Sometimes when you think its going good, a gitch happens and changes all the stakes, we thought over the years it would be fixed, don’t count on that. Business in business, features are looked upon as a catch, we are told…if only this mistake was not true…..
These two photographs were taken during a live performance, the Pentax K10D was mounted on a tripod, the lens was Pentax 50mm 1.4 . The conditions I recall were either F8 or F11 at 100 ISO * This is unacceptable.
When the Pentax K10D hits the mark and gets it right Download
This report is aimed to alert designers that simplicity in how things work is the key to a reliable product. I never expected that my efforts would be couched as if I did something wrong. The sequence of photographs were taken with this camera with one of its lens. I discovered that when the auto focus switch was on, it just did not focus on the object…and then it did. This needs to be explained. To guarantee that these photographs would be correctly in focus, I switched it to manual focus. To my horror this was the result……I just had enough.
The Pentax photographed with the Canon Pro 1, 1/8, F2.7 auto ISO. Hand held. Download
Pentax K10. s/n 2539901. A camera that photographs beautifully at times, but has a major issue focusing on objects. No photographs are guaranteed to be properly in focus. Not recommended. Too many functions. Stick to the principle. Exposure, time, sensitivity.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
May I asked why Pentax why?
mikew wrote:
Hmm well I found this some time ago:
I have big news!
If your K10D have problem with focus, you can adjust it yourself.
Someone in Korea figured it out himself.
He is not a employee of Pentax or related company.
He just found out by trial-and-error with key-set.
Of course, You yourself is responsible for doing something scribed below.
Here’s How-to-adjust-focus.
1. Your K10D’ firmware version must be 1.10.
2. Test shot for focus trouble.
3. Turn the camera OFF.
While pressing [PLAY]+[OK], Turn the camera ON.
You can see firmware version on LCD screen.
4. Firmware version is appeared,
then press [Fn]->[Fn]->[INFO]->[MENU] within 5 seconds.
You get service menu!!!
5. by pressing [right key]
,Make DEBUG MODE to DEBUG MODE .
then press [OK].
(save and LCD will be black out)
6. Press [MENU] and go to SETUP tab.
then, Press [Up key], you can see TEST MODE.
7. Select AF TEST menu. now you have AF correction menu.
If you have Front-focusing, reduce the value.
If you have back-focusing, increase the value.
after adjust some value, press [OK] and quit out of setup menu.
8. TEST for focus, find out that focus is correct.
(repeat this from 6 for correct focus.)
9. Go to service menu(step 3,4).
Make DEBUG MODE to DEBUG MODE .
then press [OK].(save and LCD black out)
10. Go out and enjoy nice photos!!!
AGAIN, You yourself is responsible for any damage or trouble by doing this process!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I too can only say use it at your peril!
Improved AF Accuracy of the K20D (Under White Lights Only) courtesy of RiceHigh’s Pentax blog
* For a lens with significant aberrations (e.g. a consumer zoom at maximum focal length and minimum focus distance), stopping down to f16 may give optimum results. For a lens with less aberrations (e.g. a consumer zoom used at infinity focus), optimum performance is around f11, though both f8 and f16 are very similar. Source
Camerablues Richard Bolai copyright ©2009 All Rights Reserved
27 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 16, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Anonymous
Why don’t you send it in for repair instead of complaining?
September 17, 2009 at 10:51 am
richardbolai
Here are some quotes from the TC’blog:
…..People are consistently reporting that auto ISO will correctly go down when selecting a slower shutter speed in P mode. But it will not go up when a faster shutter speed is selected. Use TVa mode instead – pressing the Green Button, will allow the camera to start from the top ISO speed again. Notes on FW1.1: Seems to be fixed, but I want a second opinion before I move it as this isn’t mentioned in the documentation.
The camera gives a max shutter speed of 30 seconds when working in Av mode. This is as designed, but there’s should be an option to remove that maximum, and worse, some people are reporting that when the shutter time should be more than 30 seconds the K10D cuts back to a very short exposure, like half a seconds, totally ruining the shot. Only fix is to
Using the Green Button to set the exposure, with M lenses, seems to over expose in a lot of cases. Only solution is to work in manual mode. In some cases pressing the GB twice will solve the problem. Possibly related to instant preview mode. Note on FW1.1: Doesn’t seem to be solved.
