Focus noise and time

[fisheye4]

I was just playing with a Canon 5d and some Nikons in the store the other day and noticed that the focusing is super fast and really quiet (compaired to my K100d). Does the K10 operate like the Canon or Nikon or is it slower and noisy as well? I know it has to do with the focusing mechanism in Pentax, is this something that will be updated in the future? And will older lenses work on them if they do update it?

Thanks

[Lyrics51]

My son has a Nikon and it is very quiet and quick. However he uses mostly prime lenses that let in more light and therefore focus faster. I was willing to give up that speed and quietness for only one reason; price!I have the DL and it is relatively noisey compared to the Nikon,however I do tend to use manual focus a lot!

Glenn

[mtngal]

I'm going to make a guess about the Can*n and Nik*n lens/camerasthat you were playing with - both were using lenses that use in-lens focusing motors, not the in-camera ones. Way back when I was first looking at cameras, I didn't think there was all that much difference as far as sound until you started using their SDM (not sure that's what the other brands call them) lenses.

The Pentax K10 and K100 Super (not the older K100 which I have) support Pentax's new lenses that have the focus motor in the lens, instead of in-camera. There are only two of them at the moment, but I understand that it will be a standard feature of the DA* lenses.

It is incredible how quiet the K10 is with the DA*50-135 - I sometimes have to look for the light in the viewfinder to make sure it really has focused (i.e., I don't have the camera on manual focus). It's almost painful to put that lens on the K100, which will AF the lens, but using the old, loud,in-camera motor.With the K10, that lensis a pleasure to use everywhere, including in a library reading room!

Just my opinion, but I don't think the lens focuses any faster with the K10 using the SDM mechanism than it does with the K100, but others feel that it does. It is so smooth it seems quicker, but I'm not convinced that it is.

So far Pentax seems to be doing their usual backward compatibility - the K10 and K100 Super support both the in-lens and the in-camera focus mechanisms. And the older K100 can still use the new lenses, even though it doesn't support SDM (they work like any FA lens).

[fisheye4]

Yeah, both of them were the in lens focus type, and since I haven't been able to play with a K10 with the DA* lenses on it, I didn't know it existed yet for pentax, but that's good to know it does. I just couldn't believe my eyes and ears.

Thanks

[robar]

another thing to think about is C* & N* IS lenses. to get IS with their lenses you have to pay for it in EVERY lens you purchase. ALL lenses on the k100, k100 super and k10 are stabilized, even that 40year old 200mm screw mount lens.

roy