' model, say, specced about the same as the K-30 was for the sensor, but with only basic features, offered at a price around US$600, that would be the gateway model to get users interested, and it's video spec could retain what Pentax has been doing for the last decade.

4K will have to come - they figured it out for the Theata, and spherical video should actually be harder, since you need to blend the images from two sensors to do it.

[richandfleur]

I reject that as myth about resource usage, completely. It doesn't take any resources away, it just uses them fully.

Just to be clear, I agree with this.