On Sat, 17 Mar 2001, William Robb wrote:
> Chris, you might have a better handle on this than most, what
> cameras have better AF than the Pentax MZ series (that would be
> excluding the MZ-S) in the same price point as the Pentax?
> William Robb
On Sat, 17 Mar 2001, William Robb wrote:
> Chris, you might have a better handle on this than most, what
> cameras have better AF than the Pentax MZ series (that would be
> excluding the MZ-S) in the same price point as the Pentax?
> William Robb
Well, it depends. :) Let's break it down.
AF SPEED
When focusing on a nice contrasty subject, the MZ series is definitely one
of the best. Obviously this depends on the lens, too, so for the sake of
argument I'm talking about the standard 28-80 (Canon has a 28-90) zoom
that's offered in a kit with each camera because (1) it's the lens that
the *vast* majority of people buy with these cameras, and (2) I've handled
these lenses a lot more than, say, a 50mm from each manufacturer. Ok, on
to the sweeping generalizations. Canon's Rebel series is slow. Unless
you get the USM lenses, they're noticeably slower than the
MZ's. Minolta's STsi and XTsi aren't much better. Nikon's F65 and F80
are actually quite good in terms of speed, either on a par with or
slightly below Pentax. A lot of customers comment on how the MZ's seem to
"snap" into focus quickly.
AF HUNTING
The MZ series seems to hunt a fair bit when the subject is not very
contrasty or is in dim light. I can't speak too much for the other brands
when it comes to this, but I remember hating the entry-level Minolta that
I borrowed a year or so ago because it wouldn't focus at all in light
where my MZ-5n would. I imagine Nikon and Canon are pretty similar to
Pentax in this respect. Sometimes the MZ's will lock on right away, but
if they don't, then they either whip back and forth hunting, or move in
frustratingly small and jerky increments until they find something to
focus on, which can take a *long* time. Canon's Rebel's seem to do pretty
good here.
AF POINTS
The MZ's work on a three-point system, but only the MZ-5n and MZ-3 let you
select one particular point, and that's only the center one. Canon's
Rebels are better at this. Their standard Rebel G has three selectable
points, while their Rebel 2000 has (I think) seven. Nikon put selectable
AF points into even their bottom-level F65 (five, I think), and their F80
has five as well, which you can select via a F100-style
thumbwheel. Nice! For me, it's not the number of points that's
important; it's the ability to select at least one point. One of the
biggest drawbacks of the MZ-7 is that it lacks at least one
manually-selected focus point. This is one place where Pentax sucks.
AF MODES
Pentax doesn't do so great here. You have a choice of manual or
single-shot AF, but that's it. None of the MZ's has any sort of servo AF,
unless you want to count continuous shooting as servo AF, which it isn't
really. Nikon's F65 offers an automatic servo mode (you can't select it,
but it is there for the camera to use when it senses movement from the
subject). Their F80 lets you select servo AF. Canon's Rebels will go
into servo (continuous) AF if they detect movement, as will Minolta's HTsi
and XTsi. I believe that Canon's sports mode will use servo AF all the
time, though I'm not sure about other manufacturers. Minolta also offers
eye-start focus on their XTsi, though that's more of a gimmick than
anything else, IMO (like the MZ-7's blinking lights). :) So Pentax is
definitely lagging behind in not offering servo AF, even if it's just
selectable by the camera, not the user.
AF NOISE
This is another area where Pentax is in last place. Canon's Rebels are
extremely quiet, even with non-USM lenses. Nikon's F65 and F80 are
relatively quiet, too, as are Minolta's STsi and XTsi, though the Minoltas
are a bit noisier than the Nikons and Canons. The MZ's, however, are
painful to listen to in a quiet room. They're not bad when they can lock
onto a subject, but if they hunt at all, they do so loudly. It's like
there's no dampening at all... you can hear the motor working loud and
clear, as well as the sound of the focusing ring smashing against its end
points. Ouch.
So Pentax's MZ's aren't that bad in terms of AF performance, but overall
I'd say that they're behind Canon and Nikon's models just because they
don't have a selectable AF point (unless you go for the MZ-5n or 3) and
they're bloody loud. Apart from that, most people who are buying
entry-level cameras don't seem to care too much about the AF either way,
so it's not a big deal.
chris
-
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 .
