RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: Updating to the Latest Pentax DSLR Firmware Messed Up the AF & Accuracy! :-o

Monday, February 14, 2011

Updating to the Latest Pentax DSLR Firmware Messed Up the AF & Accuracy! :-o

See this post and the included illustrations:-

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=37718575

Every pair of the comparison shots are showing the same and the issue is verified, that is, the shots are all OOF with the new firmware (v1.02) AFTER the firmware update! How evil the new and latest firmware "update" from Pentax could be! >:-[

Lucky me that I haven't updated the firmware of my K-x, it is still of version 1.01! (One of the reasons is that the new version might lock the old access method to the Debug mode which I need.)

P.S. I've checked the detailed EXIF data of the posted pics, the poster made no error and the firmware versions are all correct! :-( (Otherwise, this is really hard to believe! :-o)

Related:-

Firmware Updates for K-x and K-7

How to Get Back to an Older Version of the Firmware?

Comments (19)

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0 Vote up Vote down

Denis · 736 weeks ago

I've tested my K-x with both 1.01 and 1.02 and found no difference. AF is relatively good with both versions.

2 replies · active 736 weeks ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 736 weeks ago

Lucky you then! :-) I opted not to take the risk as I just don't need the "new features" anyway!

Btw, could the debug mode still be activated using the well-known method with the new firmware?

0 Vote up Vote down

Denis · 736 weeks ago

Yes, the debug mode can still be activated in the same way. And the AF adjustment is still there.

I upgraded 1.01 to 1.02 since the AF tolerance of my K-x is a bit larger than I would like it to be. It does not seem to have any obvious FF/BF under any reasonable light and the object I focus on (placed 1m from the camera) is within the focus zone even with 77mm f/1.8 in 95% cases, but it often shifts towards the back or front end of the focus zone. I hoped 1.02 will fix this. No luck. But it did not make things worse.

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jerrymouse · 736 weeks ago

Hm...I was getting a lot less keepers with DA21 and FA50 lately that used to be totally spot-on with 1.01. I guess I'll recheck af-accuracy (it could be my hands). Thanks

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 736 weeks ago

Oh no! Too bad..

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Michael A. · 736 weeks ago

Checked my K-x fw 1.02 and DA*50-135 (under tung. f8, 1/13 and f2.8 1/160), spot on and sharp as before. Try from t.p. if hands may be a factor...

BTW, K-r fw is still up for download on US site... http://www.pentaximaging.com/support/manuals-and-... ...and go through the tabs...

0 Vote up Vote down

Leschi · 736 weeks ago

Which one is now the evil-version?? 1.0? 1.01? 1.02 (the first try) oder 1.02 final?
I guess I still have 1.02 (the first try ^^) und have now problems with my K5.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 736 weeks ago

What problems you have with your K-5 now?

+1 Vote up Vote down

Michael A. · 736 weeks ago

K-5's FW v1.02.21.10 file size is 10.043.260, the v...07 was 10.037.486 for your reference...The time stamp and size of the actual .BIN file are the same though...

0 Vote up Vote down

Lurker · 736 weeks ago

Maybe a related note, K-r firware 1.01 has been removed from the Japanese site. Maybe they found out it made Tungsten AF worse.

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Nubi · 736 weeks ago

Look pretty sharp to me.

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Mr Flee · 736 weeks ago

If you look at the poster's later entry, you will see that they solved the problem by doing a reset (restore defaults) on their camera. Care needs to be taken to not jump to conclusions...

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badsykes · 736 weeks ago

I checked my K-X with 1.02 and is fine.
Kit lens with 3.5, 1/60 and iso 6400 ... Tv priority used

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 736 weeks ago

The kit lens is too wide and too slow (thus more DoF) for you to see (where) the correct focus (is) more clearly.

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badsykes · 736 weeks ago

My sigma 17 70 2.8 - 4 will come from service next days..Is 2.8 enough to test this problem ?

0 Vote up Vote down

RiceHigh 110p · 736 weeks ago

Yes, it should be.

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ZEN · 736 weeks ago

Sigma 17-70/2.8-4 is fine for tests at 70mm/f4
(distance1/2m.)

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suhaid · 724 weeks ago

Is this a normal thing to make a factory reset after fw update? it has not been instructed by default in the pentax site... ?
i have updated from 1.00 to 1.02 and no probs. i would not make a factory reset if its not needed anyway, just curious.

1 reply · active 724 weeks ago

0 Vote up Vote down

RiceHigh 110p · 724 weeks ago

Normally, a reset is actually not needed. But when something goes wrong, a reset *might* help.

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