Improved AF?

For those who have upgraded from a K-5 or K-30, is the AF in the K-5ll an improvement worth paying out for. I know it has better low light af, but is it any better than the earlier version for action stuff? I'm tending to use my K-30 more than the K-5 as it seems a bit better af wise - but that's possibly in my head!

YES!! It is much improved, with all lenses I have tried so far. It is much more 'confident', i.e. locks on with less 'hunting' and also is capable of locking on in very dim light indeed, without the AF Assist. It is also more accurate; you will probably find your lenses need little or no fine AF adjustment.

It's also faster to focus, not massively so in terms of the actual speed it moves at, but because of the afore-mentioned improvements it invariably locks focus quite a bit quicker than the K-5. BTW, I have K-5 Mk1 and K-5IIs.

Regards
David

As David states the improvement is subtle in terms of speed, but the focus lock is quicker and more precise. The new K5 also has a better screen and is less reflective outdoors. I upgraded to a K5ll's as i wanted increased sharpness and in my opinion the K5ll's is sharper, a lot sharper.

Many thanks. Most of the time I'm not too unhappy with the af of the K-5 or K-30 but, as you say, an improvement in accuracy can make that bit of difference between just in and just out when photographing action. Mmm - K-5ll or K-5lls - that's another question to ponder!

No.

A difference of opinion then! I've done some very unscientific comparisons between the K-5 and K-30 with regard to af accuracy and just general zip into focus with various lenses, in iffy light, and i think my initial thoughts are correct. The K-30 just seems to have the edge in all respects. I'm not using the speediest of lenses. With regard to results, again the K-30 seems an improvement. This could be down to needing to do a bit more in the way of af fine tuning for the lenses - but after being driven half mad trying to get the D7000 I had to accurately focus I've tried not to go down that route too much! Not too sure where that leaves me - I don't think the K-30 was touted as having particularly improved af performance but it does seem better than my K-5 - so I'd assume I'd notice a similar, albeit slight, improvement in the later model.

Accuracy is better but the actual af speed gain is very very small indeed (if any). You asked if the improvement is worth paying for, personally I don't think it is but then if I need fast af I use the 7D (as long as I can keep the ISO below 1600).

I dont thnk there is any improvement in speed either, but accuracy does make a huge difference.

It's all about compromises I suppose. I bought my first K-5 just after they came out because it was the camera body I'd wanted for ages - smaller size, rugged, etc. - but went back to Nikon for a while due to the better lens selection in the range i wanted at affordable prices. Hating the D7000 I ended up with an old D300 and was back to the big and heavy problems which made me choose the K-5 in the first place. I've had my current K-5 for over a year and taken over 30,000 shots with it so I obviously have'nt been too unhappy with it. I got my K-30 at a bargain price as a second body and have been very impressed with it - it tends to be my camera of choice now most of the time. I'm only working part time now and will be retiring quite soon [I hope!] so I thought i'd update my K-5 to start afresh as I'll hopefully have the chance to take even more photos at more events. I suppose I could think about just keeping the K-30 together with my oldie but exceptionally good Sigma 28-105 f2.8/f4 and 55-300 - sell the rest and get a second hand Canon or Nikon set up but I quite like the challenge of trying to get action with a camera/lens that would'nt be other people's first choice! Could go for another K-30 but there are things I prefer about the handling and controls of the K-5 apart from the extras on it. Decisions!!

Decision having been made and SRS getting new stock in earlier than expected, I've had a few days to play with my new K-5lls. Rain and grey naturally for most of the time! Took the dogs along the river this morning while it was still quite foggy and tried a load of galloping dogs pictures using my 55-300 [not the first choice for action]. Whether it's faster or not, i'm pretty impressed by the downloaded pictures. Most of them will be deleted due to the rubbish exposures in the murk, but the accuracy of the focusing is rather good. Quite impressed!