[Andi Lo]

Ok, having received the O-ME53, I'll try to make initial comparisons between the two. in a week I'll have a comprehensive review, and in a month or so I'll give my final impression on both.

Initial impressions:
O-ME53
pros:
-feels like a better made product
-less vignetting on the VF (since your eyes can go closer to the viewfinder glass easier). And there's less vignetting in general anyway.

cons:
inferior magnification

KPS:
pros:
-although it doesnt feel like it's better made, it actually is quite well made and looks just as nice (if not better) than the OME
-KPS has much higher magnification, no contest. I actually see the difference when I put the KPS on and off. My K100d actually felt pretty close to the MZ-M viewfinder (that I really miss). Not so with the O-ME where it's more subtle.
-no discernible light level loss even with higher magnification
-in terms of manual focusing, I think the KPS have a slight edge since it's bigger, but we'll see if I notice this in around a month.

cons:
-maybe because I live in cold climate, the rubber cup creates pressure difference between inside and outside, and makes me cry everytime I take the eyecup off my eyes.
-if you get the UMC version, you'll only get the eyecup and not the ring, and it actually obstructs the lcd when not popped out. It annoyed me quite a bit in the beginning but I quickly get accostumed to it.
-in line with the eye thing, I actually sometimes hurt my face around my eyes from pressing against the rubber cup because you need to get a bit close to eliminate the vignetting. Vignetting does disappear somewhat to a ignorable (?) level after you get close enough. YMMV

Right now, I won't recommend one over the other. Definitely don't get the KPS if you wear glasses. We'll see in around a month....

Final impressions:
I decided on the KPS. Manual focusing with the KPS is superior to O-ME using the chinese split screen. Maybe for some only slightly so, but for me the advantage is drastic enough to keep the KPS. I like the O-ME since it looks like it's really built for the Pentax Cameras and has less vignetting in general, but in the end the difference is too significant for me to ignore. In the end i stay by what i said in my initial impressions.

Vignetting on both of these eyepieces do not show up as a black shadow, but rather a blur on the corners, making the viewfinder less sharp there. The closer your eyes are to the glass, the more blury it becomes, so you have to get as close as you can without getting yourself uncomfortable. With the O-ME it's easy to get as close as you want to the viewfinder. For the KPS, if I use the eyecup as a flat piece rather than an eyecup , my eyes just touch the glass and I find this uncomfortable. If I use the eyecup shape... I find it too suction-cuppy as I mentioned above. However I think I have found the best compromise by flattening only the top part and cupping the rest. This seems to work best with me. There's some kind of frame that stops me from going too far, but there's not much vignetting since I'm close enough to the glass.

The ring might be a better compromise for this, but as a UMC version owner I don't have this option. It may also be that my eyes are relatively in the skull that I have to press harder to get to unnitocable amounts of vignetting, so YMMV.

Cheers, and thanks to Diego for answering most of the questions

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Last edited by Andi Lo; 04-19-2009 at 08:04 PM.

[Jewelltrail]

Andi Lo: the rubber cup creates pressure difference between inside and outside, and makes me cry everytime I take the eyecup off my eyes.

Thanks--I am waiting for my KPS to arrive any day now. I have been using the O-ME53 for 1 year, but was never happy with it.

I look forward to burying my eye in the cup because, in bright sunlight, I can not get a good look through the O-ME53 since it is not shielded in any way. It makes taking a picture a chore under strong sun conditions. I really hope the cup of the KPs eliminates this.

[soccerjoe5]

Are you referring to the U-13C model of KPS? The ring is so much better than using the eyecup, it's very much better made than the eyecup and the OME and you can push your eye closer and it makes the whole thing slimmer.

[Andi Lo]

@soccerjoe: Ah, I may have confused the UMC and UC-13. I'll reedit the post later next week =) I've been wondering if I can somehow recreate the eye ring... I already figured out how to remove the metal ring from the eyecup. It's just a matter of making a rubber ring that attaches to it, right? right?

Oh and Diego, if you can post how the eyering looks in comparison to the eyecup, that would be really helpful.

@jeweltrail: yes, in that regard, the KPS eyecup works well, it really blocks any sort of outside light. I'll ad this to the updated review next week.

