Originally posted by piotro Don't discard Canon as well. 7D has great AF system, it locks and track very well, lens USM focus drive is very fast. If you get a chance try this combo, your frustration with Pentax AF issues will just grow even more
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I've used a 7D (not mine) and a K5 side by side on pro event shoots - I have not noticed a major difference at all.
Originally posted by pinholecam AF speed and decisiveness has significantly improved on the K5 and Kr.
Those who don't have one should try it out to see for themselves. Basing on K7, K20 etc just isn't a good comparison anymore.
Axl, I've found AF assist with the flash to be even slower than relying on on-camera AF assist. I shoot more often with a wireless trigger which 'gets round' this problem.
I've read all the way through this thread and just some observations :
Firstly is this really a camera issue ? The 55 Ltd is known to be just about Pentax's slowest focusing SDM lens - maybe this is influencing the number of mis-focused shots. Maybe a lens like the Sigma 30/1.4 or 50/1.4 would lock on much quicker. That said I know the K7 to not be the fastest focusing camera on the block.
Agree with PHC (sorry Jay) - I can see no point in comparing a K20D with a D700. The K5 is two generations on and certainly there was a massive jump from the K7 to the K5 - probably the most improvement of any generation on from the last. I had the K7 and whilst it is an excellent camera it is let down badly in a number of critical areas - the K5 is miles & miles ahead, it is the camera the K7 should have been.
I don't see the point of the Nikon shooters in here posting shots that show staged, static portraits - some with flash even ! Virtually any DSLR can do that. We are debating low light, short distance, low DoF shots of active subjects.
The K5 has won admirers, camera of the year awards and highly recommended commendations across a whole spectrum of photography centres journals, magazines, observers and testers .... for a reason.
I switch
off the K5's focus assist on both of my cameras, because I don't find any problems focusing in even near darkness and subjects find it distracting. Does anyone else do this ? I do not find it limiting in any way whatsoever, does anyone else ?
Finally Axl, and please don't take this the wrong way as I do not know - or want to know, your financial situation, but maybe buying the K5 and testing it for a couple of months before selling it on (at a $200-300 loss) and switching systems if that is what you conclude you need to do, is better than jumping ship before trying out the camera that may solve your problems without having to sell all of your Pentax kit.
These were from a
very active 3 year old a couple of days ago (K5 and 77 Ltd at f2.0). At a dinner in a Chinese restaurant (so very low light), child is no more than one metre away (so low DoF). I took about 50 shots (ca. 10 misfocused, 20 binned - not keepers, and 20 kept for PP).