Do you would like your digicam may autofocus on stars—with out reframing? Excellent news. The venerable Pentax Okay-1 DSLR now has Star AF accessible within the U.S. Autofocusing on pinpoint stars simply received an entire lot simpler—and you may neglect countless pixel-peeping.
Wow, Pentax, Actually?
Sure, actually. Pentax. A woefully ignored digicam, the Pentax Okay-1 was launched in February 2016. It got here loaded with options, together with a few of the most strong weatherproofing you will ever see, Astrotracer for monitoring stars in-camera, a fantastic-looking LED, Evening Imaginative and prescient LCD, excellent picture high quality, and extra. It’s why, even in right this moment’s mirrorless world, the Okay-1 remains to be my go-to for evening pictures. It is a pleasure to make use of.
An Even Larger Shock
There was one thing I actually did not anticipate: new options nonetheless being rolled out almost a decade later! Pentax has rolled out black-and-white modes, expanded Astrotracer (together with one which doesn’t want GPS), and now—Star AF. And but individuals nonetheless ask me if Pentax even exists!
And sure, they’re nonetheless kicking. And nonetheless busy at work, it appears. They rolled out Star AF in the USA this summer time.
Why Autofocus for Stars Is Such a Nice Function
After I train my evening pictures workshops, I discover that my individuals typically have a difficult time with specializing in the celebrities. Manually twisting the lens and zooming in utilizing Dwell View in the dead of night may be irritating for some. Even for skilled evening photographers, it might probably take some time to lock on focus.
With Star AF, the digicam locks onto stars mechanically. This frees us as much as give attention to the inventive facet as a substitute of squinting at tiny pixels and twisting focus rings on our lenses. That’s price it each time.
What Is Star AF?
Ricoh says, “Usually, you’ll pinpoint on a star that’s the best to deliver into focus, then compose the picture. With the Star AF, nevertheless, you’ll be able to compose the picture first, then give attention to stars utilizing the digicam’s autofocus system.” It’s not instantaneous—anticipate just a few seconds—however it’s far quicker and, sure, much more exact than handbook focusing.
Different manufacturers have dabbled right here: Nikon’s high-end mirrorless cameras have Starlight View, which boosts Dwell View for simpler low-light focusing, whereas OM System (Olympus) affords Starry Sky AF. The catch? You typically must recompose.
Not so with Pentax. With Star AF, you half-press the shutter, the AF space magnifies, the digicam analyzes star factors, and when the field turns inexperienced—you’re locked in. No refocusing till you modify it. Good. You’ll be able to learn extra about the right way to use Pentax Star AF right here.
How You Can Get Star AF
Pentax is charging for this firmware replace, so Star AF will not be included by merely updating your firmware. You will need to buy it as a part of the Astrophoto Help premium operate for supported Pentax cameras:
PENTAX Okay-1 (with newest firmware replace)
PENTAX Okay-1 Mark II (with newest firmware replace)
Okay-3 Mark III
Okay-3 Mark III Monochrome solely*
(*Please observe that this isn’t accessible for the Okay-3/Okay-3II)
You should buy the Astrophoto Help from their web site, the place it’s presently $79.95.
Do not Make the Similar Errors I Do
Now, I’ll let you know one thing that will allow you to for those who do not learn the directions as rigorously as I do. The directions state, “Throughout checkout, please enter the mannequin identify and serial variety of the product you personal that you simply want to add the Astrophoto Help function to within the buyer notes part.”
Guess who skipped that step? Yeah. Me. I stored looking for a devoted discipline and mistakenly checked out with out including it. Fortunately, Ricoh responded to my electronic mail by issuing the license key the subsequent day. However do your self a favor and save the headache—learn the directions rigorously.
Wrap-Up
Star AF is a kind of options that not a whole lot of cameras have. Utilizing autofocus for the celebrities means no peering at Dwell View and regularly refocusing. Should you shoot the evening sky, Pentax Star AF is price each penny.
Need Extra Data?
In fact you do! Take a look at this video from evening photographer Tim Little, who can also be an avid consumer of the Pentax Okay-1. He goes into nice element about buying, putting in, and utilizing Star AF.