There’s fairly consistent reports of underexposure when using large apertures in M mode. It’s only an issue when aperture is set using the aperture ring on the lens, and only on M mode. Using exposure compensation and the preview histogram to fix. P.S.: This seems kind of mirror issue to the “Over exposure…” issue right above – I think that it may be the same issue, simply with somebody mixing accidentally writing Under when they meant Over.
The “frames left” counter will report the number of DNG images that can be take with the remaining memory, even if you are shooting PEF. As PEF files are “only” about 10MB and DNGs are about 16MB this is obvious wrong. Not fixed with FW1.1.
A few people have had their internal flash die on them. It not consistent, lots of people are having no problems at all, but it happens.
A few people have a problem with the camera freezing up, after the memory card or the lens has been changed. Fix, is to remove battery for a short while. Probably a hardware error, and a return to Pentax is probably the only fix (but you could wait and see if it’s fixed by a firmware update, if you do not want to part with the camera).
Worst camera ever?
From Pentax Life about a Pentax digital Camera
Digital Camera HQ named Optio E10 “The worst digital camera ever”. Michael Patrick Brady, DC HQ editor, wrote:
……It may be because it’s a more recent camera than the others, but I’m tempted to officially name the Pentax Optio E10 the worst digital camera ever. It debuted in January of 2006 with claims of how easy to use it was and how affordable it was, and for a while it looked like the E10 might be a decent, economical 6-megapixel ultracompact for simple use. Since then, an unmitigated stream of vitriolic, hate-filled user reviews have deluged the Pentax E10’s product page. “It says 6mp but it looks like a 2mp image stretched and interpolated,” says Eli, “I have seen $20 cameras outperform this piece.” Greg offers a familiar refrain, saying “I’ll NEVER buy Pentax again, and will actively discourage anyone I know from buying one as well!” Perhaps the most succinct summation of how people feel about this camera comes from Jon, who explains that the Optio line is really an acronym for “Oh, please turn it off!”
I don’t know if you all remember, but when I first got my k10d, I could never figure out why my photos seemed soft and fuzzy. I recently took some photos with my Nikon D1x and those photos were sharp. That helped me rule out my eyesight that fluctuates with my blood sugar. So I bravely applied the 1.10 firmware and unscientifically changed the focus to +100 (with +120 and +220 being fuzzy). Lo and behold, I am now in love with my K10D and thoughts of selling it for a Nikon D80 have gone away. Below are the latest photos….
I don’t think anyone should be selling cameras that can’t focus. The
first-hand user report in the thread was “concerning” thats all. Right
now, the Nikon and the Pentax seem to be the front-runners of the 10
megs out there, barring any problems with either.
My 50mm 1.4 is my most intolerant lens (being 1.4), so I’m not surprised that you’re seeing issues just with that lens as other lenses may hide the error.
I have a Pentax K10D camera with Pentax lenses and 10% of the time the pictures turn out very green. This usually happens in the first of a series of photos. I’ve tried different settings for white balance with little effect. It happens in both JPEG and Raw, although JPEG is the worst of the two.
Hopefully this will turn out to be a congenital defect in the K10D with no solution and it will get a dismal reputation so that Pentax will be forced to sell them off at extreme bargain prices and photo magazines will warn their readers off of the pentax “junk model”……
For auto-focus refusniks like me that could be the best christmas present ever..
It sounds like you had the same issue as I did. I spoke to Pentax and they didn’t have a wide report of Front or Back focusing, but I do believe it is a problem. I read the DP review of the K10D and they had issues with edge sharpness. I am starting to think the antidust coating on the sensor or the anti-shake may be the reason for the blur. Why? I can’t state any real evidence other than the logic that this is a new anti-shake system that floats and after I review several of the photos I took some had more of a motion blur rather than out of focus fuzz. I think the sensor has the potential to be shaken slightly….
Hi everybody!
This is not really a “which camera” topic, as I am already a prowd Pentax K10D owner. However after some months of toying around I have to say that if I should mention an aspect where I am not fully satisfide that would be the auto focus. I know that 100% hits is science fiction but the AF of the Pentax K10D coupled with the 18-55 kit lens tend to fail more often than I’d like… also because being a little nearsighted I tend to rely on the machine more than on my own eyes and I have a hard time noticing misfocus on the field so I often discover the errors when it is too late to re-shot.
