K10D off focus, looking for advice

Hello,

I have since a while ago noticed that the AF of my K10D is off, with various levels of back focus (sharp behind the intended point of focus), especially noticable in portraits. Some lenses more than others, with the worst beeing the DA12-24 I think (not much of a portrait lens but there are other issues in landscape photography that applies), but always BF, which suggest to me that it is the body rather than the lenses (?). I think this has developed over time.

I ran a quick test with a focus chart in daylight at maximum apertures and the chart at minimum focusing distance and 45 degrees angle (both approximately). Centre point aligned exactly over the black line. Lenses tested were FA77, DA12-24, DA40, DA21, Sigma 17-70 2.8-4.5

Have you clever guys some advice to give?

Cheers,
E

--
Swede in Scottish exile

You can choose to send your K10D and lenses to be adjusted to Pentax,

or you can try to get into the debug menu and adjust for yourself. There is possibility for one setting for all of your lenses - so you have to be contented with an average.

I did the settings for myself when I had the K10D - so I can confirm it works.

Here is a link to a thread where you can find all what you need (both infos and files). Sorry I cant be more specific* and you will have to go through the posts to find the specific one (or two). If you decide to do the firmware downgrade and focus adjust described and you don't find the specific firmware files (I don't know if they are accessible on the sites described in the posts) - you can drop me a mail, I have them.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=26038180

E D I T:
*i think the solution is in the second post

There was a way to do the focus-adjust with some kind of software and cable connection to a PC, but I don't know how - since my usb connector was damaged from the first week - so I didn't bother to read. You can search the forum for "focus adjust K10D"

good luck!

--
Bela Nagy
http://www.speopixel.hu
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/belanagy

Thanks!
e

nbela said:

You can choose to send your K10D and lenses to be adjusted to Pentax,

or you can try to get into the debug menu and adjust for yourself. There is possibility for one setting for all of your lenses - so you have to be contented with an average.

I did the settings for myself when I had the K10D - so I can confirm it works.

Here is a link to a thread where you can find all what you need (both infos and files). Sorry I cant be more specific* and you will have to go through the posts to find the specific one (or two). If you decide to do the firmware downgrade and focus adjust described and you don't find the specific firmware files (I don't know if they are accessible on the sites described in the posts) - you can drop me a mail, I have them.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=26038180

E D I T:
*i think the solution is in the second post

There was a way to do the focus-adjust with some kind of software and cable connection to a PC, but I don't know how - since my usb connector was damaged from the first week - so I didn't bother to read. You can search the forum for "focus adjust K10D"

good luck!

--
Bela Nagy
http://www.speopixel.hu
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/belanagy

Click to expand...

--
Swede in Scottish exile

Strongly suggest you DO NOT mess around downgrading firmware etc as described in the link given by the poster above. It does work but there is a much easier and safer solution to get to the AF adjust menu, as described fully here:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=32676684

(read through the whole thread - there are a few useful hints & tips on later pages)

This 'modset.txt' method was discovered some time after the firmware downgrade and 'Russian hack' methods which is probably why some are still not aware of it. It avoids the risk of (a) a firmware change going wrong or (b) trusting 'hack' software!

Made a big difference on my K10D.

nbela said:

If you decide to do the firmware downgrade and focus adjust described and you don't find the specific firmware files (I don't know if they are accessible on the sites described in the posts) - you can drop me a mail, I have them.

Click to expand...

There is no need to downgrade your firmware, or to use the USB cable. All you need is a text file saved onto a normal SD card.

see: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=32676684

I adjusted my K10d firmware 1.3 successfully this way. The command inside the text file needs to be followed with a new line, and the text file needs to have "UTF-8" encoding, not "ANSI" (this should be a saving option in your text editor).

The adjustment I made was quite large, at +100, but fortunately worked equally well for all my lenses - so I know it was purely camera alignment. Well autofocused images appear out-of-focus in the viewfinder; direct manual focusing was already not feasible, that has not changed. But the AF works OK in terms of the result, and focus confirmation light / focus trap also work OK when manual focusing - since these also benefit from the same AF adjustments.

My K10d has since been largely relegated to a cupboard, by the arrival of my K-5. But adjusting the K10d's AF did buy me several months of use, during which the K-5 was not only released but then had a chance to drop in price - and I saved up a further appreciable part of the K-5's cost by NOT sending the K10d to Pentax for adjustment!

