SDM Problems...

The other day i was cleaning the contacts (body and lens) , there were no effect and they were very dirty. It seems as the more wide you get on the lens the bigger problems.Earlier this week i was testing my 16-50 in very low light indoors and it was

perfect !! like a miracle!! Same test today in good light indoors, and with problems again, specially at 16 mm and distant focus. Tried my DA 14 same problem.

I always use the center af point.Sometimes you press the shutterbutton it locks af Ok

and if you press the button again its impossible to lock focus on the same object and you dont even move the camera.(K20d latest firmware) It seem to me the problem is with the camera firmware.
I have 5d with some pro level Usm, no problem.
I have D1x with pro Hsm, no problem.
Kodak DCS 14n no problem.
Sigma Sd14 Hsm no problem.
Fuji S2 no problem.
Why do i still love my Pentax most ???
--
Bluehouse

The firmware is my primary suspect also; but only because I think something in the lens changes over time (something to do with the quick-shift clutch) and the firmware can't deal with the inputs it's getting back from the lens on AF performance. Perhaps in the AF feedback loop there is a mix of sensors responding off scale high & low and this situation isn't handled well in code.

I was hoping there would be different behaviors between the K10D's 1.03 and the K20D's 1.3, but nope; I think the '3' indicates the same generation of AF SDM signaling (among other things).

I really hope Pentax responds. I'll give them a call next week and see what kind of action I get. If it is a firmware issue perhaps they just aren't getting significant user reports to look into it. If it's a known lens problem I'd like to get it replaced now, so I can get few thousand more shots off while there is still warranty.

--
Noel.

http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?
id=545970

http://twitter.com/afterexposure

The option to choose screw or SDM might be nice.

I'm not mad so much as disappointed. I rushed this purchase because the prices (at the time) doubled.

Now the prices have retreated somewhat and I have a bum lens (or as I mentioned in the other post, maybe bum firmware...).

I'll watch user reports for the interaction of SDM on the K-7 body, and see if previously dead SDM's work on it.... that will tell us if it's a firmware issue or not.

Then maybe I'll consider an upgrade (actually, buying a K-7 to fix the Kx0D's I have... that thought makes me mad...)

I think I'm done buying Pentax for now....

... what a sad way to cure LBA ...

--
Noel.

http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?
id=545970

http://twitter.com/afterexposure

You are happy user of K10D which is the best camera for survive with the awsome SDM. Screw drive is great on K10!
--
S.Z.

**** eduard said:

I know it has to work fine but if the firmware did not block the AF
screwdriver you have allways AF and may be cured the SDM at the same
time. You can keep on taken pics and may be after a few
srewdriver-AF's the SDM has taken over. Let's hope Pentax see this
and the K7-firmware has this cheap and easy back-up and less
irritating and missing pics.

****

Click to expand...

**** I sent Ned Bunnell an e-mail regarding this very issue (firmware update / SDM vs screw-drive), very diplomatically worded of course, using the e-mail address you had provided. (I also tried the address provided by Pentax service themselves, "www.pentaximaging.com", which NEVER worked and always gave me an "error" message when I tried to send- nice going Pentax, is that how you cut down on customer complaints?!!!) I e-mailed him several weeks ago now and never received a reply...

**** eduard said:

to choose between screwdriver-AF and SDM. Then there is allways AF.
If the K&d has, then they have listened and I have hope for an
firmware-update for the K20d. In my view it will be a strong point
to use the possibilities the lens and body have.

Click to expand...

I hope so too, but I suspect that Pentax won't do it. To implement this would be implicitly to admit that there are problems with SDM. Most likely we will just continue to get silence from Pentax, just like with VPN on the K10D.

Joe