My personal theory is however that it is not an AF sensor or a software issue but a shortcoming of the cheap kit lens and the mechanical focus drive linkage. So here comes the question: Has anybody had the same or similar problem with this camera or any other mechanically driven focus lens+camera binning? And furthermore, changing lens can help? And the new lens will have to be a USM one or a mechanically linked lens of better quality can work out the problem? And… well, I guess you got the point by now…
Thanks everybody.
Hi!
I’m also having problems with my K10D autofocus. I currently have the kit lens (18-55) and a Sigma 30 mm F1.4 and both of them focus behind OR in front of the subject. This happens a lot and I’m really disappointed with this phenomenon. I have already sent the body + kit lens to the repair shop and they “adjusted the autofocus” with no help. I’m discussing with the repair shop about further operations on the camera to remedy the problem. We’ll just have to wait and see if they can do anything about it.
I will be posting more as soon as I get something done to the camera.
If the lighting gets low I set to only one sensor but I found most of my out of focus shots are from the superimposed light showed focus going to a different point when making the shot. Did you go to Custom/Superimpose/ on off and make sure its on? I set the focus mode lever on the front to AF.S in low light so I can lift the button ,watch the red light and push half way again to make sure it it is focused where I want it. In bright light any lens has worked for me. The older lenses don’t work as freely as the new Digitals so the battery dies faster. The camera shot slow as possible on AUTO so I tend to use the program setting the most. I’m not satisfied with the auto focus Either. I think the Firmware should be adjusted but the isn’t likely since K10D’s are last years models. They will have a hard time selling new models with this monkey on their back irregardless of the capabilities.
September 18, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Meghan Edwards
The more I think about this blog the more I wonder why someone would choose to be reactive instead of proactive. If I had a broken camera I would simply have it repaired instead of spending time creating a website. It’s funny, really. Good luck!
September 18, 2009 at 8:19 pm
richardbolai
The Pentax is my first dslr after careful consideration, based on reviews at that time I choose it over a Canon.Raved as it was, Camera of the year??? I also purchased a lens with a large aperture since most of my photographs were taken handheld as with my photographs using the Canon F1 50mm L lens. Stills never blurred.
The errors that occurred with this camera, I must say was as small increments, If one or two images were out of focus, that was OK, remember the images were quite disposable on a digital camera, I could simply re-shoot.
I found that it was large and heavy to carry around, so it may not have been used much to discover the problem. I also found that the jpegs were compressed too small for a camera at 10million pixels. Some reports asked Pentax to considered to increase it size, they did not comply. Raw images were too cumbersome to open and adjust with the software Pentax provided. As theses files get larger who has to time to go through each one, I certainly don’t. What I want is for every shot I compose, the equipment gets it right at 60 F1.4 handheld and dials as a needle and loop hole. All those nobs ……
The camera was purchase over two years ago, who would sell this knowing the problems that could occur? Do you think that right?
Where this goes needs to go, you wished me Good Luck, I wish myself 3 million times better. If you wish to submit your photographs, good, bad or indifferent using this model or any Pentax with grave errors, please do it via the email address. Please copyright the image. W 1000 pixels x h.
This project is not funny, but Pentax’s display menu is, it looks like a Christmas Card with those non-functional dials, don’t you think?
September 19, 2009 at 2:13 pm
richardbolai
Here is more from Ricehigh’s Pentax blog……
When the Focusing Screen Lies (for Focusing and Metering)
Do you still use some of the legacy lenses on your Pentax DSLR(s) and carry out focusing manually and metering stopped-down? If yes, it would be always interesting to know if actually it is accurate or not for the aid which facilitates both, i.e., the focusing screen.
Here is an interesting recent article by an Olympus DSLR guy who has presented the case very clearly:-
Manual Focus with AF DSLRs
The article is self-explanatory on the problem found. Indeed, the focusing screen of his Olympus DSLR is not good for Manual Focusing (MF) with fast lenses. From my experience with Pentax DSLRs, I found that my *ist D and DS are quite reliable for MF for *any* lenses, including my very fast short tele-prime FA* 85/1.4 which often fooled me with incorrect focus with their AF.
