[ngkmh]

Hi,

Is there a way of improving autofocus speed on my Pentax DS in low light indoors. I'm using a 50mm FA 1.4 lens.

I've missed many shots where the camera cannot get a lock on the subject (Kids who dont stay still for very long :-) )

I've tried the Auto setting and the setting where you manually specify the autofocus point and there is no improvement.

I've read that you can use the flash to help the autofocus but I dont want the flash to be used when the photograph is actually taken. Is there a way to do this?

TIA

Kevin

[awjweb]

I have posted this same complaint an annoying amount of times on this forum. I have the same lens which I specifically bought for indoor "natural" light situations because of its wide aperture. You can hardly buy a faster lens for this camera. The DS auto focus is worthless in indoor low light or even moderate incandescent light situations (with or without the flash). After ten seconds of hunting and strobing the flash it will normally yeild a poorly focused shot. If you must try, firstly, don't let the camera pick the focus spot. The center focus spot seems more accurate than the others. Focus on a distinct edge (e.g. a shirt collar) in your desired focus plane to give it a clue and then recompose. Actually, after some practice, I now use manual focus for indoor shots. Being an "old man" of 47 years my eyes are not so great but I get a better ratio of good shots indoors if I just do it my self. Sad really for an otherwise fine camera.

[Matjazz]

Soon after I bought my DS I realized that auto focus is only good for power consumption. OK I'm exaggerating, but it's so slow and indecisive that I soon started focusing manually. Now I'm using AF only for those rare shots where I can't look through the view finder.
Some people have reported better AF speed when using CR-V3 batteries, but I didn't notice any difference with my DS.