[frstep]

Even without changing shims the improvement was worth it and I would have been pleased, but very careful testing (using 50mm f.4.macro lens tubes/135mm f2.5 at various distances) resulted in me change from the std .4mm to about .25mm shim.

[carrrlangas]

Hi, i´ve been reading this thread for a couple of days becuase of the same reasons as many:

- My lens line up
Will it work better than the stock screen with my main system? K-5 + DA10-17 f/3.5-4.5 + DA16-50 f/2.8 + FA80-320 f/4.5-5.6 + K300&1.7x AFA f/8 + F28 f/2.8 + F50 f/1.7

I know brightnes won´t be an issue with the DA16-50/2.8 but,
A) will I see an improvement when manually focusing this lens in low light for example?

I understand the darkening on the DA10-17 should not be a corncern but what about the K300/4 + 1.7x AFA combination?
B) It results in an aperture arround f/8. Will it be unusable?
C) Does the screen affect autofocus when using slow lenses such as this combination?

- Shims
does the kit at focusingscreen.com includes the necessary shims? I know it includes a front shim and a set of back shims. The front one is necesary to keep the thinkness equal to the stock screen+shim and the others are just in case I need to adjust for back or front focusing.
D)Should I buy a separate set of shims? If so, where and which ones?

- Metering
Some posts say that wide open metering works great on the entire range while others say that it is off for very fast lenses, and others that it is off for slow lenses. I also read that stop-down metering is far better than the stock screen.
E) What happens with wide open metering compared to the stock screen?

Thanks for your help. I am from Argentina and shipping is very expensive. I can ship the screen from focusing screen and shims to Miami and then have it sent here but I need to get everything before to minimize cost.

[frstep]

Simple answer is that I find the new screen better with every lens and situation I have tried.
How dark is unusable is down to the user - I've not tested focusing at f8 as I don't ever do this.
Autofocus has nothing to do with the focus screen, so no change. The plus side is that you can actually see when the AF has latched onto the wrong thing.
Shims - I got mine from Pentax service in the UK (actually Johnsons photopia). I bought the 3 thinest. (A,B,C)
Metering - looks fine to me, and the dynamic range of the K5 is so good, it's hardly critical. You can generally recover several stops in post processing, especially in RAW, where as a miss-focused shot will always be a miss-focus shot, not matter what you do to it!

[carrrlangas]

@frstep, thanks for taking the time to reply.

I find the new screen better with every lens and situation I have tried.

You see a DoF difference with f/2.8 lenses also? or is it another thing that changes that makes it better?

I bought the 3 thinest. (A,B,C)

Did you need them?

Thanks,
Francisco

[DogLover]

You see a DoF difference with f/2.8 lenses also? or is it another thing that changes that makes it better?

Absolutely. That's kind of the main advantage, seeing focus and DoF better, at ANY aperture. It just becomes more critical when shooting at large apertures. I think it's important to point out, too, that lenses always focus wide open. You could only attempt to focus at f/8 if you happen to have an f/8 lens, which probably means a lens that's not functioning properly. That's why many cameras have a DoF preview button instead of just relying on what you see while composing/focusing.

[frstep]

@frstep, thanks for taking the time to reply.

You see a DoF difference with f/2.8 lenses also? or is it another thing that changes that makes it better?


Did you need them?

Thanks,
Francisco

Yes & yes: even with the kit lens on AF, it really helps you see instances when the AF has focused on the wrong thing, such as when trying to pick out a face when branches are having in front and behind.

And yes: I ended up using shim B (about half the thickness of the original). Only really makes a difference is you are selectively focusing with a very shallow dof.

[Fat Albert]

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these screens for my K-5, but I wanted to make sure that I'm ordering the right one.

Focusing Screen

Is this it? I don't see "ee-s" explicitly stated anywhere, but I think that this is the one. Can somebody with a K-5 please confirm? Thanks!

[baro-nite]

Yes, that's the one.

[Fat Albert]

Placed my order last Friday and received it yesterday. I want to make special note of the packaging--it was spectacular!

Why everybody doesn't have one of these is beyond me. Gone is the graininess and mushy detail of the stock screen. The focal plane literally jumps out at you. It's just as bright or brighter for all of my MF glass. Even shots in near darkness that I'm guessing on are coming out way better than they ever would've with the stock. Nuts!

[noelpolar]

Placed my order last Friday and received it yesterday. I want to make special note of the packaging--it was spectacular!

Why everybody doesn't have one of these is beyond me. Gone is the graininess and mushy detail of the stock screen. The focal plane literally jumps out at you. It's just as bright or brighter for all of my MF glass. Even shots in near darkness that I'm guessing on are coming out way better than they ever would've with the stock. Nuts!

ordered one yesterday myself..."hopefully all will be revealed!"

[maxxxx]

Placed my order last Friday and received it yesterday. I want to make special note of the packaging--it was spectacular!

Why everybody doesn't have one of these is beyond me. Gone is the graininess and mushy detail of the stock screen. The focal plane literally jumps out at you. It's just as bright or brighter for all of my MF glass. Even shots in near darkness that I'm guessing on are coming out way better than they ever would've with the stock. Nuts!

How was the installation? Is there anything to be aware of? I ordered one yesterday.

[VisualDarkness]

How was the installation? Is there anything to be aware of? I ordered one yesterday.

It's easy, but calibration takes some time.
One advice from me is to be careful and hold the flange tightly when releasing the hinge as one time my screen catapulted out. Luckily no damage done.

[Fat Albert]

How was the installation? Is there anything to be aware of? I ordered one yesterday.

Installation is really easy. 5 minutes, tops. Luckily I didn't have to shim at all. I did get some crap inside the box, so I had to remove the screen and blow everything out a few times.

I will say that metering has become kind of funky. I need -0.7 to -1.7 EV on my fast lenses to keep the highlights from being blown out, where my 18-135 requires a 0.3 EV adjustment upward. I'm less than thrilled because my wife shoots in green mode and it's not quite as automatic as it used to be.

[maxxxx]

Installation is really easy. 5 minutes, tops. Luckily I didn't have to shim at all. I did get some crap inside the box, so I had to remove the screen and blow everything out a few times.

I will say that metering has become kind of funky. I need -0.7 to -1.7 EV on my fast lenses to keep the highlights from being blown out, where my 18-135 requires a 0.3 EV adjustment upward. I'm less than thrilled because my wife shoots in green mode and it's not quite as automatic as it used to be.

Sorry to hear about the metering. It's really hard to make sense of the reports people are giving. Some say the metering is better, some say it's worse. I shoot RAW so 0.3 adjustment shouldn't be a problem but 0.7 to 1.7 definitely is a bit much.

[DogLover]

I will say that metering has become kind of funky. I need -0.7 to -1.7 EV on my fast lenses to keep the highlights from being blown out, where my 18-135 requires a 0.3 EV adjustment upward. I'm less than thrilled because my wife shoots in green mode and it's not quite as automatic as it used to be.

I find that weird. I've never had an s-screen to alter metering at all. Every Pentax body I've had for at least the last several years has under-exposed anyway (especially with Zeiss lenses), and installation of the s-screen didn't change that. As a RAW shooter, I don't even bother to dial in an adjustment, though. I've learned that it usually isn't such a bad thing and takes one second to account for in Lightroom. If I'm shooting in a particularly dark environment with no flash I'll dial in a little adjustment.