Eric, I think John nailed the problem. You have your options set such that the camera will not fire if [something] is not in focus. I don’t remember the K-5 setup, but on the K-3 and other cameras since then there is a choice for AF1 or AF2 under Button Customization. AF1 is the “normal” approach: AF is engaged if you depress the shutter half-way or if you press the AF button on the back. AF2 is for we fans of “back button focusing.” If you choose this setting, only the AF button on the back engages AF.
So, if you set your AF mode to AF-C, choose AF2 in the Customization menu, and choose shutter priority rather than focus priority, you can shoot as follows: 1. Press the AF button, 2. Wait until the camera is focused on the spot of your choice. 3. Recompose as you choose. 4. Fire away. If the subject is moving, keep your thumb on the AF button, track along, and fire whenever the mood strikes you. Note, if the subject is still, keep your thumb away from the AF button unless and until you want to choose a new focus point. stan > On Oct 4, 2016, at 9:42 PM, John <[email protected]> wrote: > > On 10/4/2016 7:58 PM, Eric Weir wrote: >> Shooting a cross country meet this evening there were numerous >> instances in which the shutter did not fire or firing was delayed >> when I pressed the shutter release button. >> >> My camera is a k-5. I was using the 4-5.6/50-200 lens. On some of the >> occasions I experienced the problem, maybe all of them, I had a >> polarizing filter on the lens. Many of the situations were likely >> underexposed. I assume exposure settings should not affect whether >> the shutter fires or not. The battery indicator indicated about a >> half-charge. I changed batteries anyway, and for a moment that seemed >> to make a difference, but only for a moment. >> >> I checked through the menu after the meet to see if there was >> something I might have set that would have caused this problem, but >> didn’t find anything. >> >> Any clues as to what was going on? Might it be a mechanical problem? > > If you're shooting in AF.S mode, the action priority might be set to > "Focus-priority" (default setting). The K-5 manual says the shutter > won't fire if the subject is not in focus. > > See the Custom Setting 3 menu on p.92. This can be a problem especially > if you use the shutter release button for both auto-focus and shutter > release. > > There should also be a function that allows you to use the AF button on > the back for auto-focus & the shutter release only for shutter release. > It seemed like enabling the AF button on the back makes AF button and/or > pressing the shutter release halfway causes it to auto-focus. I couldn't > quite figure out how to separate the functions by what it said in the > manual. > > >> >> Thanks, >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> Eric Weir >> Decatur, GA USA [email protected] >> >> "Imagining the other is a powerful antidote to fanaticism and >> hatred." >> >> - Amos Oz >> >> > > -- > Science - Questions we may never find answers for. > Religion - Answers we must never question. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
