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FocusingScreen.com S-type screen

Reviews Views Date of last review
3 5,968 Thu November 11, 2021
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
67% of reviewers $81.00 8.00



Description:
This is a Canon ee-S screen cut down by the vendor to fit Pentax dSLR cameras. The screen is available both with and without laser-scribed AF area markings.

The S-type screen features a high-performance "Super Precision" matte surface that allows for highly accurate manual focus when used with large maximum aperture lenses. The S-type screen has no split-image or micro-prism focus aides.
Price History:



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Site Supporter

Registered: April, 2015
Posts: 3,503
Review Date: November 11, 2021 Recommended | Price: $80.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: fantastic with fast lenses and macro work, also great with focus-peaking
Cons: difficult below f4, AF-frame version should be avoided

This review is only for the version without any marking.

I never had the version with AF-frame but I guess the version with grid-line might not have any negative effects such as it happens frequently with the AF-frame version.

Every stick has two ends and thus having a super-bright matte for fast lenses means dimming quite soon.
So if you want to use this screen below f4 you have to take into acount.
How brightness is affected, can be seen HERE. This thread is about DIY modification of the original larger Canon, I did it once, the result was o.k. but lack of precision tools brought me investing $ 80 and thus having shims as well (I used the 0.10mm shim)

I use this screen in a K30 just for that purpose. I had it successfully in a K5 but the K5 got a KatzEye Plus with Optibright split-image screen.

This S-type version is particularely useful in Pentax bodies with Focus-Peaking, if one is fine with M-Mode only or a modified Av-Mode with exposure compensation then you can use any Pentax with stuck solenoid for just that use!

I take it that the critics about the version with AF-frame are valid, this version should be avoided because if metering with non-A lenses is critical, there is just not much use for it.

Exposure in my cases works mostly fine, for differences check here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/115-pentax-k-5-k-5-ii/142241-best-screen...ml#post1490855
With my SMC Pentax FA50/2,8 macro I had +0,5 overexposure!

Perfect exposure, i.e. no compensation with my SMC A50/1,2 (same for the K-version) and a Summilux R-50/1,4 changed for K-mount (Leitax).
Perfect as well with Revuenon 50/1,2 and 55/1,4 as well as Porst 55/1,2 and Agfa 50/1,4.

Summicron 50/2 Leitax +0.5 (bettered the Summilux)
   
Loyal Site Supporter

Registered: November, 2012
Location: Stockholm
Posts: 1,753
Review Date: November 4, 2015 Recommended | Price: $80.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Fantastic manual focusing
Cons: None for a plane, unetched screen

After reading about exposure inconsistencies with etched screens, I bought a plane screen and switched that in to my K-3. The result was amazing. Not only did it greatly improve the manual focusing for fast lenses. It also made it easier to focus my Tamron Adaptall 500 mm f/8 (55BB) lens.
I have used this screen now for about six months together with Sigma 35/1.4, Sigma 50/1.4, Tamron 70-200/2.8, Pentax 18-135 and Tamron Adaptall 55BB with as good and consistent exposure as the factory mounted screen. I normaly use center-weighted metering.
I don't really miss the markings from the original screen, the pros outweigh all that (and then some).
   
Otis Memorial Pentaxian

Registered: March, 2007
Location: Vancouver (USA)
Posts: 42,007

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: June 4, 2014 Not Recommended | Price: $83.00 | Rating: 5 

 
Pros: Excellent manual focus performance
Cons: Model with AF markings has inconsistent metering, poor post-sale support

I purchased the S-type screen with AF area markings for use on the Pentax K-3. This review should be read with that in mind.