However, for MF with my K100D, I found that it is not so reliable as my *ist Dx bodies. Maybe it is just the limitation of its viewfinder with a smaller magnification of 0.85X (versus the 0.95X of my *ist Dx), but it maybe also because of the design of the focusing screen is not good for MF with fast lenses, just like the Olympus case illustrated above.
It is known that the focusing screen of the K100D and K10D are newly designed, to make them even brighter, especially for that the K10D’s one has been widely recognised to have metering problems with legacy lenses for stopped-down metering, which causes obvious overexposure. The more one stopped down, the more overexposure will result. Here are some of the related (numerous) discussions on the issue:-
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=21822089
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=22056769
As we follow down the threads, various people do suggest that by replacing the original K10D focusing screen with an *ist DS one, which is of the same size but of a different optical characteristic, can resolve the problem mostly, which makes the K10D to expose correctly regardless of the aperture selected. By doing so, one would usually need to swap back the K10D screen to the *ist DS. But ironically, this would again correct the underexposure problem of the stop-down metering of the *ist DS (and *ist D as well), which it was quite firstly reported by me, in the following full “measurbation” report in my homepage long time ago:-
http://www.geocities.com/ricehigh/FAStar_85_1_4.html
For the exact evidence on this method really works, see this systematic presentation with all the posted pictures, metered and shot with different f-stops:-
So, for a Pentax DSLR user who has both the *ist DS and the K10D whom uses his legacy Pentax lenses on his DSLRs, he can get both cameras for the right exposure. This is what a secret and special gift which Pentax gives us! In all other cases, the exposure will be off, either overexposed or underexposed!
As for the K100D, my limited experience with pre-A lenses on it for stop-down metering is just right for the metering/exposure accuracy.
So, next time when we believe firmly that the MF with the focusing screen through the finder and metering stopped down TTL-ly (Through-The-Lens-ly), then we should think twice if this is really the case or not. The only reason for the errors, if any seen, is simply that the focusing screen is not WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get), it simply lies most of the time afterall. In fact, it is either not designed to do particular jobs and/or off-calibrated actually, especially for the metering inaccuracy case.
September 19, 2009 at 2:27 pm
richardbolai
From DroolingCrow…
Late June I was taking photos at the Pride Parade in Toronto. It was raining prior to the parade, but I was still taking photos in the rain with my K20D and Pentax DA* 16-50mm. After about 2 hours in the rain the camera started showing some small signs of trouble – camera taking at the moment it is turned on, and unresponsive buttons and autofocus. I was frantically drying the camera because the parade would be starting in 30 min. Fortunately for me, just as the rain stopped, the parade started, and my camera suddenly started working again. Too bad I don’t have any photos that showed how wet the camera got or how heavy the rain was.
From Spock
It would have all been fine if the camera performed had flawlessly throughout the shoot, then was dried off and was still as good as new the next day.
Instead, we were told that the camera malfunctioned and while yes, it did appear to work properly later, the question has got to be asked: will there be any permanent damage due to button contacts corroding, mould/fungus damaging the optics, etc.?
Can you imagine the laughs on a Nikon or Canon forum if this story gets out?
September 20, 2009 at 10:55 am
richardbolai
From StudioLighting.net
……….Word from Digital Photography Review is in. The K10D disappoints where it matters most: image quality. While the camera has definitely a lot of strong features – a weather-sealed body and in-camera Shake Reduction to name just a couple – the K10D’s image quality is not as crisp as it should be, considering its supposedly high quality image processing pipeline.
This is not to say that photos taken with the K10D are bad. It’s just that it fails to deliver crisp sharp edges, perhaps because of “a poorly implemented demosaicing algorithm or a strange choice of sharpening parameters,” according to DP Review.
“Pentax may well have been aiming for a smooth film-like appearance but I at least feel that the inability to tweak this out by increasing sharpness is a mistake,” said reviewer Phil Askey. Overall, though, DP Review gave the Pentax K10D a Highly Recommended rating because of its other strong features, but just barely.
So, will I buy the Pentax K10D? No, not today, sir. I say again: cameras are all about taking pictures; if you don’t take good pictures, you’re not a good camera. And that 22-bit jazz makes no difference at all.
