How to Change the Focusing Screen on a K100D

[Mike Cash]

Easy as pie:

1. Use a tool to open the latch by pulling it toward you (as viewed from the front of the camera, of course). I found a dental pick worked perfectly. It is strong enough not to deform, has a 90 degree bend, and the point slips neatly into the latch.

2. Carefully let the door swing downward. You'll see a very small handling tab on the screen. Use a pair of tweezers to carefully remove the screen and place it on something soft, such as a lens tissue.

3. Again handling only by the tab and by using tweezers, gently insert the new screen into place.

4. As Photo Tramp indicated, being careful of the gasket gently swing the door upward and push until it latches into place. I used the dental pick, but flipped over so that I used the back part of the pick.

You may want to fold a lens tissue and place in on the mirror to avoid damaging it in case you drop the screen or bump it with a tool. That would be what A.A. Milne would orthographize as A Bad Thing.

The whole process shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. You might practice by removing and reinserting the original screen a couple of times just to make sure you have the procedure down pat. If all goes well, you probably won't be using it again anyway and there's no point in making a boo-boo with your new screen. Wrap the original screen up in a lens tissue and store it in a safe place to protect from damage in case you ever decide to reinstall it.

Be aware that you may find it necessary to make an EV adjustment to maintain proper exposure. Mine requires about a +0.5 bump.

[Deni]

I received the screen today. Barely 10 days since I paid for it (From China to Albania, South Europe).

It arrived in a small envelope.



The screen it's self was packaged in a memory card holder. It's quite sturdy so pretty safe, unless a car runs over it .



The installation wasn't as smooth as I had hopped, but easier than I thought.

As seen in the photos posted before, you need to have the camera upside down (the top of the camera facing you) to be able to see the retention bracket.



It doesn't take too much effort and the bracket will pop open



I then, rotated the camera, but here's where the first "heart attack happened.



Under the weight for the focusing screen, the bracket just fell on the mirror doh. It didn't do any damage, but please do place something in the front of the mirror. I placed the plastic bag the new screen was in. The copper gasket fell on the table as well.



Well I put the old screen on a soft cloth, then took the new screen. The new screen is wrapped in a sticky plastic cover, which doesn't leave any residue, but it's quite tough to remove the new screen from it by holding it only with a pair of tweezers but slowly does it.

Then I installed the new screen, fixed the retention bracket, attached the lens and tried it. First impressions. Dust doh. Some dust made it on the screen. I knew it would happen so I was prepared to live with it. Then checking the focusing, it wasn't working. Even though the 2 parts of the image were aligned the photo was out of focus. DOH.

Checked again, and I saw I had mistakenly placed the copper bracket between the screen and the retention bracket. Did all the stuff from the beginning. Installed everything, tried focusing but still it wouldn't focus. GRRRRRR

Opened the camera again, checked if the screen was properly fixed and it was. I was wtf, seems like I've got a bad sample. At the time I didn't want to mess with it anymore.

Go out, have a beer, come back and then I think I might have put the screen on the wrong side. Grab the p&s camera and checked the photos I had taken while installing the screen for the first time. YES, I had installed the screen on the wrond side .

Grab the camera, grab the tools, on the work again, and in 3 min I was done. Now the screen works perfectly . Just some dust on it but I don't care .

The tools:



The tweezer was borrowed from my sister. It's an eye brow tweezer that women use. You can do even without the screwdrivers. You need a very steady hand though.

If you need any help of further explanation please do not hesitate to contact me either in this post (better as it'll help a lot of people) or via pm.

Cheers

Deni

[lunelson]

I installed a focusing screen for my K100D and the process was almost identical. It seems strange since I think the K10D advertises a replaceable screen and the K100D doesn't.

Tips I found from doing it: use latex gloves or equivalent so that you can handle anything if need be without smudging it with oil and leaving fingerprints. I placed a folded piece of lens paper on the mirror as KatzEye suggested (and you mentioned as well). It wasn't hard to do and the peace of mind was very nice to have. Also, be sure to do it in as dust-free an environment as possible -- turn off fans, A/C, heat, or anything else that might circulate dust while you're doing it.

[raider]

I am experiencing a certain degree of front focusing with my K100D. It is now with pentax for service.

Will putting a focusing screen allow me to determine if the AF is accurate (as in I know before hand that the camera is front focusing) when I press the shutter button half-way?

Also, do you guys think if this focusing screen transplant will void pentax warranty?

[Mike Cash]

My guess would be that since the K100D is not supposed to have interchangeable screens then replacing it would void the warranty.

@MODERATOR

The title of this thread needs to be changed. We're talking about the K100D here, not the K10D.

[Toshi]

Originally Posted by Mike Cash

@MODERATOR

The title of this thread needs to be changed. We're talking about the K100D here, not the K10D.

Thread title fixed.

[zntgrg]

This guide is useful also for removing dust from inside the viewfinder, today i had to remove a dust particle so big that i used to call it "Luigi"...now there are more particles, but very little, i can live with them. Beating dust is not human.


Btw i have to add a little not to this howto: in K100d and similar [i have k110] there is a little metal U shaped gasket that could fall togheter with the focusing screen. Don't get in panic, simply put this on top of the focusing screen and close everything: katz eye docs have a note regarding this and i experienced directly.


P.s. Oh...bunjee jumping, walking on fire...there's no experience as extreme as seeing the focusing screen falling suddenly on the mirror!

[tux08902]

Can an FP-60 focusing screen work on a K10D?

[zntgrg]

Originally Posted by tux08902

Can an FP-60 focusing screen work on a K10D?

I don't think so: remember that sensor and mirror are APS-C format, and so goes the focusing screen: but you can find so many cheap focusing screens on the bay, look the forum around.

[bymy141]

I have never done this, however according to this video the K10D focussing screen comes with a handy tool.

Watch: YouTube - K10D Changing your focusing screen.

- Bert

[tux08902]

Can a scratched focusing screen affect image quality? I don't really notice the scratches as they are very light.

[zntgrg]

Originally Posted by tux08902

Can a scratched focusing screen affect image quality? I don't really notice the scratches as they are very light.

No, it won't. When you shoot mirror ups, closes the viewfindwer and let light go to the sensor. So, what you see in the viewfinder won't affect your pics.
If you see something strange in the pics, it's the sensor, or the lens.

[Fl_Gulfer]

DO NOT! use tweezers without a piece of tape or something soft over the tips, I use a pair and scratched up the edges of my dam new CatzEye so it looks like hair on my lens.

[Arjay Bee]

Just wanting to clean the DL2 screen from lint and dust I didn't have the tools that come with a new screen so used the tweezers and toothpick from my swiss army knife - I bet the designers of the tool never anticipated that as a potential use for the combo device.

[vagrant10]

can anybody link where they found these screens? or at least a name off of ebay that you have had good luck with would be helpful too. Thanks in advance!