[soccerjoe5]

No problem! I'll look for a point and shoot camera here at home, but here's a photo for reference (looks exactly the same):



Oh and it's U-13C, not UC-13

[panoguy]

-KPS has much higher magnification, no contest. I actually see the difference when I put the KPS on and off. My K100d actually felt pretty close to the MZ-M viewfinder (that I really miss). Not so with the O-ME where it's more subtle.
-no discernible light level loss even with higher magnification

Hey Andi, thanks for the "mini-review" as I was considering the OM-E but felt that the magnification was a little minimal.

My one concern about the vignetting of the KPS is how much of the viewfinder (which is already less than 100% of the frame) gets cut off with the magnification?
I'd like a "bigger" view, but not with a much greater unknown-zone.

[soccerjoe5]

Hey Andi, thanks for the "mini-review" as I was considering the OM-E but felt that the magnification was a little minimal.

My one concern about the vignetting of the KPS is how much of the viewfinder (which is already less than 100% of the frame) gets cut off with the magnification?
I'd like a "bigger" view, but not with a much greater unknown-zone.

Do you wear glasses?

[soccerjoe5]

Here's a VIDEO of the KPS U-13C eyepiece: YouTube - KPS 1.3x Universal Magnifying Eyepiece

You'll see how it looks, how it's attached, what the eyecup and the ring looks like

And here's another photo that shows it:

[soccerjoe5]

Just to share: This has been one of the best photo-related purchases I've ever made. I can honestly say that for every camera body I'm purchasing, I'm gonna be getting one of these. I'm planning to buy a K-m someday and I'm surely gonna buy a KPS U-13C for it too.

Just so you know, I've compared it hands-on to the Pentax and Nikon ones. Oh and if you're wearing glasses, you won't like it as much because you can't put your eye as close to the viewfinder.

[Jewelltrail]

soccerjoe5
Are you referring to the U-13C model of KPS? The ring is so much better than using the eyecup, it's very much better made than the eyecup and the OME and you can push your eye closer and it makes the whole thing slimmer.

Last week, on Ebay, Austrailian seller, I bought the KPS-U-13C model. It was not cheap, but I heard a lot of good stuff from you Diego, so I bought it. Will this help to keep the sun's glare out of my eyes as I look into the viewfindewr to compose? The Pentax eyecup has absolutely no shielding ofp the eyes with its eyecup in the O-ME53. Thanks.

[Jewelltrail]

Andi Lo- @jeweltrail: yes, in that regard, the KPS eyecup works well, it really blocks any sort of outside light. I'll ad this to the updated review next week.

Sorry, read this after I responded to Diego's comments. Thank you Andi, this is great--this feature alone will make me very happy. Can't wait to get it on the K20 and shoot with it.

[cupic]

Last week, on Ebay, Austrailian seller, I bought the KPS-U-13C model. It was not cheap, but I heard a lot of good stuff from you Diego, so I bought it. Will this help to keep the sun's glare out of my eyes as I look into the viewfindewr to compose? The Pentax eyecup has absolutely no shielding ofp the eyes with its eyecup in the O-ME53. Thanks.

What that a seller or buyer Jeweltrail and can you give the member who bought it


cheers

[panoguy]

If a reader in the US is interested in this, you can get it for $40 on Amazon.com (shipped from NY shysters 47th street photo, though).

EDIT: the link below is for the "UMC" version - so no rubber ring (only eye cup) and probably won't fit a K100D.
Amazon.com: KPS 1.3X Viewfinder Magnifier Eyepiece with Eyecup for Canon EOS, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, & Olympus Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

BTW, that wholly negative review is from none other than our own "vitalsax" who was not happy with it last month. YMMV...

[panoguy]

Do you wear glasses?

Nope. Better than 20/20 for the past 40 years... (knocks on wood), but I'd still like a bigger view for manual focus.

[soccerjoe5]

Nope. Better than 20/20 for the past 40 years... (knocks on wood), but I'd still like a bigger view for manual focus.

Perfect! You're gonna love the eyepiece. You can push your eye close to it and you won't notice the "vignetting"