Skip said: I don't understand what you're saying here Ed, about the ZX-5n. Isn't locking on a subject and staying focused with it exactly what is supposed to happen in the Spot Focus mode? My comments: What I meant was that the camera has no continuous focus mode, so it tends to lock on to subjects and remain focused at that point, rather than follow them. It's supposed to follow moving subjects, using "predictive AF", but you can't depend on that happening all the time. It depends on the subject, and how fast it's moving. You have no control over "predictive AF", it's up to the camera to decide whether to kick it in or not. Skip said: And what happens then when you switch over to the Six Segment AF mode? And what do you mean by "no continuous focus mode"? Doesn't this camera have something called Predictive AF, which is supposed to be one step ahead of a moving object[s] in order to keep in focus?? My comments: I explained precdictive AF above. You have no control over it, and it works sometimes and sometimes not. I find it works less often than not. And there is no such thing as "six-segment AF mode". I don't know where you ever head of that, but I can assure you - the ZX5N has nothing like it. Skip said: Can you please explain more? Are you using all of the AF modes, or maybe just sticking with one? Or does this camera simply not really do what's claimed for it? My comments: The ZX5N has no user controlable AF modes. It simply tries to achieve focus and lock at that point, or it makes up it's own mind that a subject is moving and tries to follow it by itself. The only aspect controlable by the user is whether you choose to use just the center AF bracket, or all three at once in the viewfinder, in which case the camera again makes up it's own mind about which one to use to achieve focus Skip said: Plus, if you look at the Pentax AF codes, the PZ1[p] uses something called Safox 1, while the ZX-5n uses Safox IV. Are you saying Pentax's AF systems have gotten worse as they've updated them??? My comments: Over the years, of the many people that have owned both cameras, many people have said the the PZ1P AF seems better to them. Others say the ZX5N AF is better. I don't know which is better. But, what you can be assured of is this: 1. The difference is probably not that great, or there would be no arguing about which is better. 2. The PZ1P has a "stronger" AF motor. 3. The PZ1P has a continuous AF mode that the ZX5N does not have, allowing it to keep changing it's focus with a moving subject. So that's why I said what I did. Ultimately, for moving subjects, the best Pentax camera is the MS-S in continuous focus mode. But if you can't afford that, then the PZ1P might be a better choice than the ZX5N because although it's AF system is outdated, at least it has a continuous AF mode that no other current Pentax has. Thanks, Ed - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