Rating:
5 based on uncertainties regarding meter behavior
1 based on the above in combination with the vendor policies

Pros:
  • What you have read is true...this screen rocks for unaided manual focus
  • High quality
  • Prompt delivery
  • Well-packaged
  • Good online installation instructions
  • Packaged with an assortment of shims should those be needed for screen calibration

Cons:
  • Screen dims considerably when used with lenses below f/4 maximum aperture
  • Demonstrated inconsistent metering with K-3 (see discussion below for my screen with grid line option) and reported metering problems on other Pentax models. These metering issues are of particular concern for:
    • Lens having maximum aperture narrower than f/3.5
    • Stop-down metering with non-A contact lenses
  • Incredibly poor post-purchase support from focusingscreen.com

Not Recommended for Use With Pentax K-3, See full review

In Use:
The S-type screen is a pleasure to use for most subjects. This is particularly true for close-up and macro work. What more can I say? The view dims quite a bit with slower lenses (e.g. Pentax-DA 18-55/3.5-5.6) but is still usable. Despite the excellent matte field, I still found myself wishing I had a split image for some subjects. Oh, well, you can't have everything.

The only real issue I had with the S-type screen is related to exposure metering and (unfortunately) it is a big one. Both the K-3 and the screen were new to me and there was a bit of a learning curve. As I took more photos under different lighting and with different lenses, I started to notice a pattern of severe underexposure with some subjects.

One day I was fiddling around and mounted a lens to the K-3 that had been on my other camera. That lens was the Pentax-DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 kit zoom. I have been shooting with the lens on my K10D for about seven years and never had an exposure problem. It was with some surprise that I noticed that despite the expected dim view in the finder, the indicated exposure settings in Av mode were for a much higher shutter speed than would have been appropriate for the amount of light in the room.

The next day, I did a controlled test with an evenly illuminated flat subject (afternoon sky light through a fabric panel), camera on tripod. The intent was to compare the viewfinder metering (through the S-type screen) with live view metering. For the first part of the test:
  • Pentax K-3
  • S-type screen w/ AF frame etching
  • Pentax-FA 35/2 lens
  • Av mode, aperture at f/8
  • ISO 100
  • Metered shutter speed using the viewfinder exposure meter: 1/15s
  • Metered shutter speed using the live view metering: 1/13s
Note the close agreement between the viewfinder and live view metering. This is a very acceptable result and what I would expect. For the second part of the test:
  • Pentax K-3
  • S-type screen w/ AF frame etching
  • Pentax-DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 @ 35mm focal length
  • Av mode, aperture at f/8
  • ISO 100
  • Metered shutter speed using the viewfinder exposure meter: 1/50s
  • Metered shutter speed using the live view metering: 1/15s
Notice that the viewfinder meter using the S-type screen indicates 2 stops less exposure with the relatively slow 18-55 zoom than the meter reading from the live view sensor using the same lens. The live view exposure is in agreement with the results from the faster FA 35/2 lens. All readings were taken within a span of a minute or so. Replacement of the S-type screen with the Pentax original equipment unit resulted in similar results for all four cases and the return of consistent exposures in field conditions.

I was dumbfounded and have no sure explanation. Postings and comments on this site and other places on the Web have been overwhelmingly positive in regards to this screen, but none of those users had installed it on a K-3. I can offer no explanation except for these possibilities:
  • The K-3 has a new, high density 86,000 pixel RGB viewfinder metering system not found in earlier Pentax models
  • My S-type screen has bright-line AF frame etching. The relative brightness of the AF frame lines in the viewfinder is quite striking with some subjects and was so for the test conditions above. The contrast is particularly high when used with slower lenses.
It is my suspicion that the AF frame lines are biasing the exposure metering on the K-3.

Edit: Since first posting this review, there have been reports from K-5 series users indicating similar underexposure problems. I would suggest that careful attention be paid to the exposure histogram regardless of body used.

Edit: I have found a product page on focusingscreen.com showing the relative brightness of the laser etching at various lens apertures. The effect on the K-3 is somewhat more pronounced.
Laser Grid Lines
Post-Sale Support:
I have done a number of lens and gear reviews for this site and have never given a rating on "1" until today. My initial intent Edit: and eventual act was to rate the screen as a "5" with a strong caution regarding the meter performance and the qualifiers that my testing was done on the K-3 with the bright-line AF area etchings. The reason for the low rating is the non-existent post-sale support from focusingscreen.com. I made three attempts via e-mail to resolve this issue and received no response from the vendor. The matter was eventually referred to PayPal for resolution.

I cannot give an unqualified recommendation of focusingscreen.com as an online seller at this point.
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