September 21, 2009 at 10:17 am
richardbolai
From GG
….. Pentax K10D Focus
Is anyone having focus issues while using a AF 540 Flash? I have my camera on focus that has the dot in the middle ( not auto or select ). The last few family portraits I have shot, have been very blurry. I am focusing on the subject so Im not sure what is causing this. Could it be that I am zooming in a bit with the lens?
Thanks for your help !
September 21, 2009 at 10:48 am
richardbolai
K10D focus problem
Hi,
I bought a K10D a couple of months ago and for the most part, I’m very happy with it.
However, as I have continued to use it, I’ve noticed that on occasions I get a run of three to four shots that are all out of focus. Not just that the focus falls elsewhere in the shot, but that nothing in the shot is in focus, even at high shutter speeds and in good light.
Lumens
From all of the reviews I’ve read, along with people’s comments in this forum, it doesn’t seem to be something that is generally flagged up and having owned other DSLRs in the past, wasn’t something I was expecting.
I’ve noticed that the camera also seems to miss/back focus on a regular basis, particularly with the Sigma 70-300mm I have, where focussing on a subject, say 200 yards away at 300mm will leave the focus point around 20 yards behind the subject, even in good light and with good subject contrast and using the single centre focus point. I realise that the K10d does suffer from front/back focus problems but hadn’t expected it to be to such a degree.
Do I have a faulty camera? I have spoken to the retailer but they have said that they would have to send the camera off for repairs, which could take four weeks; I’m not happy at losing a 2 month old camera for that period of time, particularly when I need it on a daily basis for my photography degree.
Anyone any ideas?
September 21, 2009 at 10:50 am
richardbolai
Chant
Auto focus works fine, but manual focusing, with either autofocus or manual
lenses does not seem to. I’ve tested and the point that is in focus is
sometimes in the right place, sometimes before and sometimes after the
desired position. It seems to be inconsistent, if the focusing screen was
out of position it would be consistent. Any thoughts apart from getting a
split screen? PEntax k20d if that makes any difference. I never had this
problem on my MZ-5n despite lack of split screen on that camera.
September 21, 2009 at 10:58 am
richardbolai
Exposure problem with Pentax K10D
Gagavuz,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I sent this message to “userassistance@pentax.com” and I did not get any respond by now, five days past, even though they claim that they respond to the mails in 48 hours in most instances. I think that this thread can be usefull to some people thinking to buy this camera. “Dear Sir, I live in Turkey and a friend of mine bought a Pentax K10D Camera for me from BH Photo Video Store in New York USA and brought it to Turkey. I could only use my camera within a very limited time, let us say a few days and very few trial shots, just for try and learn experience. Now I have had an exposure problem with my camera. The metering system does not work properly. ݦ I believe in metering, I can get so much overexposed shots. Over exposed about two or three stops. I tried to get back to the default settings thinking if I caused any program problem, but the problem pursues. Otherwise the camera works perfectly. What is this problem? What could couse such a problem. I have got a sales receipt (Invoice) but I do not have an international warranty card. Bhphotovideo sold this product with a one year Pentax limited warranty but my friend did not bring a warranty card to me. There are few Pentax worlwide services in Istanbul but I am not sure if I can utilize these services for free repair without an international warranty card. The invoice date is 28th of December, 2006. I would be most grateful if you can help me with this problem. Thanks a lot in advance,”
September 21, 2009 at 11:16 am
richardbolai
Founder/editor
Digital Photography Now…..
Here’s another problem we have found from a DSLR user pleading for help:
After turning my Pentax K10D on, the LCD status screen flashes ‘F’. It’s stucl like this and the camera is locked on aperture priority despite being set to Programmed exposure mode!
Have you experienced something similar? If you have one, post your solution here
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
It should be made aware that at times the mode in which this camera was set as described above, the conditions did not change. ie, If is was in M mode before then changed to P mode, the camera would shoot in M. It had to be switched off to reset it.
Richard Bolai
September 23, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Anonymous
Editors choice from POPPHOTO.COM
Editor’s Choice 2007: Advanced DSLRs – - PopPhotoJuly/August 2007
Please note Advanced DSLR not Entry Level.
