|
Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
07-13-2016, 08:28 AM
|
| |
I think this setting is one of the most poorly understood and misused functions of both the K3 and K1.
AF holds are meant to be used more for horizontal tracking rather than subjects moving in and out of a small DoF window. Additionally, ANY AF Hold should also never be used in more than 3-4 frame bursts because the subject will have exited that window (depending on its speed) within that .5 to .75 seconds.
I have found that I'm getting pretty decent results BIF with single point focus priority release by feathering the AF while tracking. If I get a focus lock and it looks in focus to me, I shoot off a 2-3 shot burst. I was shooting diving arctic terns with a Sigma 500 f4.5 for about a hour in Haines and found the SEL9 didn't really track the smallish birds very well. This past 4th of July weekend, I spent about 45 minutes shooting hummingbirds using the same concepts and the same 500mm lens. I actually think I had about a 60% success rate. I also photographed about a dozen BNSF engines travelling a bit faster than a bicyclist and had no issues with AF keeping up. But then again, I shoot 3-4 shots bursts, recompose, reacquire and reshoot.
I've owned the K10, K20, K5iis, K3 and now the K1. I can say without hesitation, the K1 AF is superior to all previous K-mount bodies.
Maybe the 20 shot test" is Pentax's Achilles heel, but in some ways it's a ridiculously contrived test. I don't shoot the Tour deFrance for a living, but I suppose if I did, I'd have to get a Canikon. But for about 98% of all other action shots, that "bicyclist test" just not "real world."
I've managed to shoot airshows, NASCAR, CanAm and Hydroplanes with a K3 and get enough "keepers" to meet personal and/or editorial requirements. I've shot alongside Canikon pros, so I fully understand the limits and differences between the systems. I also understand I am primarily a landscape photographer and self-funded. Self-funded being a very important differential.
I've posted in several threads, I almost jumped ship for the d810, but the K1 is "close enough" now that I really have no justification to switch brands other than to join the Canikon herd. I'll stick around a little longer if for nothing else that to get snide comments from my shooting buddies such as, "wow, you managed THAT with a Pentax?"
I wish we could just all accept the fact the K1 is NOT a D5 and just move on. I also wish that a lot of these people doing these AF tracking tests were far more qualified. Just because you can set up a camera on a tripod and trigger it with a remote, doesn't mean you can get valid test results. Let's see a review of Pentax AF from some credentialed action shooter who's had the K1 for 3-4 months. I bet the review would be pretty positive.
|
