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04-21-2011, 08:21 PM   #1
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K 5 focusing screen

Hi all, I'm new in the forum an just got my k5 (silver edition); i've got many nice old m42 takumar lenses; i've found manual focusing not too easy: is there any good focusing screen to replace the standard one in order to improve manual focusing?
Thanks and forgive my poor english.

Elena

04-21-2011, 08:28 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by vabsit Quote
Hi all, I'm new in the forum an just got my k5 (silver edition); i've got many nice old m42 takumar lenses; i've found manual focusing not too easy: is there any good focusing screen to replace the standard one in order to improve manual focusing?
Thanks and forgive my poor english.

Elena
Best one is Katzeye with Optibrite treatment. There are a few others on ebay that a number of people have tried to varying levels of satisfaction.
04-21-2011, 09:00 PM   #3
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I have had one from focusingscreen.com for my K20D and just ordered a new one for my K-5. I have been very satisfied, the model I have (ordered the same one for the K-5) is the K3, which I believe is based on a Nikon focusing screen.

AFAIK, apart from the e-bay offerings mentioned above, there are 3 alternatives: Katzeye, Focusingscreen.com and Ahoda. I have only tried Focusingscreen.com, and I think you can find a good comparison between these on this forum.

Hope this helps
04-21-2011, 09:05 PM   #4
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Here you can find a good review of 2 of Focusingscreen.com's models + 2 others. This review actually helped me make up my mind:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-field-accessories/77151-foc...n-reviews.html

04-21-2011, 10:58 PM   #5
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04-22-2011, 05:16 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by vabsit Quote
Hi all, I'm new in the forum... i've found manual focusing not too easy....
How many MF attempts have you made? 10... 50... 100...?

MF is not easy. Using a Katz-eye screen is not easy, either... The only thing easy about photography is it's easy to take a crap shot.

The problem is you... not your gear.

Consider working on your technique over the next month by taking at least 2,000 MF shots, or more. When your keeper rate is a consistent 75% and you want to raise it to 85%, then consider a Katz-eye.

...my 2 cents...
04-22-2011, 05:25 AM   #7
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I have a pretty good keepers rate with the factory screen (or the unmarked ME-60)... But I've used manual lenses several times a week for the last 6 years...

I've tried several split screens, and in the end, they don't help much (IMO, and for my style of shots, specially with focus-recompose shots or with faces)...

Microprisms are better for faces, but so far the biggest problem I have is that lots of focusing screens do not represent true DoF under f/2... So focusing with a f/1.4 lens is really hard...

04-22-2011, 05:53 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Michaelina2 Quote
How many MF attempts have you made? 10... 50... 100...?

MF is not easy. Using a Katz-eye screen is not easy, either... The only thing easy about photography is it's easy to take a crap shot.

The problem is you... not your gear.

Consider working on your technique over the next month by taking at least 2,000 MF shots, or more. When your keeper rate is a consistent 75% and you want to raise it to 85%, then consider a Katz-eye.

...my 2 cents...
I agree with this completely. You could spend money on a new screen, for you new camera, and maybe see a difference. I think you'd be better off practicing with what you have for a few months.
04-22-2011, 08:28 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by HEEGZ Quote
I agree with this completely. You could spend money on a new screen, for you new camera, and maybe see a difference. I think you'd be better off practicing with what you have for a few months.
I actually totally disagree. Having a Katzeye is, for me, literally the difference in getting the shot and not getting the shot.

When I got my K5, I decided that I wasn't going to put a screen in it and that I was going to use LV to do critical focusing. That lasted about a day and a half, maybe. Every time I looked through the VF, I felt like I had taken a step backward from my K7 (with Katzeye). It made my fancy new K5 feel crude or entry-level compared to my K7. I moved the screen over right then. Why deny yourself the best tool for a given job?
04-22-2011, 09:26 AM   #10
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I guess my point was to try it without for a while longer before buying another gadget. I guess the OP will never know if it will help if she doesn't buy one and try it out. On the other hand, with 3-6 months practice she may do fine without it. She mentions she just got the K-5, thus my comment. If she had said she's been using her K-5 since November I would agree with you DogLover.
04-22-2011, 11:17 AM   #11
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Well, today's focus screens are complex, high-precision little machines... They are in fact laser-engraved (on the underside, not the ground glass part) with tiny micro-prisms that serve to "catch" incoming rays and redress them to maximize apparent brightness and lessen vignetting... A kind of Fresnel lens, quite easy to spot as the underside of a modern focus screen is not smooth plastic, as with the old ones, but with a ridged texture (think "fingerprints" here).
This has nothing to do with the coarseness of the ground part, as it's on the opposite side (the ground part being face up, against the pentaprism, while the fresnel lens is downside).

