----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Reese" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
IMO, both the Pentax and Canon autofocus systems (and presumably Nikon and
Minolta) have enough mutual problems that the noise of the Pentax system
is
a minor issue. Neither system does well when the frame has various objects
at varying distances (they frequently focus on the wrong object) and
neither
system does well when the subject takes up a relatively small portion of
the
frame. Neither system is precise enough for critical work.
Christian's skimmer pictures worked as well as they did because the
skimmer
loomed large in the frame, there weren't any other elements in the frame
to
confuse the autofocus system and there was a lot of contrast between the
bird and the background. I believe that the Pentax system would have
gotten
those shots too.
Another secret: The birds were actually small in the frame. I cropped
probably 50%; too much for my liking, but they were sharp and interesting
and I wanted to share them with the group. And honestly, I have no
comparison with birds-in-flight-shots between Canon and Pentax AF systems
because with Pentax I was still in the "old-school" style of manual focusing
everything, even action. As a photographer, I am still learning. Every day
is something new. I'm begining to "trust" the continuous AF of the 20D to
track the birds for example. I never "trusted" the Pentax system, well,
because I never used it.
Christian