You forgot the most important award…
“Bens’ Choice” Gold Medal or “How I got Shit for Promoting the K10D on Pop Photo” Award….
Now that is a keeper.
September 23, 2009 at 3:39 pm
richardbolai
K10d “Memory Card Error”
g gottman ,
Got my k10d about 8 months ago. About 3 months after I got it, it started giving me error messages concerning writing/reading to memory cards. It gives 3 different error messages, including “The image has not been stored” “Memory Card Error” and another one I cant recall which it shows when trying to read an image.
When I turn it on, it usually works fine for anywhere from 5 to 50 pictures, and then it just stops writing, and gives me error messages. Its gives these errors on all sorts of different memory cards, including ones which have worked for years and ones which were brand new.
Very, very annoying, since I am far from the US, have important jobs coming up, and now need to find a warranty authorized Pentax service center.
Just wanted to share the experience with other k10d users out there.
September 23, 2009 at 3:42 pm
richardbolai
Re: Solved my K10D Back-Focusing Problem
Hi Nols,
My camera was basically backfocusing 1cm on a DOF of 1cm. New adjustment of +140um tested on Sigma 17-70mm and Pentax FA 50mm, AF is now smack bang center on both lenses.
Now I could explain my past blurry photos. “It’s the camera not the photographer”.
I could spend more time testing my other lenses, however, the 1st wife is now jealous on the inordinate amount of time I’ve spent with the 2nd wife. Maybe, next time when she’s not looking.
Alex
September 23, 2009 at 4:05 pm
richardbolai
From digital photographer Philippines
Just wanted to know if anybody else had this problem…
It happened just last night when I was shooting the intermission during the Pyro Olympics when the rear wheel on my K10D stopped working. I tried turning it left and right, but to no avail. I even tried turning off the cam and restarting it but still no go. It finally went back to normal when the cam responded to the rear wheel on the grip(to my relief). -btw, I have no idea though if both rear wheels (body and grip) froze or the body only.
hmmm…
September 23, 2009 at 4:09 pm
richardbolai
Pentax k10d display problem help lol
ok i just got this pentax k10d and on the preview screen nothing shows up like when im trying to take a picture nothing will display, but if i press the button to take the picture it will then display what i took then go right back to black and i can go to settings and everything, just the display of what im trying to take a picture of is not coming up.. is there somthing im doing wrong or a setting thats not right on it or is it broke?
September 23, 2009 at 4:14 pm
richardbolai
Any problems with broken K10D anti-shake switch?
I’ve been browsing a couple Chinese photographics forums and it would appear ther has been several recent cases of K10D anti-shake switch broken clear off.
Any similar reports from European, US, other regions?
September 23, 2009 at 4:20 pm
richardbolai
vizjerei
Pentaxian
mine did break off after the second day I got it
but I superglued it and it works all fine, i keep it on all the time now, except for fireworks shots which it’s on tripot
September 23, 2009 at 4:24 pm
richardbolai
jasonfen
Ok, got my K10D in. Love it so far.
Only problem I am having is with bounce flash. This most likely is an issue with the Sigma but just want to get some input.
Using the onboard flash or the Sigma pointed forward, it exposes fine. A tad underexposed than my 350D with 430EX, but I can bump up the flash a tad and it is fine.
However, if I point the flash strait up, it is way underexposed. Probably a good 2-3 stops. Now here is the odd part. If I bump the flash power on the camera to +1 AND bump the flash itself to +1, the resulting image is almost black. It barely fires the flash. The only way to get it to expose correctly is to slow the shutter way down or set the flash power manually.
I shoot in M mode, but tried the others as well. Also I’m using a Sigma 18-50 2.8. It seems to read the focal range correctly. It shows 70mm when the lens is at 50mm which accounts for the sensor size I assume.
This is a brand new 530DG Super so it should work fine with the K10D. I also flashed the camera to 1.30 firmware with no change.
Bad flash? I really don’t want to spend the higher premium for the Pentax flash, but this is a show stopper right now.
–
Watch what happens when I do this.
SandShark
Man, what a bummer. You must really be disappointed, especially since you switched to Pentax so you could shoot in available light and not have to use flash, and especially since you were perfectly happy with the camera/flash performance of your Canon gear. It almost seems as if you’ve taken a step backwards.
