K10 focus check

Really good point this - to avoid focus backlash I adjusted back from infinity manually, stopping at focus confirmation point (red indicator), and IMHO this gets more consistent results than relying on the AF system (with AF lenses).

Focus confirmation is shown by the green hexagon. The red indicator is the focus point being used.
I used spot focus for my tests and for all AF adjustments.

Regards - Steve

If you are struggling to get good sharp results with your K10 I think i can suggest that with this camera, regardless of the lens, the multipoint focus system is a bit painful. After a bit of shooting with high quality lenses, I have found that you will get far better results from just shooting in centre point mode. Hope this helps

I agree with what he said above.

Also if in doubt I always focus on something far away or near and then refocus ie make it work.

Mike

The comment about the multipoint focussing is really relevant. I did conclude that I could both get better shots and have more control if I used the centre point for focussing. I also now use the AF button rather than the half press of the shutter. This seems to give faster response and instant shooting which is ideal for my hobby of taking football pictures.

I will check the AF accuracy as it does seem that a number of forum members have benefited from this adjustment.

thanks all, Geoff

This appears to be in direct conflict with the manual, then, which says:

[IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/chris5gd/Technical/2009-09-05_0059.png[/IMG]

Can you explain how you established that SR was still on with the cable remote? I don't have one, so I can't check for myself.

'Remote control shooting' probably refers to using the infra-red remote release, not the wired one.

Dan

Well that's the obvious inference, but why would they leave SR on with a cable, and switch it off with a remote, given all the other situations they switch it off when the camera is effectively immobilised?

God, how many column inches would we have saved here, if only Pentax had been more specific in their instructions. A reason for their "switch SR off on a tripod" recommendation wouldn't have cost them much, would it? Grr...

For your information

I rechecked focus on FA 31, FA 35, FA 50 and FA 16-45 lenses at the weekend.

Camera on tripod
SR off
3 second remote delay
Centre spot metering
Natural daylight
Lenses manually turned to extremes of focus and then refocused using the remote.
Focus confirmation 'beep' on and heard before every exposure.
DA 16-45 tested at both extremes of focal length.
Latest Yvon Bourque charts used

My focus setting from previous adjustment was +10um.

With the exception of the FA 31 all lenses showed the slightest degree of front focusing. If it had been just one lens then I might dismissed the results, but with 3 lenses showing very similar results, I changed the camera back to +/= 0um. This leaves me with a Fa 31 that is backfocussing, but a repeat of the test at F4 and the results are acceptable, so I can live with that.

Steve

I'm guessing because all the other modes require a setting on the camera to be changed, whereas the cable probably just trips the same circuit as the shutter button, so can be used in any mode/configuration.

Dan

Plausible. If you're right, it makes Pentax's obfuscation even more culpable.

If you're right, and there's something funny about SR in the presence of no actual shake (as opposed to finger induced shake), not to be completely specific about the actual problem, and the mode or modes in which it might be experienced, is simply disgraceful.

It makes me think there was a problem they couldn't reproduce reliably, and couldn't explain, so just put a vague catch-all recommendation in the book, intentionally omitting the sort of detail that would make them look stupid.

I mean, I know I'm being a bit paranoid, but being paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you...

Chris, of course they're out to get you. Once you accept that, life suddenly makes more sense.....

But seriously, you'll find that all marques recommend switching shake reduction off when on a tripod, regardless of whether it's in-body or in-lens.

It must be something to do with the basic way that any shake reduction system has to work.

Or, indeed, they are all out to get us!

ChrisA, just to confirm, I had a cable remote plugged in (not a Pentax one, but I don't think that would make any difference?) and the SR was still on. (I just tested it again to make sure!).

Not being a Pentax one could well make a difference as some relevant feature could be missing.

I think I need to get hold of a Pentax cable release and re-do the tests I did before.

The bottom line was that with the camera on a tripod, releasing the shutter with a finger caused a tiny bit of shake that SR made no difference to - no better and no worse than with it on or off.

However, if SR is still on with a cable remote, and the shutter can be released with no shake at all, maybe there's something that the previous conditions were not able to detect.

I don't particularly want to shell out for one - would anyone like to lend me theirs?

Edit: just as I clicked, I thought of Remote Assistant. Anyone know if that leaves SR on?