[Dustin]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and to digital photography, so first of all I have to apologize if I'm posting in the wrong section and if my questions are ingenuous. Hope you forgive me.

I'm going to buy a new camera, probably the new k20D with the 18-55mm II. At first I was oriented to the k10D but scared by the viewfinder-sensor alignment problem I've decided to wait a bit.

I'm accustomed to focus manually because I've used for years 35mm manual cameras but wearing glasses I find also very useful to use hyperfocal with wide-angles when shooting landscapes, reportage and ambient portraits.

I have two questions about my future camera.

Is it possible, without damaging the camera or the lens, to retouch manually the focus turning the lens ring after having focused automatically?

Is it possible to use hyperfocal with the kit lens? A colleague of mine told me that all new lenses don't have the aperture-distance info written on the barrel so there is no easy way to calculate the hyperfocal distance and I've to always take in my pocket a written table.

Thank you for your answers.

Dustin.

[beekala]

Hi Dustin,

I'm new to digital photography, having had a K10 for only about 5 months.
I read with interest about the problems with alignment of images, but I've had no such experiences.

I hope someone can be of more help, but here goes:

1. I don't think the kit lens likes being manually adjusted when the camera is set to autofocus.
The few pentax lenses I know that allow this are the 'limiteds' - 31mm, 43mm and 77mm.

2. My kit lens doesn't have a focus scale - I only use older lenses, so I don't know if this is the norm for digital lenses. Welcome to digital photography - just zoom into the screen after you've taken the shot and confirm the focus is as you want it to be!

[Kguru]

Most DA lenses have a feature called QuickShift that allows you to "retouch" focus.
One exception that I know of is the DA18-250 (no QS). And I'm not sure about the recent DA* zooms.

My DA21 does have the aperture-distance scale engraved behind the focus ring, but the kit lenses don't. So it's case by case.

[Canada_Rockies]

Most DA lenses have a feature called QuickShift that allows you to "retouch" focus.
One exception that I know of is the DA18-250 (no QS). And I'm not sure about the recent DA* zooms.

My DA21 does have the aperture-distance scale engraved behind the focus ring, but the kit lenses don't. So it's case by case.

Both my DA* zooms have the manual focus quick shift feature. My DA 12-24 also has the quick shift feature. It's easy to tell if it has it or not - mount the lens on the camera and with the camera set to AF, and the lens set to AF, gently try to turn the focus ring. If it won't move easily, it is not fitted with quick shift.

[NaClH2O]

Hi Dustin and welcome to the forums. Most all of the Pentax "DA" lenses have was is called "quick shift" this allows you to manually refocus after AF. Several other lenses have similar features. I just got a new-to-me FA* 24mm F2.0 that has a manual focus "clutch" on the lens. It is on the focus ring, which when pulled towards you allows for manual focus adjustment, and when pushed away engages the AF mechanism. I'm assuming (but I don't know for sure) there are others that allow this too. In addition there are a myriad of old manually focusing Pentax lenses that will work perfectly well with the K20D. I myself own five or so that I truly enjoy and use regularly.

NaCl(hope that helps)H2O

[Dustin]

First of all, thank you for your answers.

Yesterday: yeah! great! The nick is free! wow! "Dustin" is available! Yesss!
Today: Uh... Dustin... Dust-in... uhmm... digital photography, sensors... of course Dustin is free. Nobody would choose such a name in a digital camera forum...

By the way, just to see in I've understood well...

The QuickShift function is not connected with the presence of the built-in supersonic motor (SDM). There are also other lenses that offer this feature but use the traditional system with the camera-motor.

I'm asking this because over here, in Italy, the street price for SDM lenses is high compared to the other Pentax lenses and to Ni<beep> and Ca<beep> supersonic lenses (maybe because they are more popular)

I really don't want to buy Ca<beep> or Ni<beep>, but if the manual adjustment is possible only with SDM lenses I have maybe to reconsider...