If our resident Pentaxians can’t provide the answers you’re looking for, perhaps the Pentaxians at PentaxForums can. Also, check out the Pentax forum at DPReview, too. I hope the issue gets resolved to your satisfaction. Good luck!
September 23, 2009 at 4:50 pm
richardbolai
I took my K10D back!
I have owned Pentax equipment starting with my K1000. I have been happy with my ist DL, but the K10 D was out of focus on 30-40% of my photos. I went over the manual and tried to make the thing shoot better but there was something very wrong with the camera. The focus would confirm that the subject was in focus when clearly it was out of focus. Then even when the shot looked good to me when I reviewed it on the computer they almost had a motion blur to them…My wife walked by the computer and said those just don’t look as sharp as your other photos. I knew I wasn’t just seeing things. I did test shots with the same lens (135mm fa 2.8),(18-55mm) on the ist DL and the K10D the DL had better detail. I called Pentax no solution for the problem. Take it from a guy who had the K10D for 9 days don’t let someone talk you into keeping a faulty camera. I love Pentax but they don’t know me nor do they really care that I am have used their product for 20 years. The camera should function as you want it to if you get poor detail on a 10mp camera why would you have bought a 10mp to start with? I wanted detail, I needed fast clear focusing, I didn’t need a camera that was confused with what was in focus and what wasn’t. I traded the K10D out for the Nikon D80, and the D80 for $93.00 more did an awsome job. I was happy with the 18-135mm it came with and it is able to focus in very low light. I won’t sit and rave about the D80 vs the K10D and I understand I do have to invest in Nikon equipment, but there is no way I could have lived with the K10D. Remember it’s your money $1,000 for less detail than my ist DL ? I tried to figure out what caused the K10D issue of poor focus and with no true evidence began to think it is the SR system. When looking at alot of the photos I saw that nothing in several of the shots was in focus and looked like camera shake/motion blur. Why do I think it’s the SR system? Well I think because the sensor floats it sometimes is not locked down and causes a slight blur. Just my thoughts on the K10D and I hope Pentax would go back to their roots a little rather than trying to be like the other camera mfg. How many of us would love a K1000 with digital back!
September 23, 2009 at 4:54 pm
richardbolai
Last week I asked whether my K10d focus problem was the camera or the lens (http://forums.dpreview.com/…forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=32111510). Thanks to those who responded.
Over the weekend I ran a test and got some strange results.
I went to a store, mounted my K10 on a tripod, manually selected a focus point (with detail to focus on), plugged in a cable release and took a sequence of identical shots with 4 lenses: the 18-55 kit lens; my 24-135 Sigma; a Sigma 17-70 (newer and supposedly very sharp); and a Pentax 17-70.
I took 4 such sequences and all but the kit lens focused incorrectly every time! Every other lens was soft on the area I focused on (some were sharp on other objects, others I didn’t find anything sharp).
When I described this to Pentax Support, he said it could be a sensor problem. When I spoke to an authorized Pentax Canada service shop, he said it sounds like a software problem. No one can explain why the kit lens focuses properly.
Anyone ever see anything like this? Any ideas?
Or have we all just been misled all our lives by corrupt marketers: in fact, cheap lenses are much sharper than more expensive lenses? I wouldn’t mind that outcome so much!
Thanks
PS. While I’m at it, I know the K10d had a way to tweak lenses for front/back focus. But I hear that was removed from more recent firmware. Does anyone know if the K10 will let me downgrade to earlier FW? The Pentax guy said it won’t.
September 23, 2009 at 5:35 pm
richardbolai
Focus conundrum
La Poder
Good evening/morning/afternoon etc
I’ve know about front focus and I know about back focus but today I came across a first.
A new lens I’ve been testing with a focus chart appears to focus fine in the centre and right but front focuses on the left…
I took a few shots of text from a book (at the same 45 degree angle) and indeed the area of focus shows the same thing. Front focus on the left and a very slight back focus on the right. It looks like the plane of focus has been on the beers if you know what I mean…
Now, I’m fairly certain this isn’t the camera (K10d) as I have tested all my lenses and this is the first time I’ve seen this.
Is there anyway this can be corrected or do I have to just grin and bear it? Has anyone else had this kind of problem before? Is it normal? What’s the capital city of Ghana? Who shot JFK? etc etc
Thanks for any advice anyone can offer as I am feeling a little perplexed.
