[LowVoltage]

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Pentax recently (and graciously) replaced my defective K-5 original with a K-5II. The original camera had a Giottos SP8300 Aegis glass screen protector on the rear LCD screen which could not be removed prior to shipping the body to Pentax for replacement.

Since the new K-5II has the air-gapless LCD screen the surface is every so slightly recessed into the body - we're talking probably 1/32nd of a inch. Do any of you K-5II users have a specific screen protector product you know will mate well with the camera?

I'm still inclined to buy another SP8300 and hope for the best; the Giottos protector worked extremely well on the K-5 apart from being perhaps a millimeter or two too short in the vertical measurement. It didn't interfere with menu content and anything that might have been covered while reviewing shots was not appreciable. The protector was very tough and had excellent light transmission. I dare say, it actually made viewing the screen easier! Of course, it did accumulate finger prints and nose grease. But hey, that's the human condition when it comes to DSLRs...

I will be likely writing a comment thread on the situation that led to replacing the camera. Pentax customer service was helpful when I finally spoke to somebody actually from the company rather than CRIS, although there were a few notes about the replacement process I would mention to others that might be helpful should they find themselves in the same boat as me.

[scratchpaddy]

I don't think the screen needs any protection. It's glass, so it's extremely difficult to scratch. Mine's been bouncing around in the desert for five months, and I have yet to see a single ding or scratch on the screen. I baby my lenses, but not the screen. When it gets too smudgy, I just wipe it off with my shirt.

The same treatment of my K-r, whose screen is plastic, did result in some scratching.

[Heie]

I bought this and recommend it 100%. I have it on my K-5 IIs, and it comes with two - one for the main/back screen and the top screen as well.

ACMAXX 3 0 Hard LCD Armor Protector Pentax K5 II K 5 2 K52 K5II MARK2 Mark K5D | eBay

Can't recommend it enough.

-Heie

[Racer X 69]

Two questions.

One, how come you couldn't remove the protector from the K5?

Two, why not just use the self adhesive thick vinyl/plastic trim to fit protectors? When they get scratched up you simply peel it off and put on another.

OK, three.

What went wrong with the K5?

[Canada_Rockies]

I use Delkin protectors - the ones with the pop up shield when you are outdoors. Keeps the nose grease away, and shades the screen. Sticky tape holds the holder/protector on, the doors snap off when you don't want them. I'm on my second - I broke the door clips on the first one. They are less than $20 - even in Canada!

[LowVoltage]

I don't think the screen needs any protection. It's glass, so it's extremely difficult to scratch. Mine's been bouncing around in the desert for five months, and I have yet to see a single ding or scratch on the screen. I baby my lenses, but not the screen. When it gets too smudgy, I just wipe it off with my shirt.

I'd be inclined to agree if it weren't for my experience with the dings and nicks my K-7 suffered, even with the extreme babying I gave it while I still owned it. Because the K-5 presumably had the same screen I initially used one of the disposable stick-on variety of protectors. It did a good job, but I had read good things about the Giotto protectors helping with glare.

My guess is the K-7 didn't like the buttons on my shirts/jackets. I'm serious when I say I'm quite careful with my equipment, and the few marks the K-7 had didn't impede normal use. However, when I sold the body on eBay I mentioned the marks in the spirit of full disclosure. You couldn't even see the marks on the screen in the product shots because they were so small, but nonetheless it earned me a boat-load of questions about the spots from interested buyers!

[LowVoltage]

I bought this and recommend it 100%. I have it on my K-5 IIs, and it comes with two - one for the main/back screen and the top screen as well.

ACMAXX 3 0 Hard LCD Armor Protector Pentax K5 II K 5 2 K52 K5II MARK2 Mark K5D | eBay

I say, you have the reputation for being demanding on Pentax equipment, so I will certainly take this suggestion seriously! While I wasn't necessarily worried about the top LCD screen, knowing it could also be protected by the Acmaxx system is a welcome surprise.

Perhaps you can allay one concern/question about the Acmaxx product: According to the Acmaxx description, the guard only has adhesive on the edges. The K-5II screen has no black bezel or dead space around the glass, and the right-hand edge is not far from the focus point switch. As mentioned, the K-5II screen is slightly recessed. How well does the Acmaxx work with the available real estate?