And this is this fresnel lens which is blocking some incident rays and thus would not represent fast lenses accurately.

One easy test if you have any f/1.4 lens is to try DoF preview at several apertures, and try to distinguish them... On all the Pentaxes I had, you cannot see any differences between f/1.4 and f/2, be it in brightness or in DoF...

If you take a look at Canon's ee-a and ee-S focus screens and the available literature about them, you'll see that the ee-A is optimized for f/4 lenses, and will not represent DoF accurately above f/2.8, whereas the ee-S screen will be able to discriminate DoF right up to about f/1.6, but with the downside of being darker at f/4 (I'll soon buy one and cut it down to K5 size to try, so stay tuned for the results!).
Canon bodies allow you to select which focus screen is currently installed, BTW, and will change the metering results accordingly.

That's also why the K10/K20 where so infamous for stop-down metering : their focus screens where heavily optimized for given apertures, and thus where not linear in their response to stop-down lenses. They increased perceived brightness with lenses above f/5.6 (with a peak around f/2), and so threw off any hope of using old lenses.
04-22-2011, 12:48 PM   #12
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Keep in mind, the OP is looking for an add-on that will make MF... EASY.

A Katz-eye or similar tool can make MF easier, but an acceptable f/2.8 to 1.2 MF demands considerable knowledge and skill on the part of the photographer, plus the ability to see sharply and imagine the outcome. Even with a Katz-eye, the camera has limitations that need to be taken into account.

When I look at a well executed MF image, I give more credit to the seasoned ability of the photographer than some magic bullet.

...my 2 cents...
04-24-2011, 10:16 AM - 1 Like   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Michaelina2 Quote
Keep in mind, the OP is looking for an add-on that will make MF... EASY.

A Katz-eye or similar tool can make MF easier, but an acceptable f/2.8 to 1.2 MF demands considerable knowledge and skill on the part of the photographer, plus the ability to see sharply and imagine the outcome. Even with a Katz-eye, the camera has limitations that need to be taken into account.

When I look at a well executed MF image, I give more credit to the seasoned ability of the photographer than some magic bullet.

...my 2 cents...
Can you please tell me where the OP said she is looking for an add on to make MF easier? She said that she finds MF difficult with the standard focusing screen.

I think that there are many of us, new photographers and very seasoned ones, that would agree with her and for that reason purchased a split image focusing screen. At the time when manual focus was the norm, most cameras came with a split image focusing screen. Both amateur and professional cameras. And using a split image screen is rather easy.

BTW: where did she say she does not have experience with manual focus and photography?

Last edited by giofi; 04-24-2011 at 10:17 AM. Reason: Addition...
04-24-2011, 10:27 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by vabsit Quote
Hi all, I'm new in the forum an just got my k5 (silver edition); i've got many nice old m42 takumar lenses; i've found manual focusing not too easy: is there any good focusing screen to replace the standard one in order to improve manual focusing?
Thanks and forgive my poor english.

Elena
I second the Katzeye focusing screen(tried and tested for many generations).
It's expensive, but once installed and calibrated, I've found that there is no substitute out there.

PS. installing and calibrating a split prism focusing screen can be a daunting task. At which point, if you are not comfortable with working in the mirror box, I'd recommend sending your camera in to Katzeye to have the screen professionally installed and adjusted(does excellent work). Otherwise, have you considered using LV instead of a the VF? I've read some very good experiences with equipment such as the LCDVF



For what its worth, I've become quite fond of using the LV along with MF lenses.
The histogram alone is worth the trouble of using an LV eyepiece imo.

Hope this helps
04-28-2011, 10:17 AM   #15
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Can you tell me, please, if the dimensions of the K7 screen are the same with those of the k5 screen and the k20? I have only the dimension of the k20/gx20 screen and I cut a nikon k3 focus screen for it. It seems all the 3 screens are the same dimensions, only the location of the handle is different. And the thickness of the k3 screen is not equal with the K20 screen which leads to the need of shim(s). Witch are the thickness of the K7 and K5 focus screens? Thanks!
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