RP

Aha, even better! I saw the other thread as well, seems the way to go.

So, which way does the + and - adjustments go? Any advice on numbers, i.e. your +100 adjustment, what does it mean in real terms, for example, mm for a certain lens?

cheers,
E

richardplondon said:

nbela said:

If you decide to do the firmware downgrade and focus adjust described and you don't find the specific firmware files (I don't know if they are accessible on the sites described in the posts) - you can drop me a mail, I have them.

Click to expand...

There is no need to downgrade your firmware, or to use the USB cable. All you need is a text file saved onto a normal SD card.

see: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=32676684

I adjusted my K10d firmware 1.3 successfully this way. The command inside the text file needs to be followed with a new line, and the text file needs to have "UTF-8" encoding, not "ANSI" (this should be a saving option in your text editor).

The adjustment I made was quite large, at +100, but fortunately worked equally well for all my lenses - so I know it was purely camera alignment. Well autofocused images appear out-of-focus in the viewfinder; direct manual focusing was already not feasible, that has not changed. But the AF works OK in terms of the result, and focus confirmation light / focus trap also work OK when manual focusing - since these also benefit from the same AF adjustments.

My K10d has since been largely relegated to a cupboard, by the arrival of my K-5. But adjusting the K10d's AF did buy me several months of use, during which the K-5 was not only released but then had a chance to drop in price - and I saved up a further appreciable part of the K-5's cost by NOT sending the K10d to Pentax for adjustment!

RP

Click to expand...

--
Swede in Scottish exile

--
Bela Nagy
http://www.speopixel.hu
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/belanagy

I used the debug menu. I had to adjust 140 to the right. Now it works great! I had the luck that all my lenses had the same backfocus. If that is not the case, you can leave the debug mode on and remember the settings for each lens. Then you can change the settings when you change the lens.

I did personally use the Mod Text fix to set my AF.

Like yours, my K10D had some slight backfocusing. It is perfect today ( see my other post with pics).

The positive sign is for backfocusing ( I.e : dial in a positive figure if your K10D is backfocusing). As to how much, you are the only who can tell. It takes a few trys to get it right.

Regardsing your test shots, be aware that they are meaningless if you haven't properly taken care of the 45° angle. Instead of putting the test chart on a table put it at a 45° angles ( with a support you can make) and shoot with the camera leveled.

--
Younes ( Paris, FR)
K100D,K10D,D40 + lenses

Thanks!

Yes, making a 45 degree stand might be easier than tilting the camera exactly, I'll try that.

cheers,
E

Younes said:

I did personally use the Mod Text fix to set my AF.

Like yours, my K10D had some slight backfocusing. It is perfect today ( see my other post with pics).

The positive sign is for backfocusing ( I.e : dial in a positive figure if your K10D is backfocusing). As to how much, you are the only who can tell. It takes a few trys to get it right.

Regardsing your test shots, be aware that they are meaningless if you haven't properly taken care of the 45° angle. Instead of putting the test chart on a table put it at a 45° angles ( with a support you can make) and shoot with the camera leveled.

--
Younes ( Paris, FR)
K100D,K10D,D40 + lenses

Click to expand...

--
Swede in Scottish exile

Hi Robert,

I'm sorry to hear that about your K10D. . . It happened to mine about two years into my ownership of it and I thought I was just making novice mistakes at first, not getting the focus right, and then it became very apparent to me when I was taking a loooooonnnnnggg landscape panorama--I had locked the focus and exposure, it was on a solid manfrotto tripod and I moved the camera to each new position and made sure it was still before I took each successive shot. Surprisingly, when I looked at each of the pictures individually, some were tack sharp, as the view had looked through the viewfinder when I focused the camera, but some were so OOF that it looked as if I had actually put the lens completely OOF before taking the shot. That was when I KNEW it wasn't "just me."

I called Pentax CO and they repaired the AF (I think they replaced it actually) because after that the focus was better and easier than it ever had been, much more like my now-K20D works. So you may just want to give whatever Pentax repair shop is closest to you and ask what they think. From what I have read, this is not uncommon for the K10D, but it is VERY frustrating, isn't it?

I hope it's resolved for you quickly and easily. . . Best wishes, Cindy
--
My PPG-- http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/cynthiafarr-weinfeld
http://www.cindysphotoquest.blogspot.com
My photo sites: http://www.cfwphotography.com
and
http://www.cfwphotography.smugmug.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cfwphotography/