UPDATE After further testing this morning P-TTL metering has returned to normal, I haven't been able to reproduce the wild exposure I had last night, must have been a bad connection between the flash and the hot-shoe.
Last week I ordered a K3 screen from focusingscreen.com for my K20D, it arrived this morning so I thought I'd share my first impressions.
PACKAGING
- very well packed, the box was much bigger than I expected and everything was individually wrapped inside.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- focusing screen
- tweezers
- tool for releasing the latch that holds the screen in place
- finger cots
- stick-on frames for the screen, apparently used to adjust for front or backfocus
INSTALLATION
I was pleasently surprised about how easy this was. Simply unhook the latch holding the bracket in place with the supplied tool and guide itt gently down onto the mirror. Remove the orginal screen and replace it with the new screen using the tweezers. Push the the bracket back up until it clicks in and your done. It took less than a minute even though I was being fairly cautious.
The only issue I had was with the tweezers, they are simply too sharp for handling the screen, I lightly scratched the corner of the screen where the tab juts out, thankfully it's nearly invisible in the viewfinder.
IN USE
Firstly let me say that I don't often use MF lenses with the K20D, I do however manual focus with my AF lenses at times (especially the DA70, gotta love quick-shift).
- MF is infinitely easier with the split-prism micro-prism collar
- split-prism blackout is well controlled, it's still usable at f/8
- the matting on the micro-prism collar gives a much better indication of focus-transition compared to the stock screen
- the rule-of-thirds grid lines engraved into the screen are clear yet unobtrusive
- seems brighter than the stock screen at wide apertures (f/1.4-2.8), but the brightness falls-off much quicker, performs best with primes and f/2.8 zooms, you'd want to avoid using lenses slower than f/5.6
- no noticable effect on metering
- great for confirming AF has focused on exactly what you want
- great for checking for front/backfocus and adjusting in body
To sum it up; how did I manage without one for so long? If you use MF lenses or MF with your AF lenses then an aftermarket focusing screen is IMHO a must-have. The drop-off in brightness at smaller apertures, while expected, is the only downside. It would be interesting to see how the Katz-eye with optibrite compares here.
Well worth the $80 spent
Last edited by nobbsie; 09-29-2009 at 05:14 PM.