[ashy]

hi guys, can anyone please confirm this? the K3 screen from focusingscreen.com costs 100$ w/ postage to my country vs. plain KatzEye @ 133$

billion thanks in advance

[Parallax]

Your "fed-up" smileys suggest that you think that the price should therefor be the same. I can confirm that a Sigma 85mm f1.4 is "virtually" the same as a FA* 85mm f1.4. i.e. they both focus light rays on a sensor. That doesn't mean the price difference isn't justified.

[JohnBee]

Owning both(there right here on my desk in fact) and the differences are night and day.
The quality of the prisms and lines are similar(yes). But the brightness factor between the two are nowhere near the same vicinity.

I haven't done any blackout testing per say.
But I'm tempted to say the Katzeye holds the advantage there as well. But I can't say for sure.

Hope this helps.

[deejjjaaaa]

Your "fed-up" smileys suggest that you think that the price should therefor be the same. I can confirm that a Sigma 85mm f1.4 is "virtually" the same as a FA* 85mm f1.4. i.e. they both focus light rays on a sensor. That doesn't mean the price difference isn't justified.

more close analogy will be Pentax 18-250 vs Tamron 18-250... w/ optibrite playing a role of a different glass coating.

[Parallax]

more close analogy will be Pentax 18-250 vs Tamron 18-250... w/ optibrite playing a role of a different glass coating.

Yes, it would be a better analogy, but I love hyperbole.

[deejjjaaaa]

But I'm tempted to say the Katzeye holds the advantage there as well.

tempted be not

Nikon | Imaging Products | Nikon FM3A

"...In addition, for the manual focusing camera, a special attention has been paid to the focusing screen. It is designed with improved diffusion of transmitted light and also the same technology as adopted in F3 for the central split. The diffusion is increased by the addition of grids onto the smooth split prism surface, thereby eliminating possible blackout even when a slightly darker lens is mounted. Complete blackout of finder image never occurs even when the aperture is stopped down to f/22 and the preview button is pressed. The focusing screen is available in three types, K3 (split-image microprism type) provided as standard, B3 (matte type), and E3 (matte type with horizontal and vertical line etchings)..."

That is what Katzeye selling you as "...The Katz Eye™ “Plus” series of focusing screens has a unique split prism design which overcomes the "blackout" problem...".

Katzeye only makes sense if you want OptiBrite, which has nothing to do w/ the split prism quality.

[JohnBee]

Complete blackout of finder image never occurs even when the aperture is stopped down to f/22 and the preview button is pressed. The focusing screen is available in three types, K3 (split-image microprism type) provided as standard, B3 (matte type), and E3 (matte type with horizontal and vertical line etchings)...".

Saying they are even sounds quite reasonable, as I looked back at my own notes on this.
However I don't think the f/22 is a realistic statement given that the split prism is useless at/or around f/11 regardless.
And so I think there is a slight of hand in the term "complete black-out"

Also, on the issue of the "plus", I believe that feature has been standard in all screens for a long time now. And so I think the description remains as a reference more than anything else.

And lets not forget the warmer tones that come with the K3 screen.

Other than that, I'd give the Katzeye the brightness and custom line(crops etc) advantage over the K3. Which may or may not seem like much, but can certainly matter to some depending on the work they do.

[deejjjaaaa]

Also, on the issue of the "plus", I believe that feature has been standard in all screens for a long time now.

certainly, Katzeye just switched to use K3 blanks only, that's it... much cheaper than to use 2 different blanks

And lets not forget the warmer tones that come with the K3 screen.
Other than that, I'd give the Katzeye the brightness and custom line(crops etc) advantage over the K3. Which may or may not seem like much, but can certainly matter to some depending on the work they do.

that still does not change the fact that optibrite coating and extra lines are just applied to the plain K3 screens (cut to the size of the target camera's viewfinder)...