I use the back AF button and leave the shutter button for tripping the shutter.
The camera stays in AF-C all of the time. When the camera is focused on what I
want to focus on, I take my thumb off the AF button and it stops there.

It did take a little while learning to do it that way.

According to Google, there are two modes - AF-C (continuous). AS long as you're
holding the AF button[1] the camera will continuously focus. Good for a moving
subject.

AF-S (Single) focuses once. To change the focus, you have to release your AF
button and press it again.

Some cameras have a mode called AF-A where the CAMERA switches between AF-C &
AF-S based on whether it thinks your subject is stationary or moving.

I've never seen AF-A like that on a Pentax camera ... but I haven't looked for
it either.

[1]AF button means whatever you have the camera set up to cause it to focus.

On 2/24/2021 22:26:03, Larry Colen wrote:

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Science - Questions we may never find answers for.
Religion - Answers we must never question.

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Science - Questions we may never find answers for.
Religion - Answers we must never question.

Unless you're half blind like I am and can't get a good manual focus.

On 2/25/2021 00:54:48, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:

--
Science - Questions we may never find answers for.
Religion - Answers we must never question.

In the case of when I cannot see well enough to focus, I just set a distance by scale and get perfect focus. Of course, this doesn't work if you have lenses that have no focusing scale, but I tend to avoid lenses like that.

G

This is pretty  much what I’ve been doing, but I don’t like to assume that just because something seems to work for me that it is the best way.

I have learned that stock focusing screens in 2020 don’t work nearly as well for manual focus as focusing screens did 20-40 years ago.  Unfortunately, my eyes also don’t work nearly as well for manual focusing as they did 20 years ago.  There are times that manual focusing works better than automatic, such as when a bird is hiding in branches. Unfortunately my 50-500 does not have quickshift focusing and I need to change modes on both the camera body and the lens in order for it to work.

I have also noticed that the K-1 is much better at focusing on what’s under the focusing point than the K-3 which will pretty much focus on any sharp edge in the same general zip code as what is under the focusing point.  My hope was that maybe the AF-C would be better at detecting the person/bird/flower than the microphone/tree branch/paneling on the wall on the other side of the room.

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Larry Colen
lrc@red4est.com

When I had the Pentax *ist DS and K10D bodies, I replaced the poor quality standard focusing screens with ones that worked well. This is actually the exact same thing I did with focusing screens in some of my SLR camera bodies from 20-50 years ago.

In fact, I was finding that focusing my Hasselblad 500CM was difficult and inconsistent when I used the CFVII 50c digital back with it, although it seemed focus well when I was using it with a film back. I found that Hasselblad has issued a new focusing screen for these 50 year old bodies that has the markings and an improved surface for use with their digital backs … I bought one, installed it, and it is now easy and consistent to focus perfectly with the digital back as well as the film back.

Some ideas remain the same regardless. In an SLR, the quality of the focusing screen is key … and in most cases, it can be improved for not a lot of money. The general purpose focusing screen that is usually fitted in many SLR and DSLR cameras, whether AF or not, is quite often not the best for good, consistent focusing use … and it seems it's nearly always been that way.

G

When I had the Pentax *ist DS and K10D bodies, I replaced the poor quality standard focusing screens with ones that worked well. This is actually the exact same thing I did with focusing screens in some of my SLR camera bodies from 20-50 years ago.

In fact, I was finding that focusing my Hasselblad 500CM was difficult and inconsistent when I used the CFVII 50c digital back with it, although it seemed focus well when I was using it with a film back. I found that Hasselblad has issued a new focusing screen for these 50 year old bodies that has the markings and an improved surface for use with their digital backs … I bought one, installed it, and it is now easy and consistent to focus perfectly with the digital back as well as the film back.

Some ideas remain the same regardless. In an SLR, the quality of the focusing screen is key … and in most cases, it can be improved for not a lot of money. The general purpose focusing screen that is usually fitted in many SLR and DSLR cameras, whether AF or not, is quite often not the best for good, consistent focusing use … and it seems it's nearly always been that way.

G

I use a single focus point in the center and AF-S. I focus and keep
the button half pressed and compose the shot.
Manual focus only if the model is posing in the bushes and with macro.

On Thu, 25 Feb 2021 at 04:26, Larry Colen lrc@red4est.com wrote:

I long ago decided that AF stands for Almost Focused.

My usual practice is to use AF-S, back-button focusing, center spot. I center my subject, let the camera do its AF thing, and then I swing the camera to my intended composition and use the Quick-Shift manual focus to make any adjustments. I love my 77/1.8 Limited, but when I put that lens on, and other more primitive lenses like it without Quick Shift, I go to purely manual focus. Side note, I was quite disappointed to see that the new release of a 77/1.8 apparently does not have the Quick Shift upgrade so I will stick with my old one.

Stan

Although Pentax autofocus is lacking in speed and tracking ability, it is very accurate if single point is used without recomposing . For that reason I always use the shutter button to focus and rarely recompose.  With the K-1 I almost always have enough pixels to allow altering of the composition by cropping. I do try to pre-position my focus point to maximize picture area.

Paul