Originally posted by stevebrot I apparently was not clear above. The S-type lives up to the claims. I owned one. Focus pops quite nicely. Unfortunately, it is tuned for use with lenses f/1.8 to f/2.8 maximum aperture and does not work very well with slower lenses (dark and grainy appearance).
I don't have lenses slower than f2.8, so it's OK to me.
Originally posted by stevebrot Note that the split-image requires a vertical line at right angles to the split for full precision and sensitivity.
Of course, I'm aware of this, thank you!
Originally posted by stevebrot Ummm...no...the matte side should be at the focal plane as reflected by the mirror (i.e. facing down).
You see, to me it's still not very clear. Some say a screen should be placed facing down, others - facing up. I asked the same question about calibration via the question form on a focusingscreen.com website. Here is the answer I received:
"Theoretically,changing focusing screen because matte face and split-image position is same focus will not any change."
Originally posted by stevebrot Sorry about all the "no" words, but based on your comments, I am not sure you will get the result you desire with a different screen. I have reviewed your posting history and found that you have plenty of experience with aftermarket screens on Pentax cameras that includes personal experience with the S-type screen as well as a split-image you were quite taken with. You can expect similar experience on your K-1 as on your K-3.
It's good of you!
Yes, I tried the Canon EG-S and Nikon F6-A screens on my previous camera, K-3. I liked the F6-A screen much more. The only problem I had was that I couldn't calibrate it 100%. I was using it, as you say, with a matte side facing down.
Now I have a K-1. I could use the same F6-A screen but I don't sure it can fit the camera. Focusingscreen.com has both screens, F6-A and EG-S, for sale for K-3 but only EG-S for K-1. (By the way, all screens in this webstore are not already cut, they are cut only after an order is made.)
So it looks like that all it's left is the EG-S screen. And the reason I'm thinking of uding it on a K-1 is because now I can do manual focusing with a standard screen with some lenses (77 @1.8) quite easily. However with other lenses I can't focus at all (FA*85 @1.4-2.0, FA*80-200 @2.8). So I thought the EG-S on a K-1 can give a different experience than on a K-3.
Originally posted by stevebrot As for the overly large AF points...Try some controlled testing with the lenses in question using manual focus and magnified live view with the camera on tripod at 3m and 15m with a fixed subject and see if your results improve. Last year at this time you were perfectly happy with your FA* 80-200/2.8 on the K-1.
Of course, manual focusing in LV will be more accurate. However, I don't like using LV with DSLR cameras, at least without a tripod.
As for good autofocus with my K-1 and FA*80-200, it is still true. Unfortunately, it almost always corresponds to shooting at rather close distances (~ up to 3m). (To be honest, I don't shoot at far distances very often.) Also there are situations when almost any AF system can fail but manual focusing can easily success. Yes, and I like the experience of focusing with my Pentax Super Program. I'd like to replicate it to my K-1 experience.