The main thing that annoys me about this situation is that recessed screen. I'm now realizing a product like the Giottos Aegis would not be a good idea. It's designed to use the adhesive that covers 100% of the guard. In other words, it should make total contact with the camera screen. If I used the Giottos on the K-5II most of the guard adhesive would be suspended uselessly above the screen. While this isn't a huge problem, I envision situations in which the screen gets pushed in and making contact with the LCD and then getting stuck with a concave shape putting stress on the outer edges that are doing the real job of holding the guard to the screen.

[LowVoltage]

Two questions.

One, how come you couldn't remove the protector from the K5?

Two, why not just use the self adhesive thick vinyl/plastic trim to fit protectors? When they get scratched up you simply peel it off and put on another.

OK, three.

What went wrong with the K5?

1) The Giottos screen could have been removed, but the situation made it unrealistic. The Giottos instructions said the screen could be removed and re-positioned by applying a small amount of heat from a hair dryer. Unfortunately, there was no place to store the screen while I waited for the replacement camera without the adhesive collecting gobs of dust and who knows what else. At the time i was expecting a K-5 as a replacement. Now that I have the K-5ii I see the recessed screen mixes things up a bit. Again, the Giottos is great and I'd recommend it to any K-5/K-7 owner in a heart beat, just not for a K-5ii.

2) Because of the recessed screen I just might go with one of the self-adhesive decal style protectors. I haven't written them off, but I will say the Giottos really did reduce a measurable amount of glare.

3) I was experiencing abysmal auto-focus performance/consistency as detailed in my original thread on the matter. I'll be writing a follow-up thread with some of the things I went through in the space of time between when I wrote the original bit and receiving the replacement. Mind you, it won't be to complain - I'm rather happy with how things turned out. Pentax was most helpful and pleasant over the phone, although I have a few comments about the process I'd like to share. Others may gain some experience from the subject.

[LowVoltage]

use

I haven't ruled out the Delkin or Hoodman-style shades; they seem to work well for a lot of people. As noted in a few of my other replies, that dang recessed screen has me concerned about how well whatever solution I settle on adheres to the DSLR body.

[felixkh]

I too read about the ACMAXX screens from here and bought a set for my K5. Really great stuff. The one I got for my Q did not last as the sticky tapes lost their grip after 2 weeks. I had to retape it by getting 3M tapes and now it sticks to the Q's screen.

[CheryleT]

Have been using K-x happily since 2010, moving up to K-5IIor IIs and to enjoying the forum. I live near Calistoga, CA. USA and am a imagery artist.

[Amante]

I haven't ruled out the Delkin or Hoodman-style shades; they seem to work well for a lot of people. As noted in a few of my other replies, that dang recessed screen has me concerned about how well whatever solution I settle on adheres to the DSLR body.

So what did you end up getting? I too have concern on k5ii lcd screen as mine is heading back to me for screen replacement that a moisture ruin the screen creating a vertical dead pixel on the left side as damage by my breath in cold weather creating a fog/moisture and plus the rain. I have the camera for little over 2 months only, I too baby this camera and speaking of the glass. In 2 months of use I have notice micro scratches from wiping the screen with cotton cloth, not impress as the K20 I bought used for my daughter and lcd screen look brand new. No screen protector at all. So I am also considering a screen protector and need good advice on this.

[LowVoltage]

So what did you end up getting? I too have concern on k5ii lcd screen as mine is heading back to me for screen replacement that a moisture ruin the screen creating a vertical dead pixel on the left side as damage by my breath in cold weather creating a fog/moisture and plus the rain. I have the camera for little over 2 months only, I too baby this camera and speaking of the glass. In 2 months of use I have notice micro scratches from wiping the screen with cotton cloth, not impress as the K20 I bought used for my daughter and lcd screen look brand new. No screen protector at all. So I am also considering a screen protector and need good advice on this.

Yeah, I probably should have updated this... I ended up following Heie's advice and picked up one of the ACMAXX screens. It works well and isn't that much different than the Giottos screen I had on the K-5, at least in terms of quality. The thin border around the edge takes some getting used to seeing on the otherwise black body, but it's not distracting.