Thanks again.

Dustin

[christinelandon]

Dustin, the Quick-Shift manual focus touch-up feature is available on many newer Pentax lenses, whether primes or zooms. That feature is distinct from the SDM (Supersonic Drive Motor) feature; the DA* lenses have both systems, but many non-SDM lenses have the Quick-Shift system.

With Quick-Shift, you don't have to move the auto-focus/manual switch on the lens to "manual" in order to manually tweak your focus from what the auto-focus system has set. Just hold the shutter at half press, and adjust your lens' focus ring manually until you're satisfied with the focus in the viewfinder.

[KungPOW]

In addition to the modern lenses, I like to use the old Pentax-M lenses. Beautiful to manually focus. And the have the Hyperfocal scale.

They are also inexpensive, easy to find, and some are world class sharp. Pentax-M 50mm 1.4 comes to mind.

Eric.

[roscot]

The quick shift feature is on all DA or DA* series lenses whether they are SDM or not, with the exception of the DA18-250. Earlier lenses are case by case. Most FAs or Fs do not have the feature.

Of currently produced lenses, only the limited lenses, both FA and DA have the required markings for hyper focal use.

[Matthew Allen]

Hi Dustin,

I'm new to digital photography, having had a K10 for only about 5 months.
I read with interest about the problems with alignment of images, but I've had no such experiences.

I hope someone can be of more help, but here goes:

1. I don't think the kit lens likes being manually adjusted when the camera is set to autofocus.
The few pentax lenses I know that allow this are the 'limiteds' - 31mm, 43mm and 77mm.

2. My kit lens doesn't have a focus scale - I only use older lenses, so I don't know if this is the norm for digital lenses. Welcome to digital photography - just zoom into the screen after you've taken the shot and confirm the focus is as you want it to be!

The kit lens does have Quick Shift focus as others have said. The Limiteds you have named are the FA Limiteds. They do NOT have QS focus. The newer DA Limiteds do.

The kits does have a focus scale, at least mine does. It's on the focus ring. What it lacks is a depth of field scale, so hyperfocal focusing is not practical.

Matthew

[mattdm]

Write to Pentax asking for this feature:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/19781-idea-future-...ocal-mode.html

[PDL]

The FA lenses must be placed into manual mode (the switch on the front) in order to focus manually. (Sorry about the following but) If you de-couple AF from the shutter button and use the AF button on the back - while the lens is in manual mode (AF-M) you can use the AF function of the camera to "assist" in focusing. What the AF-M switch does is retract the AF screw into th body, if you force the focus on a FA lens you can damage the gears in the lens/body - not a good thing to do. If you twist to find out - it will be obvious.

The clutch built into Pentax DA lenses is a feature - my C*non buddies were quite surprised when I showed them I could do it - their systems seemed to fight them a bit. Pentax lets you set the camera up to where you are in full control not the presumptions of the Pentax engineers.

As for shooting with Hyperfocal distance/DoF scales - if you are using windows go here:
Hyperfocal Distance and Depth of Field Calculator - DOFMaster
This site has been mentioned multiple times here on the forum - you might also want to do a search on the word hyperfocal. You can use the method on this site (and others) to develop manual DoF scales to match the focal length that you are using - or come close. Similar to using a 4x5 - there are not any DoF scales on them either - but a good DoF scale is good to have around. If you "play" with the scale long enough - you can get a good "feel" that will allow you to go back in time and use ---- analoge scales. Who'da thunk it.

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

[thePiRaTE!!]

...1. I don't think the kit lens likes being manually adjusted when the camera is set to autofocus.
The few pentax lenses I know that allow this are the 'limiteds' - 31mm, 43mm and 77mm.
...

FWIW, I just tested this on my 31 and it does not.

[alohadave]

I actually just returned a Sigma 70-300mm APO in favor for the Pentax 50-200mm, partially for the QSF (besides the weight and size). It was driving me crazy not to be able to finetune the focus.