My Experience with K10D AF Adjustment
Hey dtsui!
Just wanted to confirm what you found out.
I recently purchased the DA*16-50, took it out for a walk, and when I got home I was horrified! SOO many out-of-focus images…
So I did my homework…
I got the test chart thing and tested for BF – obvious there was a lot.
Put the …uhhm.. “revised” version of 1.10 firmware, then loaded the official 1.10 on top of it.
Enabled Debug meniu, put the focus at +100um
Tested camera – much better now…
Put the 1.30 back.
Results are ok, altough I am terribly dissapointed with my 16-50 DA*…
Tested with the kit lens 18-55 also – no back focus after adjustment, but I don
t know if I had it before, never thought of it until I got the 16-50…
Now my question is, did the new DA* lens only revealed a camera issue, or is it also a lens issue? Anyone knows?
Thanks
caciulitza
Bucharest, Romania
dtsui
I want to share my experience with AF problems with my K10D and how I finally overcame it, fingers crossed.
My K10D was plagued with a BF problem right from day one but I essentially put up with it thinking that it was all my own imagination. After several months I finally sent it to CR Kennedy in Australia and asked for service. I sent the body and a Sigma 17-70mm and specifically instructed them to test and service the body/lens as a whole. Instead they have only adjusted the body together with their gold standard FA 50mm f/1.4.
After the service I was very disappointed to find out the camera still BF with my Sigma 17-70mm. I thought to myself, may be my Sigma is out of cal. So I went and did more tests with my FA 35mm f2 and DA 50-200mm, and to my surprise they all consistently BF. After another couple of months mulling over the problem I finally took the plunge and rolled back the firmware to a hacked version of 1.10 and adjusted the focus myself using the debug mode, putting in an additional +60um to the +30um that was already put in apparently by Pentax service.
I am happy to report that AF is now much more accurate and behaving much more consistently across lenses, focal lengths and subject distances (not sure about f/stops yet). One thing I need to confirm later is whether this affects AF under low level incandescent lighting due to the fact that I peformed the adjustment under cloudy daylight. Previously AF was okay under incandescent lighting but BF strongly under bluish daylight (cloudy/shade), contrary to the experience of some people.
I hope this will encourage people to take matters into their own hands if you are getting nowhere with Pentax service. I think there is little harm to try the hack provided you know what you are doing. If it does not work, just put it back to what it was.
David
October 13, 2009 at 10:08 am
richardbolai
Bob Stevenson for Photonet
Quite frankly, if the camera is operating properly it would be better to forget the washer,…just keep it in a safe place until you can find out more info or the camera stops working…..
K10 is an obsolete camera and in a couple of years time will be more or less worthless junk. You need to get the full use out while it’s in your hand because these are disposable items now.
October 13, 2009 at 11:14 am
richardbolai
MF lens:
Gents,
My over-used Pentax K100D is still functioning well after 60,000+ clicks, but it has developed a problem. The viewfinder coating is bad on the outside, and scratched (I must have sandpaper eyeballs ?), and it looks like there is condensation and dirt on the inside of the viewfinder as well, or on the part of the prism near it, or perhaps the diopter lens.
I have checked the focusing screen and the dirt isn’t there.
Still functional, but the viewfinder on this was small and dark to begin with, and its worse now.
I can’t see any obvious way to disassemble just the viewfinder. I would also consider replacing the whole viewfinder asembly if necessary.
Any idea about where to get Pentax service manuals or parts for K100D ?
It sounds as though Pentax don’t want to let us deal with problems easily! My K100D eyepiece is actually a little loose, it ‘wobbles’ when you change the diopter setting, which hardly promises for a good seal. I tend to use it on the house and garden for close-ups, so it leads a fairly sheltered life, unlike yours which obviously gets plenty to do! Maybe you’ll need to send it to a Pentax service station?
I bought my K10D secondhand, and its done about 10,000 clicks, and the viewfinder is quite messy to look through. But it’s all screen dirt, so at the worst I can fix it with a new screen
May 25, 2011 at 10:16 am
a2managey6
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October 19, 2011 at 4:58 am
Anonymous
fuck
k10d