Heie has taken his cameras through some pretty rough environments, so the ACMAXX seemed to be the right choice. I believe the Giottos screens come in a variety of versions that vary by the number of coating layers. This impacts the price. The ACMAXX screen actually has fewer coating layers compared to the particular Giottos version I had. While I no longer have the Giottos to compare directly to the ACMAXX, I can't say I've noticed any extra reflections or other abnormalities the coating is supposed to suppress. Also, it's important to note that the ACMAXX only has adhesive on the edges, which is important on the K-5ii since it's actual screen is ever-so-slightly recessed into the body. I think most other screens have adhesive over the entire surface. A screen like that which exceeds the dimensions of the LCD isn't going to adhere properly.

The exception would be the clear sticker-like screen protectors that are very thin; they would probably be slightly smaller than the LCD and adhere nicely. I didn't go with the sticker type mostly because they are prone to bubble when you place them. So annoying. If you're willing to spend the money I think some of them are actually quite good (you would have to research this - I think Giottos makes this type, plus plenty of other brands, just don't go cheap or you'll be disappointed) when it comes to preventing glare and reflections, but they're not going to prevent a hard knock directly on the LCD surface.

[Amante]

Yeah, I probably should have updated this... I ended up following Heie's advice and picked up one of the ACMAXX screens. It works well and isn't that much different than the Giottos screen I had on the K-5, at least in terms of quality. The thin border around the edge takes some getting used to seeing on the otherwise black body, but it's not distracting.

Heie has taken his cameras through some pretty rough environments, so the ACMAXX seemed to be the right choice. I believe the Giottos screens come in a variety of versions that vary by the number of coating layers. This impacts the price. The ACMAXX screen actually has fewer coating layers compared to the particular Giottos version I had. While I no longer have the Giottos to compare directly to the ACMAXX, I can't say I've noticed any extra reflections or other abnormalities the coating is supposed to suppress. Also, it's important to note that the ACMAXX only has adhesive on the edges, which is important on the K-5ii since it's actual screen is ever-so-slightly recessed into the body. I think most other screens have adhesive over the entire surface. A screen like that which exceeds the dimensions of the LCD isn't going to adhere properly.

The exception would be the clear sticker-like screen protectors that are very thin; they would probably be slightly smaller than the LCD and adhere nicely. I didn't go with the sticker type mostly because they are prone to bubble when you place them. So annoying. If you're willing to spend the money I think some of them are actually quite good (you would have to research this - I think Giottos makes this type, plus plenty of other brands, just don't go cheap or you'll be disappointed) when it comes to preventing glare and reflections, but they're not going to prevent a hard knock directly on the LCD surface.

Thanks, just looking at it on the web seems like ACMAXX is a good choice. However my concern is water or moisture getting trapped between the protector and the glass as it is recessed. Now that I am a bit concern as this problem happened to me too quickly after purchasing the camera. So do you think the adhesive around the protector will prevent this?

[Heie]

Lowvoltage - sorry for not getting back to you in time - I guess I missed this thread. But glad to hear you went with the suggestion and it's working well for you

Thanks, just looking at it on the web seems like ACMAXX is a good choice. However my concern is water or moisture getting trapped between the protector and the glass as it is recessed. Now that I am a bit concern as this problem happened to me too quickly after purchasing the camera. So do you think the adhesive around the protector will prevent this?

I actually just returned a couple of weeks ago from being in the field for 5 days, and for literally 80% of the time, we were rained on. I slept outside, so instead of putting my wet cameras in my bag, I just left them outside to survive the night and the elements (we were sleeping in military hooches - sleeping bag under a tarp of your own construction)

I noticed water condence underneath there a little, but that is mostly because I think I dislodged the screen protector a little and caused a small hole in the glue along the edge. Probably from banging and sliding around on my military gear/vests since that's often the uniform in which I shoot (yes, even out of a combat zone ), but I wouldn't worry about that happening to you, especially right away. Otherwise, for the past 6 months, I never had an issue with either screen (rear or top LCD). And if it happens, they aren't expensive, so every 6-12 months you can replace them with new screen protectors. That's why we get them, right? To take all the scratches and abuse so the actual camera screens don't

But I honestly wouldn't worry about dust or moisture getting in there - they seal VERY well. Just make sure you clean the back/top of the camera as best you can so it gets a great adhesion.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need anything else

-Heie