[gaweidert]

MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went out west last month to visit grandkids and see eastern Idaho and Yellowstone again. Been quite awhile since I was out to Yellowstone and I purchased a K5-IIs to go along with my K5.

Just before we left I installed a Katzeye focusing screen in my K5-IIs. I already have one in my K5 and I am very happy with it. What I didn't do was check out the K5-IIs after installing the new focusing screen. Well I got home and I noticed that most of the images captured with the K5-Is were out of focus. I have a 40 year collection of Pentax lenses and the only auto focus lens I have is a Pentax DA 12 to 24mm Lens that I got at the same time I purchased the camera. I like the split screen and micro prism on the Katzeye screen. Really helps my old eyes.

So today I decided to check out both cameras and sure enough images on the K5-IIs were out of focus. I tested it using my Pentax 300mm f4.0 A* manual focus lens. So I put the original focusing screen back in the camera and it solved the problem. Taking it one step further I reinstalled the Katzeye focus screen and they looked good too. So I guess the fault is all mine. I must have not installed the Katzeye screen properly the first time.

So learn from my tale of woe. If you change a focusing screen, don't be complacent like I was. Test it out before you take the "money shots".

[jimr-pdx]

Arrrgh I know how often I pretend to learn from mistakes - hope this one sticks!

[scratchpaddy]

Yeah, this happened to me, too, but only on a weekend hike, not a whole vacation! I popped it in, and it looked okay with an f/2.8 lens, but then I went on a hike with a f/1.2 lens... let's just say it was hopelessly inaccurate.

I'm a major chimper, so I noticed right away that the screen was way off. I still managed to get some keepers by some stopping down, some educated guesses, and lots of burst mode.



I wasn't so lucky for the later adjustment, though. Removing the factory shim gave me a worse error in the opposite direction, so I needed thinner shims. I had some left over from a FocusingScreen.com screen for my other camera, the K-r. They weren't quite the right size for the K-5 IIs viewfinder, but two of them gave me just the right thickness. It took me hours of fiddling to get them to sit just right in the viewfinder, and do it without leaving any dust behind. It was worth it, though! I actually feel more confident with a manual lens than I do with autofocus now, even though I grew up in the digital, auto-everything generation.

[stevebrot]

Sorry to read this. Was the screen installed upside-down?


Steve

[gaweidert]

Sorry to read this. Was the screen installed upside-down?


Steve

No, there is only one way it can be installed.

[nystateofmind27]

gaweidert, have you fixed the problem?

Please don't forget to post a solution for the rest of us who may be in this situation in the future.

[gaweidert]

gaweidert, have you fixed the problem?

Please don't forget to post a solution for the rest of us who may be in this situation in the future.

Howdy neighbor. I live near Rochester, NY.

Problem was fixed by reinstalling the focusing screen. No idea what went wrong with the initial installation. Unfortunately as I was on a roll I then ran tests using several of my lenses on both cameras for comparison. I have come the the conclusion that it is time to belly up to the bar and buy some new glass. My 50 f1.4 and 55mm f1.8 Pentax lenses are still awesome. So is my 300mm f4 A* manual focus lens. Some of my other lenses that served me so well when film was king failed miserably.