[emergo]

Oh yeah, EMERGO +1. You now officially have a reputation.

I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk "the new phone books are here! I'm somebody!"

erik.

[imtheguy]

[imtheguy]

I communicated with Mark Davis at Pentax in Golden and here is his response:

"Yes, the PENTAX K-7 and the PENTAX K-5 use the same focusing screens; the AF Frame Matte MF-60, the AF Divided Matte ML-60, the AF Scale Matte MI-60 and the Plain Matte ME-60."

Will you provide me with a way to contact Mark Davis as Katz Eye just blew me off because of this "internet rumor".....they want to hear it directly before believing. You can PM me if my request needs discussion. Thanks.

[emergo]

Will you provide me with a way to contact Mark Davis as Katz Eye just blew me off because of this "internet rumor".....they want to hear it directly before believing. You can PM me if my request needs discussion. Thanks.

PM sent.

erik.

[Robert Broadbridge]

Hi

new to the forum, had a Samsung GX-10 for 2-3 years & just upgraded to a Pentax K-5

I thought I'd share my split focus screen experience as it might prove valuable to others

I'd ordered a split screen for my GX-10 from Hong Kong, but in the 5 weeks or so it took to get here I'd convinced myself to part with the cash for the K-5. The screen I'd ordered was actually for a K10d in the hope that it would fit the GX-10.

In typical fashion the screen arrived the day after I'd traded my GX-10 in for a shiny new K-5

I took a look at both screens & they appeared identical but when I fitted the screen in the K-5 the MF point was a few centimetres in front of the AF point. After a bit of trolling round this (fabulous) site I discovered that the locating tabs were on different sides of the screen in the k10d & K-5. I simply cut the tab off, turned the screen over & refitted - hey presto perfect manual focus!

So anyone upgrading from a K10d to a K-5 or K-7 can re-use their split focus screens

Hope this helps

[aliasant]

I took a look at both screens & they appeared identical but when I fitted the screen in the K-5 the MF point was a few centimetres in front of the AF point. After a bit of trolling round this (fabulous) site I discovered that the locating tabs were on different sides of the screen in the k10d & K-5. I simply cut the tab off, turned the screen over & refitted - hey presto perfect manual focus!

So anyone upgrading from a K10d to a K-5 or K-7 can re-use their split focus screens

Hope this helps

How did you make that cut without damaging the focus screen?
Im usually brave enough to do things like that but this one seems to risky for my katzeye.

[Robert Broadbridge]

How did you make that cut without damaging the focus screen? Im usually brave enough to do things like that but this one seems to risky for my katzeye.

As mine was only a cheap Hong Kong screen I wasn't too worried if it smashed into million pieces! I tried to trim it with a sharp knife, but in the end resorted to simply cutting it with a pair of scissors...

However for your vastly more expensive Katseye I would recommend using a 'Dremmel' type tool to cut it off

[Ishpuini]

Just want to add another voice to confirm that any focus screen made for the K-7 will fit in the K-5. Pentax didn't change anything in that hardware from the K-7 to the K-5.

Perhaps my confirmation may help a little as I have mailed with KatzEye repeatedly in the past, buying from them twice, who knows... So I have just sent an email to Rachael confirming this, but I suspect they would want to hear from Pentax themselves. I can imagine they want to be absolutely sure in order to provide their customers with a perfect product. I know they are very concerned about quality and customer service.

Wim

[Ishpuini]

So anyone upgrading from a K10d to a K-5 or K-7 can re-use their split focus screens

Hope this helps

For split focus screens this may work, but since the viewfinders between K10D/K20D and K-7/K-5 are of a different size, I suspect so may be the focus screens. Perhaps there will be some margin so that both versions of the focus screens cover sufficient surface to ensure the edge not to be visible in the viewfinder, but I suspect any lines etched on the screen may end up in different positions? I personally have a KatzEye focus screen with custom grid/crop lines which need to be positioned exactly right for them to be useful.

Unfortunately I have no K10D/K20D at my disposal to compare the size of the screens to my K-7/K-5 screens, but I would advise anyone depending on etched lines on their screen to first confirm equal size before transferring their screen from an earlier model to a newer one...

hth, Wim

[Robert Broadbridge]

but since the viewfinders between K10D/K20D and K-7/K-5 are of a different size, I suspect so may be the focus screens.

I can vouch that the screens are physically the same size, but can't speak about the 'gridline' effect

[aliasant]

Has anyone tried to put a Katzeye ( or similar) Kx version into a K7 / K5 and how bad is that idea even if the screen would fit?

My guess is that it doesnt work because of distance from mirror and other things but it would be good to know for sure if that its a big no-no.

Im currently using a Kx with a katzeye but Im hunting for a working K5 ( all I tested so far had bad sensors) and I hate the idea of bying another really really expensive katzeye

The focus screen weighs maybe 5grams and it costed me a small fortune. About half the prixze of the Kx... not that I dont appreciate having it for all my old manual lenses but still. Price/gram is incredible